Improving the quality of reporting could increase the usefulness of research for readers such as parents, students, practitioners, policy-makers, systematic reviewers and other researchers. This paper first presents an analysis of the reporting of basic information about the aims, context and methods used in a sample of published empirical research studies in education, which suggests that some aspects crucial to understanding research are consistently under-reported. Secondly, a summary of advice provided to prospective authors by a sample of leading ‘general education’ journals is described. These journals give advice about ‘style’ but not the information that should be reported about context and methods used in the study itself. This paper puts forward a set of draft guidelines for the REPOrting of primary empirical Studies in Education (the REPOSE Guidelines) for consultation among the producers and readers of research. © 2004, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.