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Causal Explanation, Qualitative Research, and Scientific Inquiry in Education

The Graduate School of Education, George Mason University, MSN 4B3, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444; jmaxwell{at}gmu.eduHis research interests include the interrelationships between philosophy, social theory, and methodology; qualitative and mixed-method research design and methods; and the role of diversity in education and other communities

A National Research Council report, Scientific Research in Education, has elicited considerable criticism from the education research community, but this criticism has not focused on a key assumption of the report—its Humean, regularity conception of causality. It is argued that this conception, which also underlies other arguments for "scientifically-based research," is narrow and philosophically outdated, and leads to a misrepresentation of the nature and value of qualitative research for causal explanation. An alternative, realist approach to causality is presented that supports the scientific legitimacy of using qualitative research for causal investigation, reframes the arguments for experimental methods in educational research, and can support a more productive collaboration between qualitative and quantitative researchers.

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