Look Inside
Learn the essentials of research
Research Methods was written as a “digestible” overview of how appropriate and useful research might be undertaken.? In the context of this book, research is not just something that happens in a laboratory though. Research is something we all do in our day to day life, whenever we seek information and then digest that information. More formal research happens at one time or another in all industries.? Whenever a new product or service is developed, there should normally be some formal or informal research undertaken upon which to base decisions. When you invest time or money in anything, you will make better decisions if you undertake research, Students are challenged with research projects as part of their daily studies.
This book is designed to give the reader a broad overview of the subject. Read it from start to finish, to gain a better sense of how research of anything can and should be approached. It has been kept small enough to be feasibly read in one or two sittings, so that you can gain that broad, balanced perspective on the subject. Some research books are too large to do that, hence by the time you get to the end, you have largely forgotten what you read at the start. Some research books are too focussed, with a bias toward one discipline or one type of research (eg. Qualitative or Quantitative). In this respect, this book can provide a different perspective on research to what might be found in other texts.
It is a useful quick reference, as well as a useful one sitting read.
Contents:
CHAPTER 1 WHY WE DO RESEARCH
What is Research
Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed methods research
Reliability and Validity in Research
Using Case Studies
CHAPTER 2 DESIGNING RESEARCH – RATIONALE, AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESIS
What Is a Rationale
Defining Aims
Research Objectives
The Hypothesis
Types of Hypothesis
CHAPTER 3 DESIGNING RESEARCH – CONDUCTING LITERATURE REVIEWS
Importance of Literature Reviews
Conducting a Literature Review
Bias in Literature Reviews
Writing a Literature Review
Different Types of Literature Review
CHAPTER 4 DESIGNING RESEARCH - DATA COLLECTION
Primary And Secondary Data
Simulation Experiments
Selecting Participants
Types of Samples
Why do we need samples
Experimental Designs
Independent measures
Repeated measures
Matched Pairs Design
Ethics Committees
Psychology
Horticulture and Agriculture
Scientific Responsibility
Animal Research
Action Research Vs Design-Based Research
Data Collection
Ontology, Epistemology, Axiology, Research Paradigm
Qualitative Research Methods
Mixed Methods Design
CHAPTER 5 DATA ANALYSIS?
Using Statistics – Why Are Statistics Important
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
Continuous and Discrete Data
Variance
Advanced Statistics
ANOVA
Describing Results in Written Form
Qualitative Data Analysis
CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Describing Your Findings
Ethical Issues
Evaluating Work
Access To Information
CHAPTER 7 LEGAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH
Intellectual Property
Legal Issues
Who owns I.P.
Collaboration, Commercialisation, other issues
Trademarks & Patents