Toward a consensual definition of educational research and development: a Delphi study

ABSTRACT

The concept of research and development (R&D) is well established in the industrial, scientific, and technological fields. In the educational field, however, this concept is typically used as a ‘buzz word’ to refer to innovation and entrepreneurship, blurring its essential meaning. This article uses the Delphi method process of consensus-building to identify common characteristics of the concept as seen by a diversified international group of experts, to reach a clear definition of Educational R&D and apply it to research and policymaking. The findings come up with an operational definition, as well as points of contention regarding the potential of R&D in the education field.

KEYWORDS:

• Educational R&D
• Delphi-study
• educational-innovation
• educational-change
• improvement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264063525-en.pdf?expires=1559624877&id=id&accname=ocid41024303&checksum=45D0964C959E6ACC4287BDE94DEEAE57

2 Despite those historical differences in meaning, older-type R&D activities are sometimes still in use; furthermore, certain R&D units combine R&D roles from different periods (Nobelius, 2004)

3 https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/frascati-manual.htm