The Role of Qualitative Research Methods in Research-Practice Partnerships

• In Event: Witnessing From/Within Intimately Critical Perspectives

Abstract

In keeping with this year’s meeting theme, this paper examines the role of qualitative methods in research-practice partnerships (RPPs). Because qualitative methods are ideal for investigating how reforms and policies play out on the ground (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Yin, 2017), they are useful tools for the deeply contextual work of RPPs. This methods-focused investigation is written from our vantage point as qualitative researchers on a mixed-methods project that involved a 4-year partnership between university researchers and an urban school district. Findings indicate that qualitative methods were the main vehicle by which teachers engaged as active participants in the partnership. This study highlights why qualitative methods are important both for accomplishing the goals of RPPs and in supporting the partnerships themselves.

Authors

• Marie Lockton, University of California - San Diego

• Hayley Ryan Weddle, University of Pittsburgh

• Amanda L. Datnow, University of California - San Diego