A methodological scan of NCVER funded research 1992-2010

The National Council for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) is a not-for-profit company owned by state, territory and federal ministers responsible for training which has been funding VET research in Australia since 1992. The aim of the study is to provide aretrospective methodological map of government funded VET research as reported by NCVER for a nineteen year period (1992-2010). The aim of the study is not to judge research usage or impact but to investigate possible trends over time in respect to research quality and levels of methodological innovation and rigor. The methodology employed to conduct this study has been content analysis of qualitative secondary data publically available online through the NCVER webpage. The sample includes research report descriptions of NCVER funded research projects (managed research projects and in house research projects)conducted from between 1992 to 2010 (n=332). Data collected from the research project descriptions includes basic identifying demographic information on authors (number, gender, affiliations), research theme, along with data on research design, research methods, datasources, sampling and sequencing. The preliminary findings will be discussed within the context of recent research on the increasing use of mixed methods and interdisciplinary teams in commissioned research in the US and UK. The paper concludes with some insights and thoughts on VET based research methodologies and approaches for the future