A Gentle Guide to Research Methods

Half title
......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copy right......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
List of Figures......Page 10
Preamble......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 14
The structure of this book: research design, data collection and data analysis......Page 16
Taught degree projects: what they are, things to watch out for, and practical points......Page 18
PhD second studies: what happens when your first study changes your plans......Page 23
Strategies and principles: demonstrating excellence, exploring territory rather than trying to prove a hunch, avoiding trouble, and learning from the wise......Page 25
Choosing a topic, or cups of coffee, easy pickings and blaming others......Page 30
Departments, systems and supervisors: how to behave like a professional, get a good reference, and avoid needless trouble......Page 34
‘How do I get a good mark?’ – things that can send out the wrong signal, and how to avoid these......Page 37
Academic writing: why it’s different from other writing, and how to do it well......Page 40
Doing a good project: summary......Page 45
Research: introduction to the nature of research, and types of research......Page 46
Research questions, and the nature of evidence: deciding what type of question to ask, and how to handle the various types of answer......Page 52
Mud pits and how to avoid them: things that go wrong......Page 57
Isms: necessary assumptions, dubious assumptions, and being caught in crossfire......Page 60
Searching the literature: why, where, what for and how......Page 63
Research in society – agendas, context and the like: things we take for granted, and things that can cause you trouble......Page 71
Types of design: which to use and how to use them......Page 75
Surveys and sampling......Page 82
Field experiments: doing research in the world......Page 85
Controlled experiments: changing things systematically and seeing what happens......Page 88
Summary and technical terms......Page 93
Arranging a study: subjects, equipment, procedures, things to remember, things to beware......Page 95
Location and kit......Page 101
Handling subjects......Page 102
Recording......Page 104
Data collection methods: the methods, and choosing and using the appropriate method......Page 108
Reports: getting respondents to talk about how things happen......Page 115
Observation: watching what happens......Page 124
Card sorts: getting respondents to categorise things......Page 130
Laddering: unpacking the respondents’ concepts systematically......Page 136
Repertory grids: a systematic representation for respondents’ knowledge......Page 145
Interviews: asking people questions......Page 150
Face-to-face interactions with respondents: the nuts and bolts of asking questions......Page 152
Questionnaires: when to use, when not to use, which questions to ask, what format to use......Page 156
Content analysis: what is said in a text, how it is said, and how often it’s said......Page 167
Discourse analysis: who says what, about what, to whom, in what format......Page 174
Knowledge representation: formats, structures and concepts for making sense of knowledge......Page 176
Statistics: describing things with numbers, and assessing the odds......Page 183
Descriptive statistics: giving a systematic description of the numbers you’ve found......Page 186
Measurement theory: types of measurement and their implications......Page 196
Inferential statistics: what are the odds against your findings being due to random chance?......Page 201
Writing up: demonstrating your excellence efficiently, and practical points to remember......Page 214
References and referencing: using and citing the right texts to demonstrate your excellence......Page 224
What next? thinking forward about what you really want your life to be......Page 228
Bibliography......Page 234
Glossary......Page 238
Sources of quotations......Page 242
Index......Page 244