Researching, Writing, and Publishing: Books & eBooks on Research

The Third Edition of this text provides students with straightforward principles and frameworks for understanding methodology.

The use of reflection as a tool to support and develop practice is becoming increasingly recognised across education, healthcare and the social sciences. Reflection is assumed to create depth of knowledge and meaning, both for self and those practised upon. Running alongside the use of reflection is the prevalent use of action research which some see as a way of approaching the study of human beings from a philosophical perspective, in which sharing takes place within mutually supportive environments. The author argues that reflective practice and action research can become mechanistic in their use unless fresh creative approaches are employed. Exploring the tension between the use of evidence-based practice, based upon solid 'objective' research, and reflection, with its 'subjectivity' and personal perception, this book argues that reflection is research. The resultant approach will improve evidence-based research in education, healthcare and other social sciences to enhance perception and understanding of events, identity and self.

This classic text covers all of the main theoretical approaches to qualitative research, and provides coverage of the full range of different qualitative methods and approaches now available to researchers.

Offers comprehensive coverage of the design and use of the case study method as a valid research tool. This thoroughly revised text now covers more than 50 case studies (approximately 25% new), gives fresh attention to quantitative analyses, discusses more fully the use of mixed methods research designs, and includes new methodological insights. Suggests a three-stage approach to help readers define the initial questions they will consider in their own case study research.

the fifth edition of this bestselling text offers expanded coverage of ethics, data analysis, and research design techniques. Authors Catherine Marshall and Gretchen B. Rossman cover distance-based research (such as email interviews); the implications of postmodern turns; integrating archival material; and creative ways of presenting the research. The authors include updates to popular features, such as vignettes that illustrate the methodological challenges today's qualitative researcher face.

A well-constructed research plan is vital to the successful execution of any research project. This book shows how to design and prepare research proposal and present it effectively to a university review committee, funding body, or commercial client. The book is organized around three central themes: What are research proposals; who reads them and why?; what general guidelines and strategies can help students develop a proposal; and what might a finished proposal look like?

A practical and comprehensive guide to researching, preparing and writing a literature review, a major component of research projects. It is an essential tool not only for postgraduate students but also for undergraduate and novice researchers across the social sciences and humanities.

The new edition of this popular work provides an easy-to-follow, hands-on guide to every aspect of conducting an action research project in your own organization. It contains an expanded discussion on politics and ethics of insider action research and includes an expanded chapter on writing an action research dissertation and an action research report.

Introducing the theory and practice of conversation, discourse and document analysis, this text demonstrates the usefulness of these methods in addressing key questions in the social sciences. Tim Rapley also provides an overview of the particular challenges involved in collecting and analysing data from these sources.

A hands-on guide for students engaged in educational research. It provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the key qualitative and quantitative methods necessary for those commencing research for the first time. Through a detailed yet concise explanation, the reader is shown how these methods work and how their outcomes may be interpreted.

Including coverage of the selection of cases, observation and interviewing, recording data, and takes into account ethical issues, Doing Ethnographic and Observational Research introduces the reader to the practice of producing data through ethnographic fieldwork and observational research.

Interviewing is an invaluable tool for the qualitative researcher. Steinar Kvale provides coverage of both the theoretical background and the practical aspects of the interview process, incorporating discussion of the wide variety of methods in interview based research and the different approaches to reading the data. Consideration is also given to the crucial issue of how to ensure scientific rigour.

Using real examples from real postgraduate students, the book links theory to methods and shows how to move from understanding the principles of qualitative research to doing it yourself. The new edition has been fully updated and now includes: a chapter on formulating a research question appropriate for qualitative research, an expanded discussion of the role of theory in research, extended discussion of case study research and the number of cases needed for effective qualitative research, further coverage of focus groups and analysing internet data, student examples from around the world, and a section on the common pitfalls encountered in qualitative research.

Hollway and Jefferson have updated their ground-breaking book for students and researchers looking to do qualitative research differently. The new edition critically reviews many of the assumptions, claims and methods of qualitative research and also acts as a `how to' guide to the method the authors call the Free Association Narrative Interview. In the new edition, the authors situate their arguments firmly within a tradition of psychosocial research and show how their method has developed over the last decade.

