The school research lead and what's the difference between research, evidence-based practice and practitioner inquiry

During a recent #UKEDResChat discussion (Thursday 11 May) an emerging issue was a lack of a shared understanding of the terms research, practice-based inquiry and evidence-based practice.  In order to help try and develop a shared understanding of these terms I have put together the following table - which attempts to draw out the differences between each of the terms.  However, I need to stress that this table is still in the early stages of development and refinement and should be seen as nothing more than a contribution to the discussion.  Accordingly, the table should not be seen as some form of definitive statement of the differences and similarities between research, practitioner inquiry and evidence-based practice.

So here goes

	Practice Based Inquiry	Evidence-Based Practice	Research and research methods
Process	Inductive	Abductive	Deductive
Evidence	Emphasis on experience, practitioner expertise and local knowledge	Emphasis on making the most of ‘best existing’ evidence	Emphasis on generating  data of highest scientific rigor
Focus	Focus on practicality of solutions	Focus on plausibility for conclusions	Focus on scientific evidence for basis of conclusions
Validity	Focus on internal validity what works in the here and now	Focus on internal and external validity –what works in my context – and  can  research findings be transferred to my context	Focus on internal validity – did X cause Y in my study
Sources of evidence	Based on inter-connected though potentially  incomplete sources of evidence	Based on inter-connected but different sources of evidence	Based on independent samples
Outcomes	Practice based judgement	Evidence-based judgement	Understanding of the unknown
Aim	To maintain and improve practice	To improve decision-making	To increase generalizable knowledge

Any comments would be gratefully received