This book will be a practical, hands-on book for all undergraduate and graduate students who wish to learn how to conduct research. This book has several resources, examples, outlines, and case situations illustrating how to design a study and conduct research, especially educational research. This book is a no-nonsense approach that can be used by any educator – early childhood, elementary and secondary, pre-service teacher programs, in-service teacher development programs, and at the graduate university level in educational research courses. The research methods presented can be used by all educators in solving educational problems and making school improvements. While the book covers quantitative and quantitative methods, it especially focuses on action research a viable strategy for addressing educational issues and how it can also be fun and satisfying for an educator. Learn data collection methods, data analysis and interpretation, planning and initiating action, and evaluating research studies.
This book is unique in the sense that it presents a broad and dynamic research narrative, which is filled with phenomena, issues and challenges facing researchers in various disciplines, cultural contexts, linguistic and ethical discourses. The content of the book is addressing three overarching research issues: What are the diverse challenges, opportunities, and limitations different cohorts of individuals face? Why and how do these cohorts respond to these challenges, opportunities, and limitations? How, where, when, and why do researchers interact with these challenges and what have they learned from their investigations? One of the strengths of this edited book is, each of the contributors has explored these three issues from a somewhat unique perspective, but collectively they provide a rich discourse and milieu around the purpose of research and how and why it is conducted and interpreted within a contemporary multimodal context. Across all the chapters the contributions have focused on the process of researching and as a consequence there are two recurring discourses identified.The first discourse relates to conducting the research and involves topics, such as methodology, ethics, research populations, assessment, data, and linguistic complexity. The second discourse is around the researchers, because they are the lens through which their research is conceived, guided, articulated, and interpreted. For too long now, too many books about research, particularly social science related research, have been locked into a narrow discourse around the benefits of either qualitative or quantitative research methods. While this topic is explored in this text, it is not dominated by this one, rather artificial dichotomy. What is exciting about the book is its diversity and the range of dichotomies that are explored and the range of contexts and issues that are reviewed. There is a strong narrative quality throughout the chapters where the voice of the researchers and their purpose is amplified. The book is of special interest to research-orientated students as well as to those who want to learn more about conducting research in a challenging discourse of diverse paradigms.
Conducting Research in Conservation is the first textbook on social science research methods written specifically for use in the expanding and increasingly multidisciplinary field of environmental conservation. The first section on planning a research project includes chapters on the need for social science research in conservation, defining a research topic, methodology, and sampling. Section two focuses on practical issues in carrying out fieldwork with local communities, from fieldwork preparation and data collection to the relationships between the researcher and the study community. Section three provides an in-depth focus on a range of social science methods including standard qualitative and quantitative methods such as participant observation, interviewing and questionnaires, and more advanced methods, such as ethnobiological methods for documenting local environmental knowledge and change, and participatory methods such as the ‘PRA’ toolbox. Section four then demonstrates how to analyze social science data qualitatively and quantitatively; and the final section outlines the writing-up process and what should happen after the end of the formal research project. This book is a comprehensive and accessible guide to social science research methods for students of conservation related subjects and practitioners trained in the natural sciences. It features practical worldwide examples of conservation-related research in different ecosystems such as forests; grasslands; marine and riverine systems; and farmland. Boxes provide definitions of key terms, practical tips, and brief narratives from students and practitioners describe the practical issues that they have faced in the field.
Evaluating and Conducting Research in Audiology is the first research methods textbook that is specific to the field of audiology and designed to serve as an academic textbook for audiology graduate students. This text can also be accessible for audiology practitioners who are interested in clinical and applied research. The comprehensive coverage includes materials for multiple courses within audiology degree programs, including research methods, analysis of professional literature, evidence-based practice, and capstone research projects. Classroom tested, and written by authors who have extensive backgrounds in publishing and editing, this text provides knowledge that is required in evaluating, conducting, and disseminating research. The book is separated into three sections: (a) research methods; (b) evidence-based practice; and (c) conducting and disseminating research. Together, these sections provide a detailed coverage of the research methods that are relevant to conducting research, particularly in the field of Audiology. Key Features: * Learning outcomes at the beginning of each chapter * End of chapter reviews including key points and study questions * Audiology-specific examples, research methods, and study designs * “Golden Nugget” boxes throughout the book containing valuable information related to the critical concepts * In-depth discussion of qualitative research methods, survey research methods, and systematic reviews to motivate students and early career researchers to consider these methodologies in their research
Conducting Educational Research: Guide for Completing a Major Project provides concise, accurate guidance through the entire research process, from developing and focusing research questions, to searching the existing literature, to selecting the most appropriate research design, measurement, and analyses, to interpretation and communication of outcomes. Each chapter represents a step in the process and begins by with a concise overview of the topic. Each chapter includes features and activities that ensure the researcher is asking the right questions and producing a quality project.
