Currently, the kind of comprehensive synthesis outlined above is rare. If more took
place, one consequence might be that a research programme more often ended at
phase 1, where the answers to the research questions are already as well established
as social science answers can be. Another consequence might be that researchers
more often revised their initial questions suitably before continuing to other phases of
the cycle (White, 2008). For example, there is little point in continuing to investigate
why the attainment gap between boys and girls at school is increasing if initial work
shows that the gap is actually decreasing (Gorard, Rees, & Salisbury 2001). The
eclectic reuse of existing evidence would often be more ethical than standard practice
(a patchy literature review), making better and more efficient use of the taxpayer and
charitable money spent on the subsequent research.
Similarly, where a project or programme continues past phase 1, every further phase
in the cycle would tend to involve a mixture of methods. Each phase might lead to a
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