Beginning Research


Book Description

Researchers in education are interested in the study of learners, teachers, professional support staff, parents and other participants in schools and other educational institutions. To be effective, research needs to be carried out in a systematic way and should contribute to what is known. If you are interested in education research and want to learn how to become an effective researcher, then this step-by-step guide is for you. For many students the first research project is the most daunting but this book will help ensure its success. Beginning Research is a practical toolkit of resources that will enable students to plan, conduct and follow up research effectively. It contains information on the range of methods available to researchers and introduces some of the key concepts associated with education research and the theoretical background against which it currently takes place. Designed for anyone working in an education setting, by reading through each chapter and completing the associated tasks you will be able to work through each stage of the research process. This book is essential reading for students on all education courses who are engaging in research for the first time. It is particularly suitable for foundation degree students, as it acknowledges the constraints placed upon researchers who are also working and offers practical advice for managing the demands of employment, study and carrying out research.




Beginning Qualitative Research


Book Description

The authors have focused this book on the serious, beginning, qualitative researcher - theoretically rigorous, yet with an understandable perspective.; The book has three main features. First, it provides a strong theoretical base for the understanding of competing research paradigms. Secondly, it features a "methods" section consistent with the non-linear nature of naturalistic inquiry, yet it allows the beginner to see direction. Thirdly, the authors include examples of actual research studies conducted (and completed) in a single year.




Beginning Research in Political Science


Book Description

"Beginning Research in Political Science takes a learn-by-doing-approach to guide students through all of the steps needed for their own original projects. Each chapter builds from the previous chapter with step-by-step instructions that guide students towards the project's completion. The text features recent data from the World Values Survey and instructional SPSS Statistics software tutorials, along with a variety of features reflecting its consistent pedagogy"--




Beginning Research in the Arts Therapies


Book Description

The authors hold your hand and give you plenty of hints and tips while you prepare your funding proposal or research project. They help you think about your title, structure your research questions and aims, and prepare to collect, organize and analyze your research data. This book makes arts therapies research fun and absorbing.




Doing Case Study Research


Book Description

Reflecting recent knowledge and developments in the field, this very practical, easy-to-use guide emphasizes learning how to do case study research—from the first step of deciding whether a case study is the way to go to the last step of verifying and confirming findings before disseminating them. The authors show students how to determine an appropriate research design, conduct informative interviews, record observations, document analyses, delineate ways to confirm case study findings, describe methods for deriving meaning from data, and communicate their findings. Featuring many new examples, the Third Edition offers step-by-step guidance to help beginning researchers through the stages of planning and implementing a thesis, dissertation, or independent project. This succinct “how-to” guide is an excellent place for anyone to begin doing case study research. Book Features: Straightforward introduction to the science of doing case study research. A step-by-step approach that speaks directly to the novice investigator. Many concrete examples to illustrate key concepts. Questions, illustrations, and activities to reinforce what has been learned.




Entering Research: A Facilitator's Manual


Book Description

The Entering Research workshops offer a mechanism to structure the independent research experience. These workshops introduce students to the culture of research, teaching valuable research skills, and alleviating some of the work of faculty and lab personnel associated with mentoring novice researchers. For students whose experience with science has been primarily in the classroom, it can be difficult to identify and contact potential mentors, and to navigate the transition to a one-on-one, mentor-student relationship. This is especially true for those who are new to research, or who belong to groups that are underrepresented in research. The Entering Research workshops can assist you in helping students overcome these challenges. The materials in this manual can easily be adapted for a number of venues, including individual, one-time workshops; intensive summer research programs for undergraduates or pre-college students; professional development workshops for beginning graduate students; or as a way to support students working in an individual faculty member's research group.




Entering Research


Book Description

For students whose experience with science has been primarily in the classroom, it can be difficult to identify and contact potential mentors, and to navigate the transition to a one-on-one, mentor-student relationship. This is especially true for those who are new to research, or who belong to groups that are underrepresented in research. The Entering Research curriculum offers a mechanism to structure the independent research experience, and help students overcome these challenges.




Beginning Statistics


Book Description

`The clarity, simplicity and use of many practical examples makes this book very useful, primarily for under- and postgraduate students′ - Journal of Biosocial Science With an emphasis on description, examples, graphs and displays rather than statistical formulae, this book is the ideal introductory guide for students across the social sciences. It shows how all students can understand the basic ideas of statistics at a level appropriate with being a good social scientist. The authors explain the right ways to present data, how to describe a set of data using summary statistics and how to infer what is going on in a population when all you have to go on is the sample. The book uses small data sets to help students understand the basic principles, and no mathematics or statistical background is assumed.




Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation


Book Description

Addressing one of the key challenges facing doctoral students, Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation by Linda Dale Bloomberg and Marie Volpe fills a gap in qualitative literature by offering comprehensive guidance and practical tools for navigating each step in the qualitative dissertation journey, including the planning, research, and writing phases. Blending the conceptual, theoretical, and practical, the book becomes a dissertation in action—a logical and cohesive explanation and illustration of content and process. The Third Edition maintains key features that distinguish its unique approach and has been thoroughly updated and expanded throughout to reflect and address recent developments in the field.




Planning and Managing Scientific Research


Book Description

Although there are many books on project management, few address the issues associated with scientific research. This work is based on extensive scientific research and management experiences and is designed to provide an introduction to planning and managing scientific research for the beginning researcher. The aim is to build an understanding of the nature of scientific research, and the way in which research projects can be developed, planned and managed to a successful outcome. The book is designed to help the transition from being a member of a research team to developing a project and making them work, and to provide a framework for future work. The emphasis of the book is on broadly applicable principles that can be of value irrespective of discipline. It should be of value to researchers in the later stages of Ph.D. work and Postdoctoral workers, and also for independent researchers.