This is both a `how to' book and one that critically reviews many of the assumptions, claims and methods of qualitative research. Applying a psycho-social understanding of subjectivity to research practice involves conceptualising researcher and researched as co-producers of meanings in the research relationship. The authors use the notion of the "defended subject" to indicate that people will defend themselves against any anxieties in the information they provide in a research context. To interpret interviewees' responses should entail developing a method in which narratives are central, as should a strategy of interpretation in which interviewees' free associations are given precedence over narrative coherence.

Doing Research in the Real World provides a clear and accessible introduction to research strategies and techniques. David Gray equips readers with the skills necessary to design and implement their own research project. The book covers all the essential aspects of doing research, providing coverage of both quantitative and qualitative methods, and dealing with all the main elements of the research process and the design of appropriate research tools.

A practical introduction to the process of designing, doing and writing up research with children and young people. At the center is a commitment to engaging with children and young people as active research participants rather than as passive subjects. In this new edition, you'll find up to date information on the fast-changing political and ethical debates around research with children and young people as well as guidance on how to carry out research yourself.

Essential reading for anyone wishing to engage with images, technologies and society. Includes new chapters on web-based practices for visual ethnography and the issues surrounding the representation, interpretation and authoring of knowledge with the rise of digital media. Introduces the practical and theoretical issues relating to the visual and digital technologies used in the field. This book is a must-have for students and researchers across the social sciences who are interested in incorporating audiovisual media into their research practice.

Editors Cath Sullivan, Stephen Gibson and Sarah C.E. Riley focus on the steps involved in completing a qualitative dissertation and on the decisions that you'll need to make as you go along.

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 book provides clear and accessible advice to the research novice on the key issues in action research.

Walks readers step by step through the "how-tos" of conducting focus group research. The Fifth Edition is updated with the latest research and technological innovations and includes new coverage on planning with analysis in mind; creating conversational questions that have the potential for producing unique and valuable insights; the art of hosting a focus group; common sense thinking about reporting; more efficient strategies for planning the study; and emerging areas of focus group research, such as conducting cross-cultural, international, and Internet focus groups.

Based on the author's own wealth of experience this timely, engaging book helps first-time researchers to discover the excitement of grounded theory method. Fresh, innovative and clear, this book traces the history and development of grounded theory method, and examines how the method is evolving for new contexts today. The book introduces us to the practicalities of research design, theory building, coding and writing up.

This best-selling resource guides researchers through the process of developing their own rigorous surveys and evaluating the credibility of surveys created by others. Offering practical, step-by-step advice, author Arlene Fink centers her guidance on choosing the appropriate type of survey, writing survey questions and responses, formatting the survey, deciding on the characteristics and numbers of respondents to include, determining the frequency of surveying respondents, and analyzing and reporting the results. The Fifth Edition pays particular attention to the internet and online surveys.

This accessible text introduces students and researchers to the basics of case study research, using a wide range of real-life examples. It deals with the core issues and methods that anyone new to case study will need to understand: What is a case study? When and why should case study methods be used? How are case studies designed? What methods can be used? How do we analyze our data and write up our case?

Now in its second edition, this international best-selling book has been revised and updated. It focuses on helping people overcome some of the most common obstacles to successful publication. Lack of time? An unconscious fear of rejection? Conflicting priorities? In this book Abby Day explains how to overcome these obstacles and create publishable papers for journals most likely to publish them.

How to Research is a bestselling, practical book that reassures the first time researcher by leading them systematically through the whole research process; from the initial meetings with a supervisor to critically evaluating their ideas, doing the research and finally writing up the project. The book includes vignettes to help readers relate to research examples and provides both methodological and process information.

In this major updating of his bestselling, benchmark text, David Silverman walks the reader through the basics of gathering and analyzing qualitative data. The Fourth Edition includes a new chapter on data analysis dealing with grounded theory, discourse analysis and narrative analysis; more worked-through examples of different kinds of data and how to interpret them; a new section on focus groups and interpreting focus group data; an expanded ethics chapter; and more coverage of digital media and photographs as data.

