Research can be accessed directly by:
• Sites designed to give schools and teachers access to research and research summaries such as: Education Endowment Foundation, Mesh Guides, etc.
• Following individual researchers and research centres
• Subject and professional associations such as Chartered College of Teaching, The English Association, National Association for the Teaching of English, National Literacy Trust, UK Literacy Association
• Using search engines including those designed specifically to access research, e.g. Google Scholar
No organisation, individual or association is neutral. This means that the research-informed insights they provide is likely to be partial. This does not mean that the insights offered are not useful. Rather it means that other research may offer different insights. This is one reason why it is useful to juxtapose research from different sources and which draw on different research methods.
Some questions to consider while accessing different research sources
• Who are the advocates of this research?
• On what basis do they recommend it?
• What might be their commitments and interests?
• How credible are they – how do I know?
• What other research might be out there that could speak to this issue?