The Good Research Guide: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects (UK Higher Education OUP Humanities & Social Sciences Study S)

The Good Research Guide is a best-selling introductory book on the basics of social research. Abstract: Focuses on the basics of social research. This book provides practical and straightforward guidance for those who need to conduct small-scale research projects as part of their undergraduate, postgraduate or professional studies. Read more... Content: The Good Research Guide: For small-scale social research projects The Good Research Guide Summary of contents Contents List of tables and figures Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1 Strategies for social research What are research strategies? Which strategy to choose? Checklist for the choice of research strategy 1 Surveys What is a survey? Types of survey Which type of survey to choose? Postal surveys Face-to-face surveys Group-administered surveys Telephone surveys Internet surveys Web-based questionnaire surveys Social network sites Facebook surveys. The research populationResponse rates How to achieve good response rates Non-response bias Advantages of surveys Disadvantages of surveys Further reading Checklist for the use of surveys 2 Sampling Representative samples and exploratory samples Probability sampling and non-probability sampling Sampling frames Probability sampling techniques Non-probability sampling techniques Which sampling technique should be used? Size of the sample Advantages of sampling Disadvantages of sampling Further reading Checklist for the use of sampling 3 Case studies What is a 'case'? The case study approachThe purpose of a case study Selecting a case Can you generalize from a case study? Advantages of the case study approach Disadvantages of the case study approach Further reading Checklist for the use of case studies 4 Experiments What is an experiment? When to use an experiment Types of experiment Experiments involving people -- the observer effect Causal relationships and variables The use of controls Control groups Blind trials True experiments and quasi-experiments Advantages of experiments Disadvantages of experiments Further reading. Checklist for the experimental approach5 Ethnography What is ethnography? The alien, the exotic and the routine Life on the Internet Life history Access to fieldwork settings Description and theory Reflexivity: ethnographers as part of the world they seek to describe Putting the researcher's 'self' into ethnographicresearch Advantages of ethnography Disadvantages of ethnography Further reading Checklist for ethnographic research 6 Phenomenology What is the phenomenological approach? Experience The everyday world Seeing things through the eyes of others. The social construction of realityMultiple realities Description The suspension of common-sense beliefs Members' accounts Types of phenomenology: underlying essences or actual experiences Advantages of phenomenology Disadvantages of phenomenology Further reading Checklist for phenomenology 7 Grounded theory What is the grounded theory approach? When is the grounded theory approach useful? Starting grounded theory research Theoretical sampling: the selection of sites for fieldwork Completing the research (theoretical saturation) Methods of data collection Analysing the data. This book encourages project researchers to choose strategies and methods that are likely to work best in the context of the topic they are trying to investigate and the circumstances in which the research is being conducted. The decisions and choices that project researchers make occur against a backdrop of two 'paradigms' of social research - two 'schools of thought'. The two paradigms for social research are commonly known as the positivist paradigm and the interpretivist paradigm. The positivist paradigm applies the natural science model of research to investigations of the social world. Social reality is treated in a similar way to physical reality as something that exists independently 'out there' with properties that can be studied scientifically. This allows the researcher to adopt an objective, detached approach to the study of social phenomena. The focus is generally on facts and figures relating to the causes and consequences of phenomena in the social world, and the approach tends to be associated with the use of quantitative data and statistics. The interpretivist paradigm, by contrast, challenges the idea that social researchers can view things from an objective position. It sees social reality as something that is subjectively constructed by people's thoughts and actions. This means that social researchers can never hope to be totally objective. They must always be 'insiders' - part and parcel of the social reality they are studying. A consequence is that, from this perspective, the role of social research must be to interpret social phenomena, recognizing that researchers' thinking will be shaped to some extent or other by their own experiences and identities as members of the social world within which their work takes place. The aim of research is to develop insights into people's beliefs and their lived experiences, and the approach tends to be associated with the use of qualitative data (text and images) The Good Research Guide by bestselling author Martyn Denscombe has established itself as THE introductory book on the basics of social research. It provides practical and straightforward guidance for those who need to conduct small-scale research projects as part of their undergraduate, postgraduate or professional studies. This brand new fifth edition has been thoroughly updated and revised throughout and includes new material on: The use of social media in research, including guidelines on the use of social networking sites; More on internet research and how to run online surveys; How to conduct systematic literature reviews; Getting good response rates to a survey; Writing research reports; Research ethics. Retaining the clear, friendly and practical approach that has made the book a must for student researchers, the new edition includes many helpful learning features such as "at a glance" summaries in "Key Points" boxes, helpful "Checklists" to guide good practice and handy "Link-ups" between key topics across the book. Every chapter provides up-to-date further reading lists to help you develop your knowledge and research skills.-- Provided by publisher " ... Introductory book on the basics of social research. It provides practical and straightforward guidance for those who need to conduct small-scale research projects as part of their undergraduate, postgraduate or professional studies. ... includes new material on: the use of social media in research, including guidelines on the use of social networking sites; more on internet research and how to run online surveys; how to conduct sytematic literature reviews; getting good response rates to a survey; writing research reports; research ethics. ... an invaluable resource for anyone conducting social research including those in applied areas such as business studies, health studies, nursing, education, social work, policy studies, marketing, media studies and criminology."--Back cover The Good Research Guide Provides Practical And Straightforward Guidance For Those Who Need To Conduct Small-scale Research Projects As Part Of Their Undergraduate, Postgraduate Or Professional Studies, Covering All The Major Issues And Concerns From Start To Finish. This Brand New 5th Edition Is Thoroughly Updated Throughout And Includes Developments In Research Such As The Use Of Social Media, Internet Research And Online Surveys.