Paradigm war revived? On the diagnosis of resistance to randomized controlled trials and systematic review in education

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Notes

1. An earlier version of this response was submitted to the journal in which Oakley’s article appeared, but the editors refused to publish it unless it was ‘developed into a more general argument’. This is not the first such problem with this journal: Hammersley 2005c.

2. For outlines of these developments and some of the contributions, see Davies, Nutley, and Smith (2000); Trinder and Reynolds (2000); Hammersley (2002, 2007); Thomas and Pring (2004); Biesta (2007).

3. For some of the arguments on each side, see Oakley (2000, 2001); Hammersley (2001, 2004, 2005a, 2005b, 2006); Feuer, Towne, and Shavelson (2002); Mosteller and Boruch (2002); Shavelson and Towne (2002); Slavin (2002); Chalmers (2003, 2005); St. Pierre (2002); Atkinson (2004.); Hodkinson (2004); Lather (2004); Lincoln and Cannella (2004); Maxwell (2004); Howe (2004, 2005); MacLure (2005); Denzin and Giardina (2006); Denzin, Lincoln, and Giardina (2006).

4. On which see, for example, Hammersley (1997, 150–4).

5. Oakley claims to have already answered the criticisms made against RCTs, for example, in Oakley and Fullerton (1996). However, if we look at this source we find that some of these criticisms are indeed listed, and some points are made against them, but the level of engagement with detailed arguments is little different from her 2006 article.