Research Methods

304 Pages·04.987 MB·English

by  Nicholas Walliman

RESEARCH METHODS
THE BASICS

Research Methods: The Basics is an accessible, user-friendly introduction to
the different aspects of research theory, methods and practice. This second
edition provides an expanded resource suitable for students and practitioners
in a wide range of disciplines including the natural sciences, social sciences
and humanities. Structured in two parts – the first covering the nature of
knowledge and the reasons for research, the second the specific methods used
to carry out effective research and how to propose, plan, carry out and write
up a research project – this book covers:

• Reasons for doing a research project
• Structuring and planning a research project
• The ethical issues involved in research
• Different types of data and how they are measured
• Collecting and analysing qualitative and quantitative data in order to
draw sound conclusions
• Mixed methods and interdisciplinary research
• Devising a research proposal and writing up the research
• Motivation and quality of work.
Complete with a glossary of key terms and guides to further reading, this
book is an essential text for anyone coming to research for the first time.
Nicholas Walliman is Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture at
Oxford Brookes University, UK.
THE BASICS

For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/The-
Basics/book-series/B
ANIMAL ETHICS
TONY MILLIGAN
ARCHAEOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)
CLIVE GAMBLE
THE BIBLE AND LITERATURE
NORMAN W. JONES
BRITISH POLITICS
BILL JONES
CAPITALISM
DAVID COATES
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
MURRAY RAE
FINANCE (THIRD EDITION)
ERIK BANKS
FOLKLORE
SIMON J. BRONNER
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
SANDIE TAYLOR
JAPAN
CHRISTOPHER P. HOOD
LANGUAGE (SECOND EDITION)
R.L. TRASK
MEN AND MASCULINITIY
NIGEL EDLEY
NARRATIVE
BRONWEN THOMAS
POETRY (THIRD EDITION)
JEFFREY WAINWRIGHT
THE QUR’AN (SECOND EDITION)
MASSIMO CAMPANINI
RESEARCH METHODS (SECOND EDITION)
NICHOLAS WALLIMAN
RESEARCH METHODS
THE BASICS

Second edition
Nicholas Walliman
Second edition published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Nicholas Walliman
The right of Nicholas Walliman to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2011
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Names: Walliman, Nicholas, author.
Title: Research methods: the basics/by Nicholas Walliman.
Description: 2nd edition. | Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge,
2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017012356 | ISBN 9781138693982 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781138693999 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315529011 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Social sciences–Research–Methodology. | Humanities–
Research–Methodology.
Classification: LCC H62.W254 2018 | DDC 001.4/2–dc23LC record
available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2017012356
ISBN 978-1-138-69398-2 (hbk)
ISBN 978-1-138-69399-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-52901-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Sunrise Setting Ltd, Brixham, UK
To Ursula