Two Charles Darwin University education researchers have won a national award for the best research paper.
Professor Ian Falk, the Chair of Rural and Remote Education, and Dr John Guenther, an academic consultant with the School of Education, won the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Award for their paper on research into qualitative research outcomes.
‘We’re very pleased to have won the award, because the research was quite groundbreaking,’ said Professor Falk.
He said the research was designed to answer the question: is it possible to make generalisations from qualitative research outcomes?
The paper drew on a number of case studies to answer the question in the affirmative.
Professor Falk said the research paper was the result of about 10 years work together as education researchers.
‘It’s a very controversial area of research because some people think that it is not possible to use case studies to make generalisations,’ he said.
The full paper can be downloaded from the AVETRA 2007 Conference web site at www.avetra.org.au/publications/AVETRAConference07Papers.shtml.