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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010274308 | H62 M384 2010 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Research Methods: A Practical Guide for the Social Sciences is an essential resource for the social researcher. It 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. Think about it boxes throughout the text offer questions and ideas to help the researcher to focus on core issues and practical considerations, whilst your research summaries present questions, activities and checklists to help the researcher to develop their ideas.
The book is supported by a fantastic companion website that contains learning materials, interactive exercises, videos, questionnaires, datasets and much more. The website can be found at: www.pearsoned.co.uk/matthews
Written to reflect the breadth of the social sciences, Research Methods is essential for anyone conducting research in sociology, health policy, social work, criminology, social policy, cultural studies, political studies, public policy and related fields.
Table of Contents
| Introduction |
| Part A Thinking About Research |
| A1 What is Research? |
| A2 Knowledge, Theories, Paradigms and Perspectives |
| A3 The Nature of Data |
| A4 Research Questions, Hypotheses and Operational Definitions |
| A5 Research as an Ethical and Cultural Issue |
| Part B Preparing for Research |
| B1 Planning a Research Project |
| B2 Reviewing the Literature |
| B3 Research Design |
| B4 Choosing Methods |
| B5 Sampling |
| B6 Research Proposals |
| Part C Data Collection |
| C1 Collecting Data |
| C2 Data Collection Skills |
| C3 Questionnaires |
| C4 Semi-structured Interviews |
| C5 Focus Groups |
| C6 Observation |
| C7 Narrative Data |
| C8 Documents |
| C9 Secondary Sources of Data |
| C10 Collecting Data Using Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) |
| Part D Data Analysis |
| D1 Beginning to Analyse |
| D2 Working With Data |
| D3 Statistical Analysis |
| D4 Thematic Analysis |
| D5 Analysing Narrative |
| D6 Discourse Analysis |
| D7 Content Analysis |
| D8 Grounded Theory |
| D9 Using Computers in Data Analysis |
| D10 So What? Drawing Conclusions |
| Part E Data Presentation and Reports |
| E1 The Importance of Audience |
| E2 Writing for Research: Reports and Dissertations |
| E3 Data Presentation |
| E4 Dissemination and Further Research |
| Glossary |
