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Worldwide bestseller - over 250,000 copies sold
Step-by-step advice on completing an outstanding research project.

Research can be daunting, particularly for first-timers, but this indispensable book provides everything you need to know to prepare for research, draft and finalise a methodologically sound and well-written report or thesis, plus it warns you of potential pitfalls to prevent you wasting time on false trails.

This new edition of "Doing Your Research Project" has been thoroughly updated and includes: Wider coverage of research ethics Clear guidelines on the differences between different types of research project New coverage of "Research diaries" New sources in further reading plus more information on internet research and the use of electronic resources Coverage of the latest information on plagiarism More examples to highlight key issues This bestselling book is an essential resource to help establish good practice for beginner researchers embarking on undergraduate or postgraduate study, and for professionals in such fields as social science, education, and health.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Acknowledgements(p. xi)
• Introduction(p. 1)
• Part I Preparing the ground(p. 3)
• 1 Approaches to research(p. 5)
• Action research and the role of practitioner researchers(p. 6)
• Case study(p. 8)
• Critics of case study(p. 9)
• Survey(p. 11)
• The experimental style(p. 12)
• Ethnography and the ethnographic style of research(p. 14)
• The grounded theory approach(p. 15)
• Narrative inquiry and stories(p. 18)
• Which approach?(p. 22)
• Further reading(p. 22)
• 2 Planning the project(p. 27)
• Selecting a topic(p. 27)
• Getting started(p. 28)
• The purpose of the study(p. 30)
• Hypotheses, objectives and researchable questions(p. 31)
• Working title and the project outline(p. 33)
• Timing(p. 34)
• Supervision(p. 35)
• Student-supervisor relationships(p. 35)
• Codes of practice for supervision(p. 36)
• Change of supervisor(p. 37)
• Keeping records of supervisory tutorials(p. 38)
• The research experience(p. 38)
• Writing as you go along and the research diary(p. 39)
• Planning the project checklist(p. 40)
• Further reading(p. 42)
• 3 Ethics and integrity in research(p. 44)
• Research contracts, codes of practice, protocols and the principle of informed consent(p. 45)
• Ethics committees(p. 47)
• Confidentiality and anonymity(p. 49)
• Safeguarding confidentiality and anonymity if disseminating information by computer(p. 50)
• Ethical research in practice, the problems of 'inside' research and personal codes of practice(p. 53)
• Codes of ethical practice relating to intellectual ownership/property(p. 57)
• The ethics and integrity in research checklist(p. 59)
• Further reading(p. 61)
• 4 Reading, referencing and the management of information(p. 63)
• Reading(p. 63)
• Note-taking and guarding against plagiarism(p. 64)
• Referencing(p. 67)
• Creating, editing and storing references electronically(p. 71)
• The card index(p. 74)
• The management of information(p. 74)
• A lot of fuss about nothing?(p. 76)
• Reading, note-taking, guarding against plagiarism, referencing and the management of information checklist(p. 78)
• Further reading(p. 80)
• 5 Literature searching(p. 82)
• Defining the parameters of your search (search limiters) and keywords(p. 83)
• Focusing, refining and grouping your keywords(p. 84)
• Passwords, usernames and working from home(p. 86)
• Libraries, librarians - and books(p. 87)
• Scanning books into digital format(p. 88)
• Journals(p. 91)
• Citing sources from the Internet(p. 92)
• Evaluating sources(p. 93)
• Copyright and licensing restrictions when downloading items from web pages(p. 95)
• Time to move on(p. 96)
• The top ten guide to searching the Internet(p. 96)
• Further reading(p. 98)
• Appendix: Search engines and Internet Gateways(p. 99)
• 6 The review of the literature(p. 103)
• The 'critical review' of the literature(p. 104)
• Theory and theoretical (or conceptual) frameworks(p. 105)
• The 'critical review' in practice(p. 107)
• Reviewing the reviews(p. 111)
• The review of the literature checklist(p. 112)
• Further reading(p. 114)
• Part II Selecting methods of data collection(p. 115)
• Introduction(p. 117)
• Constraints(p. 118)
• Reliability and validity(p. 119)
• Thinking about computer data analysis?(p. 120)
• Not thinking about computer data analysis?(p. 121)
• A reminder(p. 122)
• Further reading(p. 122)
• 7 The analysis of documentary evidence(p. 124)
• The nature of documentary evidence(p. 125)
• Approaches to documents(p. 125)
• The location of documents(p. 126)
• The selection of documents(p. 131)
• The critical analysis of documents(p. 134)
• The analysis of documentary evidence checklist(p. 138)
• 8 Designing and administering questionnaires(p. 140)
• Exactly what do you need to find out?(p. 141)
• Question types(p. 141)
• Question wording(p. 142)
• Appearance and layout(p. 148)
• Drawing a sample(p. 149)
• Piloting the questionnaire(p. 151)
• Distribution and return of questionnaires(p. 152)
• Respondents' and your rights and responsibilities(p. 152)
• Non-response(p. 153)
• Analysis of data(p. 154)
• Designing and administering questionnaires checklist(p. 154)
• Further reading(p. 157)
• 9 Planning and conducting interviews(p. 160)
• The ethics of conducting interviews(p. 160)
• Advantages and disadvantages of the interview(p. 161)
• Question wording(p. 162)
• The interview schedule(p. 162)
• Group interviews and focus groups(p. 165)
• Recording interviews(p. 167)
• Bias - the old enemy(p. 169)
• Remember!(p. 170)
• Planning and conducting interviews checklist(p. 172)
• Further reading(p. 175)
• 10 Diaries, logs and critical incidents(p. 177)
• Representativeness(p. 178)
• The diary-interview method(p. 179)
• Piloting returns forms and instructions to participants(p. 180)
• The primary pupils' food diary(p. 182)
• The supply teachers' diary and time log(p. 182)
• The general practitioners' time log(p. 183)
• The asthma treatment diary(p. 184)
• The heads of department critical incidents and problem-portfolio logs(p. 184)
• The ethics of diary use(p. 186)
• A final word of warning(p. 186)
• Diaries, logs and critical incidents checklist(p. 187)
• Further reading(p. 189)
• 11 Observation(p. 191)
• Unstructured observation(p. 192)
• Participant observation(p. 193)
• Structured observation and keeping records(p. 195)
• Recording behaviour(p. 197)
• Content(p. 199)
• A few words of warning - again(p. 201)
• After the event(p. 202)
• Observation checklist(p. 203)
• Further reading(p. 204)
• Part III Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings(p. 207)
• Introduction(p. 209)
• 12 Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings(p. 211)
• List questions(p. 212)
• Quantity and category questions(p. 214)
• Measures of central tendency(p. 215)
• Coding(p. 221)
• Grids(p. 224)
• Scales(p. 225)
• Verbal questions(p. 233)
• Conclusions(p. 233)
• Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings checklist(p. 234)
• Further reading(p. 235)
• 13 Writing the report(p. 238)
• Getting started(p. 238)
• The final writing task(p. 239)
• Structuring the report(p. 241)
• The need for revision(p. 248)
• Any possibility of plagiarism?(p. 250)
• Evaluating your own research(p. 251)
• Writing the report checklist(p. 252)
• Further reading(p. 255)
• References(p. 258)
• Index(p. 271)

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Judith Bell has worked as a university lecturer, head of department and vice principal in colleges of further education; as a senior counsellor and course team writer for the Open University; and as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools specializing in continuing education. In 1997 she was awarded the MBE for services to educational research and in the same year was awarded the degree of D.Univ by the Open University, for services to adult education and to the University.