Research and Criticism: A Case for Separate but Equal.

The essay by Flinders and Eisner, "Educational Criticism As a Form of Qualitative Inquiry," brought that story to mind, I think, because like the young man, it set me to wondering about the nature of the relationship between research and other kinds of inquiry and the roles that each has played in improving educational practice. What kinds of activities should be referred to as research? What do we gain by viewing criticism as a method of research? What could we lose?