A Guide to Conducting Research: A Student Handbook is a must-read for students in higher education institutions. The book is specifically aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate researchers. The information included will equip readers with an appreciation of research topics, designs, methods, and research reporting for academic purposes. The handbook can also be used as a tool by lecturers and professors who are either teaching research methods courses, or are supervising students doing projects, dissertations, or theses. The overall purpose is to provide students with the information and skills needed to complete a research report at the undergraduate or post-graduate level. The handbook comprises eleven chapters, each with an introduction, body, and a summary meant to enhance understanding of the text.
Written at an introductory level, and featuring engaging case examples, this book reviews the theory and practice of personal and egocentric network research. This approach offers powerful tools for capturing the impact of overlapping, changing social relationships and contexts on individuals' attitudes and behavior. The authors provide solid guidance on the formulation of research questions; research design; data collection, including decisions about survey modes and sampling frames; the measurement of network composition and structure, including the use of name generators; and statistical modeling, from basic regression techniques to more advanced multilevel and dynamic models. Ethical issues in personal network research are addressed. User-friendly features include boxes on major published studies, end-of-chapter suggestions for further reading, and an appendix describing the main software programs used in the field.
For a company to embrace market research as a facilitator of change, it must be willing to take the approach that makes the most impact on its organization. That approach is the key in making a difference using market research. In this guide, author Anne Beall shares her unique procedure for conducting strategic market research. With more than fifteen years of experience in conducting market research, Beall details the strategic principles she has developed that impact the way in which market research can inspire and change an organization. Strategic Market Research discusses identifying the strategic questions that will help a business; using the right research techniques to answer these questions; obtaining the level of depth required to have insight; reading the nonverbal communications of research respondents when doing qualitative work; identifying the emotional aspects of human behavior; using statistical analyses to understand what drives markets; going beyond the data to interpret the results and make strategic recommendations. In addition to addressing both qualitative and quantitative research, Strategic Market Research provides real-life examples illustrating the application of these concepts in various scenarios, including businesses and non-profit organizations. Implementing the strategic approach from the beginning to the end of a project provides information that promotes change.
• Prepares students to conduct their first empirical research study, with quantitative and qualitative methods covered in detail. Common features as well as differences between the two research approaches are explored. • While theoretical material is included, the emphasis is on providing practical, easy-to-follow advice on how to conduct a first research project. • Unlike most texts with hypothetical examples, this text—with real examples written by a variety of published researchers—makes research methods come alive. Students see how research methods are used to explore important, contemporary problems. • Factual Questions at the end of each chapter help students review key concepts covered in the chapters. • Questions for Discussion encourage students to consider specific techniques and strategies that they might use while conducting their research.
"The authors did an excellent job of engaging students by being empathetic to their anxieties while taking a research design course. The authors also present a convincing case of the relevancies of research in daily life by showing how information was used or misused to affect our personal and professional decisions." —Cherng-Jyh Yen, George Washington University A practice-oriented, non-mathematical approach to understanding, planning, conducting, and interpreting research in education Practical and applied, Designing and Conducting Research in Education is the perfect first step for students who will be consuming research as well as for those who will be actively involved in conducting research. Readers will find up-to-date examinations of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research approaches which have emerged as important components in the toolbox of educational research. Real-world situations are presented in each chapter taking the reader through various challenges often encountered in the world of educational research. Key Features: Examines quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research approaches, which have emerged as important components in the toolbox of educational research Explains each step of the research process very practically to help students plan and conduct a research project in education Applies research in real-world situations by taking the reader through various challenges often encountered in field settings Includes a chapter on ethical issues in conducting research Provides a Student study site that offers the opportunity to interact with contemporary research articles in education Instructor Resources on CD provide a Computerized test bank, Sample Syllabi, General Teaching Tips and more Intended audience: This book provides an introduction to research that emphasizes the fundamental concepts of planning and design. The book is designed to be a core text for the very first course on research methods. In some fields the first course is offered at an undergraduate level whereas in others it is a beginning graduate class. "The book is perfect for introductory students. The language is top notch, the examples are helpful, and the graphic features (tables, figures) are uncomplicated and contain important information in an easy-to-understand format. Excellent text!" —John Huss, Northern Kentucky University "Designing and Conducting Research in Education is written in a style that is conducive to learning for the type of graduate students we teach here in the College of Education. I appreciate the 'friendly' tone and concise writing that the authors utilize." —Steven Harris, Tarleton State University "A hands on, truly accessible text on how to design and conduct research" —Joan P. Sebastian, National University
