Practical and concise, this is the essential guide to writing effective reports. It shows students how to tailor report structures and conventions to different audiences and purposes and how to manage changes in format and requirements, so that they have the tools and understanding to write reports with confidence. It includes real-life examples of student reports to illustrate the features of good report writing, and a comprehensive checklist to keep students on track. This is an invaluable resource for students of all levels who are required to write reports as part of their course. New to this Edition: - Contains a new section on demonstrating critical analysis in the key parts of a report, including the literature review, methodology and findings - Additional guidance on effective writing style
If you are a trainee teacher or experienced practitioner new to research, or are simply wondering how to get started on your education research project, this practical book will be your guide. The authors offer simple steps to ensure that you ask the key questions in the most effective way possible. The book guides you through the entire research process: from clarifying the context and conceptual background, to presenting and analysing the evidence gathered. Supported by examples, checklists and diagrams, this fully revised and updated edition includes a wealth of information on: Research design Evidence gathering techniques Practitioner research Ethics Data analysis techniques. This book will be valuable to anyone begining a research or a professional or a professional or school development project, whatever stage they are at within the teaching community, from training for QTS, higher degree, or in need of evidence-backed decisions for the strategic development of their school.
Reflecting recent knowledge and developments in the field, this very practical, easy-to-use guide emphasizes learning how to do case study research—from the first step of deciding whether a case study is the way to go to the last step of verifying and confirming findings before disseminating them. The authors show students how to determine an appropriate research design, conduct informative interviews, record observations, document analyses, delineate ways to confirm case study findings, describe methods for deriving meaning from data, and communicate their findings. Featuring many new examples, the Third Edition offers step-by-step guidance to help beginning researchers through the stages of planning and implementing a thesis, dissertation, or independent project. This succinct “how-to” guide is an excellent place for anyone to begin doing case study research. Book Features: Straightforward introduction to the science of doing case study research. A step-by-step approach that speaks directly to the novice investigator. Many concrete examples to illustrate key concepts. Questions, illustrations, and activities to reinforce what has been learned.
"Comprising more than 500 entries, the Encyclopedia of Research Design explains how to make decisions about research design, undertake research projects in an ethical manner, interpret and draw valid inferences from data, and evaluate experiment design strategies and results. Two additional features carry this encyclopedia far above other works in the field: bibliographic entries devoted to significant articles in the history of research design and reviews of contemporary tools, such as software and statistical procedures, used to analyze results. It covers the spectrum of research design strategies, from material presented in introductory classes to topics necessary in graduate research; it addresses cross- and multidisciplinary research needs, with many examples drawn from the social and behavioral sciences, neurosciences, and biomedical and life sciences; it provides summaries of advantages and disadvantages of often-used strategies; and it uses hundreds of sample tables, figures, and equations based on real-life cases."--Publisher's description.
Communication research is evolving and changing in a world of online journals, open-access, and new ways of obtaining data and conducting experiments via the Internet. Although there are generic encyclopedias describing basic social science research methodologies in general, until now there has been no comprehensive A-to-Z reference work exploring methods specific to communication and media studies. Our entries, authored by key figures in the field, focus on special considerations when applied specifically to communication research, accompanied by engaging examples from the literature of communication, journalism, and media studies. Entries cover every step of the research process, from the creative development of research topics and questions to literature reviews, selection of best methods (whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) for analyzing research results and publishing research findings, whether in traditional media or via new media outlets. In addition to expected entries covering the basics of theories and methods traditionally used in communication research, other entries discuss important trends influencing the future of that research, including contemporary practical issues students will face in communication professions, the influences of globalization on research, use of new recording technologies in fieldwork, and the challenges and opportunities related to studying online multi-media environments. Email, texting, cellphone video, and blogging are shown not only as topics of research but also as means of collecting and analyzing data. Still other entries delve into considerations of accountability, copyright, confidentiality, data ownership and security, privacy, and other aspects of conducting an ethical research program. Features: 652 signed entries are contained in an authoritative work spanning four volumes available in choice of electronic or print formats. Although organized A-to-Z, front matter includes a Reader’s Guide grouping entries thematically to help students interested in a specific aspect of communication research to more easily locate directly related entries. Back matter includes a Chronology of the development of the field of communication research; a Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and associations; a Glossary introducing the terminology of the field; and a detailed Index. Entries conclude with References/Further Readings and Cross-References to related entries to guide students further in their research journeys. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross-References combine to provide robust search-and-browse in the e-version.
"Reporting standards are guidelines that describe how to communicate findings clearly in journal articles so that readers can access and understand the story of the research endeavor. Recognizing that reporting standards can aid authors in the process of writing and evaluating manuscripts and editors and reviewers in the process of evaluating those manuscripts, the Publications and Communications (PC) Board of the American Psychological Association (APA) invited two task forces of researchers to develop standards for reporting quantitative and qualitative research in journal articles. The Quantitative Journal Article Reporting Standards Working Group developed standards for quantitative research, and a separate book details those standards. This book discusses the reporting standards. It permits the space to expand on the ideas in those standards and to articulate the rationale behind each. It articulates decisions one may need to make as an author as one decides how to present their work. It also provides examples to illustrate a strong presentation style, and these can serve as helpful models. It provides the conceptual undergirding for the reporting decisions that authors make during the writing process. The book considers the typical sections of a qualitative research paper#x1B;b7#x1B;(Bthe introductory sections, Method, Results, and Discussion. Guidance is provided for how to best present qualitative research, with rationales and illustrations. The book presents reporting standards for qualitative meta-analyses, which are integrative analyses of findings from across primary qualitative research. The book includes a discussion of objectivist and constructivist rhetorical styles in research reporting."--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Describes in general how scientists can use handwritten research notebooks as a tool to record their research in progress, and in particular the legal protocols for industrial scientists to handwrite their research in progress so they can establish priority of invention in case a patent suit arises.
Health services research has suffered because of unrealistic expecta- tions of what it could provide in the way of easy answers for policy- makers in the health field. There are no quick fixes for problems of health manpower and distribution or cost containment. This means that it is enourmously important to know much more than we do about the complex variety of factors affecting our health care system if we are to make sensible policy decisions. We need to know what we are talk- ing about, and for this reason the report gives a proper definition of health services research. Health services research is a field and not a discipline and this means that by its very nature it is multi- disciplinary. The report strongly supports the continuation of the national center for health services research without either reorgani- zation or relocation.
One of the pathways by which the scientific community confirms the validity of a new scientific discovery is by repeating the research that produced it. When a scientific effort fails to independently confirm the computations or results of a previous study, some fear that it may be a symptom of a lack of rigor in science, while others argue that such an observed inconsistency can be an important precursor to new discovery. Concerns about reproducibility and replicability have been expressed in both scientific and popular media. As these concerns came to light, Congress requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct a study to assess the extent of issues related to reproducibility and replicability and to offer recommendations for improving rigor and transparency in scientific research. Reproducibility and Replicability in Science defines reproducibility and replicability and examines the factors that may lead to non-reproducibility and non-replicability in research. Unlike the typical expectation of reproducibility between two computations, expectations about replicability are more nuanced, and in some cases a lack of replicability can aid the process of scientific discovery. This report provides recommendations to researchers, academic institutions, journals, and funders on steps they can take to improve reproducibility and replicability in science.
