On Being "a Methodologist" in Five Ws+ H

Although much prior education research has addressed debates about the nature and status of research methodologies, this essay addresses the label "a methodologist." To examine this figure, we use the scholastic hexameter, an Aristotelian rhetorical heuristic often translated in contemporary terms as "the five Ws +H" (Who, Where, When, What, Why, and How). We use these questions to reveal and foreground different aspects of debate over the label, "a methodologist," drawing on our experiences as faculty members in education at a research-intensive university engaged in teaching methodology courses, administering a graduate research certificate program, and participating in a Qualitative Research Advisory Group.