Research. This topic has become so controversial in my own mind of late I'm not even sure how to feel about it anymore. On the one hand, it is unarguably the lifeblood of the academic world. On the other hand, is it really making a difference? Since I've been in graduate school I've been exposed to a lot of research and academic writing. So far, I can't say that I'm a huge fan. It seems like the unspoken purpose of so many articles is to use as many confusing and domain-specific terms as possible. If you're going to write something, why not make it accessible? One would think that the purpose, especially of educational research, would be to inform practitioners, not just researchers. But, if our research only informs more research and never makes an impact at the classroom level, what is the purpose of doing it in the first place? I do recognize that my wishes for reform in research are not likely to come about...