Our concern in this paper is with understanding the logic of the determination of policy and its relation with the epistemological standing of research. First, we shall examine the logical, rhetorical and functional standing of policy statements. Secondly we shall look at the components of policy decisions themselves - not least because we think that part of the disappointment of educational researchers with respect to the take-up of their research is the result of their under-estimation of the things which count in such decisions; and part of the disappointment of the commissioners of research with the information they get from researchers is that they underestimate the range of considerations which researchers will need to research if the research is to provide a solid basis for policy. Thirdly, we shall argue that normative considerations are inseparable from policy decisions. The normative framing of educational policy may be discovered in the intentions of whoever promotes the policy; it may lie in an evaluation of the consequences of the policy; it may be discovered in the various readings of the policy. A key question is to what extent and in what ways are these normative elements of policy also amenable to research.