Focusing on the types of research students will utilize in their careers, this introductory text makes continuous connections between research and its real world application. In an engaging and conversational style, Donald Treadwell introduces the conceptual foundations of communication research, provides practical guidance on the most commonly used methods, and concludes with a chapter on writing up and presenting.

Analyzing language can be tricky but it provides a useful insight within social research. This book shows how to apply methods to written and spoken words, across a range of social sciences. Solving practical problems in research design and application, this is a key resource for all social scientists.

The author addresses the key issues which need to be identified and resolved in the qualitative research process, and through which researchers develop essential skills in qualitative research. The book highlights the`difficult questions' that researchers should get into the habit of asking themselves in the course of doing qualitative research, and outlines the implications of the different ways of responding to these questions. Qualitative Researching bridges the gap between `cook-book' approaches to qualitative research and abstract methodological approaches.

This book considers key issues in data selection, approaches to factor and cluster analysis and regression before covering advanced topics including structural equation modelling, maximum likelihood estimation, simulation and agent-based modelling. The result is a guide to quantitative methods in tourism that de-mystifies both simple and apparently complex techniques and makes them more accessible to tourism researchers.

Real world research is a common responsibility of professionals and practitioners in a wide range of both public and private settings. These include teachers, social workers and health service professionals, managers and specialists in business, architects, designers, criminologists and accountants among many others. Real World Research provides a clear route-map of the various steps needed to carry out a piece of applied research to a high professional standard. It brings together materials and approaches from different social science disciplines, seeing value in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as their combination in mixed-method designs.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction for first time researchers right through to thorough and practical advice for those undertaking more advanced work. The book draws on real life experiences from a wide variety of disciplines to show how theory translates into practice, and offers a rigorous analysis of why researchers choose the methods they use.

An ideal text for undergraduates in a variety of disciplines who are taking research methods courses.

The text provides a mixed methods approach that challenges historical divisions between quantitative and qualitative research. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach to social science research, drawing from areas such as sociology, social psychology, and social anthropology. Explicitly addressing the concerns of emergent researchers it provides both a 'how to' account of social research and an understanding of the main factors that contextualize research by discussing 'why do' social scientists work this way.

A short, practical `how-to' book on a central methodology technique aimed at the beginning researcher. The focus of this book is on small-scale quantitative surveys studying the relationships between variables. After showing the central place of the quantitative survey in social science research methodology, it then takes a simple model of the survey, describes its elements and gives a set of steps and guidelines for implementing each element. The book then shows how the simple model of the quantitative survey generalizes easily to more complex models.

Focuses on the basics of social research. This book provides practical and straightforward guidance for those who need to conduct small-scale research projects as part of their undergraduate, postgraduate or professional studies.

The tricks cover four broad areas of social science: the creation of the "imagery" to guide research; methods of "sampling" to generate maximum variety in the data; the development of "concepts" to organize findings; and the use of "logical" methods to explore systematically the implications of what is found. Becker's advice ranges from simple tricks such as changing an interview question from "Why?" to "How?" (as a way of getting people to talk without asking for a justification) to more technical tricks such as how to manipulate truth tables.

In this accessible and lucid introductory text, the author considers the analysis of diaries as a distinctive research technique in its own right. Nothing has previously covered this area in single-volume format, but the timely emergence of Using Diaries for Social Research recognizes the increased interest in and relevance of diary methodology within social research teaching. Effectively combining theory, history and methodology, Alaszewski begins by discussing how diary keeping has developed; outlining the key features of the medium and examining the ways in which diaries have been and can be used for social research. H

The Third Edition has been fully revised and updated. Each chapter retains its rigorous examination and demonstration of an individual methodology, while continuing to be clear in structure and lucid in style. Reflecting changes in the way society consumes and creates its visual content, new features include a companion website featuring additional examples of digital and social media and moving images, pedagogical enhancements, additional chapters and expanded coverage on social and new media, and how to use visual materials for research and research presentation, and an expanded focus on how each method can be used in relation to a range of different visual materials. A now classic text, the book appeals to undergraduates, graduates, researchers and academics in all subjects looking to understand and clearly grasp the complex debates and ideas in visual analysis and interpretation.