Whether it’s an email or a conference talk, from researchers, programme developers, consultants, or colleagues in other schools; it is important to retain a healthy dose of professional criticality.
Being cautious and selective when identifying potential ‘best bets’ for our individual contexts and priorities can help inform decision-making about how to invest precious time and resources – particularly when these are in short supply.
One way we can do this is by looking carefully for references to evidence sources, and following these to see where claims originate from and what evidence is used to justify them. If this information is missing or unclear, this could suggest that the source may not be particularly reliable.
We can also look at the information itself to identify potential ‘red flag’ warning signs. These can be useful to look out for when considering different types of research evidence. The presence of these might make you sceptical about the reliability of the evidence you are reading. These can be remembered using the acronym, CLAIMS.
Where one or more of these red flags is present, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we should discount the research evidence altogether. But it does mean that we may want to be cautious about the ways in which we might go about using this evidence.
For example, it will be important to consider the relevance of the research findings for your context and how feasible it would be to implement them. This criticality can enable us to compare the actual impacts of any research-informed initiatives in our own contexts against the original outcomes shared in the research evidence.
We’ve produced ‘Using Research Evidence: A Concise Guide’ to help those involved in school improvement and professional development break down what effective research use can look like. This guide includes information on what research evidence is – and is not – as well as the advantages and potential limitations of different forms of research, to help readers to consider what evidence they are using, and how to apply it.