Doing your research project : a guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science
"We all learn to do research by actually doing it, but a great deal of time and effort can be wasted and goodwill lost by inadequate preparation. This book provides first-time researchers with the tools they need to establish good research habits and avoid some of the pitfalls and time-wasting false trails. It takes researchers from the stage of choosing a topic through to the production of a well-planned, methodologically sound, and well-written final report or thesis. It is written in plain English and makes no assumptions about previous knowledge." "This book is a guide to good practice for beginner researchers in any discipline embarking on undergraduate or postgraduate study, and for professionals in fields such as social science, education and health."--Jacket
eBook, English, 2005
Open University Press, Maidenhead, England, 2005
Einführung
1 online resource (xv, 267 pages) : illustrations
9780335224180, 0335224180
244174868
Preface to the fourth edition
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART I
Preparing the ground
1 Approaches to research
Action research and the role of practitioner researchers
Case study
Survey
The experimental style
Ethnography and the ethnographic style of research
The grounded theory approach
Narrative inquiry and stories
Which approach?
Further reading
2 Planning the project
Selecting a topic
Getting started
Hypotheses, objectives and researchable questions
Working title and the project outline
Timing
Supervision
Student -supervisor relationships
Codes of practice for supervision
Change of supervisor
Keeping records of supervisory tutorials
The research experience
Planning the project checklist
Further reading
3 Ethics and integrity in research
Research contracts, codes of practice, protocols and the principle of informed consent
Ethics committees
Confidentiality and anonymity
Ethical research in practice and the problems of 'inside' research
Codes of ethical practice relating to intellectual ownership/property
The ethics and integrity in research checklist
Further reading
4 Reading, referencing and the management of information
Reading
Note-taking and guarding against plagiarism
Referencing
Creating, editing and storing references electronically
The management of information
A lot of fuss about nothing?
Reading, referencing and the management of information checklist
Further reading
5 Literature searching
The library search
Computer literature searching
Devising a search strategy
The critical examination of evidence
To conclude
Top ten guide to searching the Internet
Electronic sources of information
Databases, books, journal articles (and a few other resources)
Libraries
Citations and references
Health and ethics
6 The review of the literature
The 'critical review' of the literature
Theory and theoretical (or conceptual) frameworks
The 'critical review' in practice
Reviewing the reviews
Remember!
The review of the literature checklist
Further reading. PART III
Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings Introduction
12 Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings
List questions
Quantity and category questions Grids Scales
Verbal questions Conclusions
Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings checklist
Further reading
13 Writing the report
Getting started
Structuring the report
The need for revision
Any possibility of plagiarism?
Evaluating your own research
Writing the report checklist
Further reading
Postscript
References
Index
Previous edition: Buckingham: Open University Press, 1999
Electronic reproduction, [Place of publication not identified], HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010
eu.alma.exlibrisgroup.com Full electronic book available from dawsonera (Swansea University login required).