1st published 2004 as: Essential guide to doing research.

Includes bibliographical references (p.[ 297]-304) and index.

PART ONE: TAKING THE LEAP INTO THE RESEARCH WORLD

The challenge of tackling a research project

So what is this thing called research and why do it?
The need for research knowledge
The potential of research knowledge

Delving into the 'construct' of research
Ontology and epistemology
Competing positions
The position of the reflexive researcher

Getting help along the way
The structure of the book
How to get the most out of the book

PART TWO: GETTING STARTED

On your mark, get set, go!

Navigating the process
Understanding your programme
Getting set up
Getting the right advice
Managing the workload

Staying on course
Finding a balance
Dealing with 'crisis'

PART THREE: STRIVING FOR INTEGRITY IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Power, politics, ethics and research integrity
Understanding the power game

Credibility: Integrity in the production of knowledge
Working with appropriate indicators
Managing subjectivities
Capturing 'truth'
Approaching methods with consistency
Making relevant and appropriate arguments
Providing accurate and verifiable research accounts

Ethics: Integrity and the 'researched'
Legal obligations
Moral obligations
Ethical obligations
Ethics approval processes

Integrity indicators and checklist

PART FOUR: DEVELOPING YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION

The importance of good questions

Defining your topic
Curiosity and creativity
Looking for inspiration
Practicalities

From interesting topics to researchable questions
Narrowing in
The need to redefine

The hypothesis dilemma
Hypothesis defined
Appropriateness

Characteristics of good questions

PART FIVE: CRAFTING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The role of the proposal
Demonstrating merits of the research question
Demonstrating merits of the proposed methods
Demonstrating merits of the researcher

Elements of the proposal

Writing a winning proposal
Following guidelines
Writing purposively
Drafting and redrafting

Obstacles and challenges
When your design doesn't fit proposal requirements
When your design is emergent
When want to or need to change direction/method

PART SIX: WORKING WITH LITERATURE

The importance of literature

The role of literature

Sourcing relevant literature
Types of literature
Calling on 'experts'
Honing your search skills

Managing the literature
Assessing relevance
Being systematic
Annotating references

Writing a the formal 'literature review'
Purpose
Coverage
The writing process

PART SEVEN: DESIGNING A RESEARCH PLAN

Methodology, methods and tools
The relationship between methodology and methods

Moving from questions to answers
Finding a path
Hitting the target

Getting down to the nitty gritty
Fundamental questions
Emergent methodological design

PART EIGHT: UNDERSTANDING METHODOLOGIES: QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE AND 'MIXED' APPROACHES

Understanding the quantitative/ qualitative divide

The quantitative tradition
Scientific/ hypothetico-deductive methods
Experimental design
Exploring a population

The qualitative tradition
Credibility in qualitative studies
Ethnography
Phenomenology
Ethnomethodology
Understanding feminist approaches

Mixed methodology
Arguments for mixed methodology
Perspectives and strategies
Challenges and obstacles

PART NINE: UNDERSTANDING METHODOLOGIES: EVALUATIVE, ACTION-ORIENTED AND EMANCIPATORY STRATEGIES

Research that attempts to drive change

Evaluation research
Summative/outcome evaluation
Formative/process evaluation
The politics of evaluative research
Negotiating real-world challenges of evaluative research

Action research
The scope of action research
Key elements of action research
Challenges associated with action research

Emancipatory research
Participatory action research
Critical ethnography
Issues in emancipatory research

PART TEN: SEEKING 'RESPONDENTS'

Who holds the answer?

Samples: Selecting elements of a population
Opportunities in working with a 'sample'
Sample selection
Random samples
Non-random samples

Key informants: Working with experts and insiders
Opportunities in working with key informants
Informant selection

Cases: Delving into detail
Opportunities in working with cases
Case selection

PART ELEVEN: DIRECT DATA COLLECTION - SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS

The challenge of getting data directly from the source

Surveying
Options and possibilities
Issues and complexities
The survey process
The survey instrument

Interviewing
Options and possibilities
Issues and complexities
The interview process
Conducting your interview

PART TWELVE: INDIRECT DATA COLLECTION: WORKING WITH OBSERVATIONS AND EXISTING TEXT

The challenge of gathering indirect data

Observation
Options and possibilities
Issues and complexities
The observation process
Receiving, reflecting, recording, authenticating

Working with existing 'text'
Options and possibilities
Issues and complexities
The process of textual analysis
Delving into documents, history, artefacts, and secondary data

PART THIRTEEN: ANALYSING QUANTITATIVE DATA

Moving from raw data to significant findings
Keeping a sense of the overall project
Doing statistical analysis

Managing data and defining variables
Data management
Understanding variables - cause and effect
Understanding variables - measurements scales

Descriptive statistics
Measuring central tendency
Measuring dispersion
Measuring the shape of the data

Inferential statistics
Questions suitable to inferential statistics
Statistical significance
Understanding and selecting the right statistical test

Presenting quantitative data

PART FOURTEEN: ANALYZING QUALITATIVE DATA

The promise of qualitative analysis
Keeping the bigger picture in focus
From raw data to significant findings
QDA software

The logic of QDA
Balancing creativity and focus
Moving between inductive and deductive reasoning

The methods of QDA
Identifying biases/ noting impressions
Reducing and coding into themes
Looking for patterns and interconnections
Mapping and building themes
Developing theory
Drawing conclusions

Specific QDA strategies

Presenting quantitative data

PART FIFTEEN: THE CHALLENGE OF WRITING UP

The writing challenge

Research as communication
Knowing and engaging your audience
Finding an appropriate structure and style

The writing process
Writing as analysis
Constructing your 'story'
Developing each section/ chapter
From first to final draft

The need for exposure
Attending conferences
Giving presentations
Writing and submitting articles

The final word

This is a comprehensive, practical and engaging guide to understanding and embarking upon social science research. By adopting a clear and accessible approach, the text encourages students to think about, and engage with, every aspect of the research process.