Author: Zina O'Leary
Publisher: Sage Publications
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 226
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8178294923
Description
This book is a comprehensive and practical guide to understanding and embarking upon social science research. Adopting an accessible and logical approach, the book encourages students to understand, think about, and engage with every aspect of doing research.
It is based on the premise that just being able to make sense of, or even being a scholar of methods, is not enough to do research. The author stresses that all good research is a thinking game and that research needs to be accompanied by a constant assessment of one’s work with a view to making the best possible decisions for obtaining credible data and trustworthy results. To that end she invites readers to think for themselves about the research methods that are best suited to their project.
Designed to encourage lateral, strategic and creative thinking, while providing the essential knowledge and skills needed to undertake research, this book:
Covers all aspects of doing research, from conceptualization and design to implementation and dissemination
Highlights the creative and strategic thinking skills needed to negotiate the research process
Discusses strategies for collecting and analyzing a range of data types as required by the enquiry
Makes extensive use of figures and diagrams to illustrate key points and to provide clarity
Provides guidelines on how to navigate through the body of literature that already exists on research, and explores contentious issues such as power, politics, and ethics in research
This book is a must for all students and scholars across the social sciences who are embarking on, or already involved in, a research project.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research as a Creative and Strategic Thinking Process
Managing the Process
Developing Your Research Question
Exploring Power and Ethics in Research
Indicators of Good Research
Working with Literature
Methodological Design
Exploring Populations
Investigating Complexities of the Social World
Facilitating Change through Research
Data Collection
Data Management and Analysis
The Challenge of Writing-Up
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX