Research in education, and in educational leadership and management, has been heavily criticized in the UK for lack of quality and relevance. The criticism has led to a number of initiatives intended to ameliorate the situation, of which this special issue focusing on methods of investigation is a part. The article briefly considers the range of evidence for this critique, both in general and as it relates specifically to the field of education management, and concludes that there is a case to answer and ethical pressure on us to improve. However, some of the purported "remedies" for improvement appear misjudged, and the article argues that the concern about methods is, for the most part, one of these. In summary, a considerable improvement in research could come about simply by us doing more actual research with our existing methods to answer genuine questions, by an increase in appropriate scepticism and by being prepared to put our cherished beliefs and ideas at risk.