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Practical Research Methods: A User-Friendly Guide to Mastering Research Techniques and Projects PDF

169 Pages·2002·0.736 MB·English
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Practical Research Methods Practical booksthat inspire ExamsareEasyWhenYouKnowHow Changeyourattitude,thinkingandtechniqueandneverfailan exam EssaytoWrite? Makeitgood,makeiteasy,makeitfun! WritinganAssignment Effectivewaystoimproveyourresearchandpresentationskills CriticalThinkingforStudents Learntheskillsofcriticalassessmentandeffectiveargument WritingYourDissertation How toplan,prepareandpresentsuccessfulwork howtobooks Pleasesendforafreecopyofthelatestcatalogue: HowToBooks 3NewtecPlace,MagdalenRoad, OxfordOX41RE,UnitedKingdom email:[email protected] http://www.howtobooks.co.uk Practical Research Methods A user-friendly guide to mastering research techniques and projects DR CATHERINE DAWSON howtobooks FormyDad Firstpublishedin2002by HowToBooksLtd,3NewtecPlace, MagdalenRoad,OxfordOX41RE.UnitedKingdom. Tel:(01865)793806.Fax:(01865)248780. email:[email protected] http://www.howtobooks.co.uk Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisworkmaybereproduced orstoredinaninformationretrievalsystem(otherthanfor purposesofreview)withouttheexpresspermissionofthe publisherinwriting. #2002DrCatherineDawson BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritish Library CoverdesignbyBaselineArtsLtd,Oxford ProducedforHowToBooksbyDeerParkProductions EditedbyDianaBrueton TypesetbyPDQTypesetting,Newcastle-under-Lyme,Staffs. PrintedandboundbyCromwellPress,Trowbridge,Wiltshire NOTE:Thematerialcontainedinthisbookissetoutingood faithforgeneralguidanceandnoliabilitycanbeaccepted forlossorexpenseincurredasaresultofrelyinginparticular circumstancesonstatementsmadeinthebook.Thelawsand regulationsarecomplexandliabletochange,andreadersshould checkthecurrentpositionwiththerelevantauthoritiesbefore makingpersonalarrangements. Contents Preface ix 1 HowtoDefineYourProject 1 Askingquestions 1 Thefive‘Ws’ 4 Summary 13 2 HowtoDecideUponaMethodology 14 Understandingthedifferencebetweenqualitativeand quantitativeresearch 14 Summary 22 Furtherreading 23 3 HowtoChooseYourResearchMethods 27 Interviewing 27 Focusgroups 29 Questionnaires 30 Participantobservation 32 Choosingyourmethods 33 Summary 37 Furtherreading 38 4 HowtoConductBackgroundResearch 40 Primaryresearchandsecondaryresearch 40 Summary 45 Furtherreading 46 5 HowtoChooseYourParticipants 47 Sampling 47 Samplesize 49 Summary 53 Furtherreading 54 6 HowtoPrepareaResearchProposal 55 Thecontentsofaproposal 56 v vi / PRACTICAL RESEARCH METHODS Whatmakesagoodproposal? 60 Reasonswhyresearchproposalsfail 61 Summary 62 Furtherreading 63 7 HowtoConductInterviews 64 Methodsofrecording 64 Theinterviewschedule 67 Establishingrapport 70 Askingquestionsandprobingforinformation 71 Summary 73 Furtherreading 75 8 HowtoConductFocusGroups 76 Theroleofthemoderator 77 Recordingequipment 80 Choosingavenue 81 Recruitingyourparticipants 82 Summary 84 Furtherreading 85 9 HowtoConstructQuestionnaires 87 Decidingwhichquestionnairetouse 87 Wordingandstructureofquestions 89 Lengthandorderingofquestions 93 Pilotingthequestionnaire 95 Obtainingahigh response 97 Summary 99 Furtherreading 100 10 HowtoCarryOutParticipantObservation 101 Gainingaccess 102 Ethics 103 Collectingandanalysinginformation 105 Withdrawalfromthefield 107 Summary 107 Furtherreading 108 11 HowtoAnalyseYourData 110 Decidingwhichapproachtouse 110 CONTENTS / vii Qualitativedataanalysis 111 Quantitativedataanalysis 121 Measuringdata 126 Summary 128 Furtherreading 129 12 HowtoReportYourFindings 131 Writtenreports 131 Writtenreportformat 134 Journalarticles 140 Oralpresentations 142 Summary 143 Furtherreading 144 13 HowtobeanEthicalResearcher 146 Treatingparticipantswithrespect 146 Overtandcovertresearch 147 Codeofethics 150 Summary 154 Furtherreading 155 Index 157 List of Illustrations Tables 1. The focus group method: advantages and disadvantages 30 2. Sources of background information 45 3. Sampling techniques 50 4. Sampling dos and don’ts 52 5. Survey timetable 59 6. Research budget 60 7. Recording methods: advantages and disadvantages 66 8. Strategies for dealing with awkward situations 79 9. Open and closed questions: advantages and disadvantages 88 10. Using computers for qualitative data analysis: advantages and disadvantages 122 11. Age of respondents 124 12. Making presentations: dos and don’ts 142 Figures 1. Personal profile form 96 2. Interview summary form 113 3. Focus group summary form 114 4. Qualitative data analysis continuum 115 5. Example list of references 138 6. Code of ethics 153 viii Preface This book is a practical, down-to-earth guide for people who wish to conduct research. It is aimed at those new to research and assumes no prior knowledge of the issues covered. It will also appeal to those people who have al- ready conducted some research and who are interested in finding out more about other research methods that are available to them. For the purpose of this book, research is defined as the deliberate study of other people for the purposes of in- creasing understanding and/oradding to knowledge. This deliberatestudycouldcovermany different areas.Asa re- searcher, you might be interested in attitudes and beha- viour – why do people think in a certain way and why do they behave in a certain way? Or you might be inter- ested in numbers – how many people use a service? Per- haps you need to try to predict how this number of people could be increased so that you can obtain funding for your service. Or you might be fascinated by the perso- nal history of a neighbour and have a burning desire to record her history and pass it on to others. We all have different reasons for conducting research. Some of us might have to undertake a project as part of ourcoursework. Others might have to conduct a studyas partofouremployment.Someofusmaybefascinatedby somethingwe’veobservedandwanttofindoutmore.This bookoffersadviceonhowtoturnyourideasintoawork- ix

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