A Gentle Guide To Research Methods
1st Edition
Published on 1. November 2006
254 pages
978-0-335-23019-8 (ISBN)
Description
A Gentle Guide to Research Methods explains what research is, and guides you through choosing and using the method best suited to your needs, with detailed examples from a wide range of disciplines.
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Gordon Rugg | Marian Petre
A Gentle Guide to Research Methods
Book
11/2006
Open University Press
€48.46
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Content
- Front cover
- Untitled
- Title
- Copy right
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Preamble
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- The structure of this book: research design, data collection and data analysis
- Taught degree projects: what they are, things to watch out for, and practical points
- PhD second studies: what happens when your first study changes your plans
- Strategies and principles: demonstrating excellence, exploring territory rather than trying to prove a hunch, avoiding trouble, and learning from the wise
- Choosing a topic, or cups of coffee, easy pickings and blaming others
- Departments, systems and supervisors: how to behave like a professional, get a good reference, and avoid needless trouble
- 'How do I get a good mark?' - things that can send out the wrong signal, and how to avoid these
- Academic writing: why it's different from other writing, and how to do it well
- Doing a good project: summary
- Chapter 1 About research
- Research: introduction to the nature of research, and types of research
- Research questions, and the nature of evidence: deciding what type of question to ask, and how to handle the various types of answer
- Mud pits and how to avoid them: things that go wrong
- Isms: necessary assumptions, dubious assumptions, and being caught in crossfire
- Searching the literature: why, where, what for and how
- Research in society - agendas, context and the like: things we take for granted, and things that can cause you trouble
- Chapter 2 Research design
- Types of design: which to use and how to use them
- Surveys and sampling
- Field experiments: doing research in the world
- Controlled experiments: changing things systematically and seeing what happens
- Summary and technical terms
- Chapter 3 Generic advice
- Arranging a study: subjects, equipment, procedures, things to remember, things to beware
- Location and kit
- Handling subjects
- Recording
- Chapter 4 Data collection
- Data collection methods: the methods, and choosing and using the appropriate method
- Reports: getting respondents to talk about how things happen
- Observation: watching what happens
- Card sorts: getting respondents to categorise things
- Laddering: unpacking the respondents' concepts systematically
- Repertory grids: a systematic representation for respondents' knowledge
- Interviews: asking people questions
- Face-to-face interactions with respondents: the nuts and bolts of asking questions
- Questionnaires: when to use, when not to use, which questions to ask, what format to use
- Chapter 5 Data analysis
- Content analysis: what is said in a text, how it is said, and how often it's said
- Discourse analysis: who says what, about what, to whom, in what format
- Knowledge representation: formats, structures and concepts for making sense of knowledge
- Statistics: describing things with numbers, and assessing the odds
- Descriptive statistics: giving a systematic description of the numbers you've found
- Measurement theory: types of measurement and their implications
- Inferential statistics: what are the odds against your findings being due to random chance?
- Conclusion: the end game
- Writing up: demonstrating your excellence efficiently, and practical points to remember
- References and referencing: using and citing the right texts to demonstrate your excellence
- What next? thinking forward about what you really want your life to be
- Bibliography
- Glossary
- Sources of quotations
- Index
- Back cover
