Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers

317 Pages·2014·6.129 MB·English

by  Bell, Judith, Waters, Stephen

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Step-by-Step advice on completing de
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through to completion of your final written research report. Y g, C
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Thoroughly updated but retaining its well-loved style, this 6th edition provides: a guide for Projecti U
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researchers .6
crowdsourcing, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook e 2.1
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• Guidance on searching efficiently and effectively online using Google Scholar, r Over /18
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Google Books and library databases and on correctly citing online sources c 285,000 6]. C
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• Advice on creating online surveys for your research project, plus new material on h py
using Skype and Google Hangouts for online interviewing. cOpies sOld! righ
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To support your learning, each chapter contains introductory key points, “Dead End” r c
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boxes to warn of pitfalls, “Success” checklists and further reading sections. o raw
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This practical, no-nonsense guide is vital reading for all those embarking on j ill G
undergraduate or postgraduate study in any discipline, and for professionals in such e lob
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fields as social science, education and health. c l E
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Judith Bell’s career in education began as a university lecturer, head of department tio
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and then vice principal in Further Education. After positions at the Open University as a 6 Ho
senior counsellor and course team writer, she became one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors th lding
of Schools, specializing in continuing education. In 1997, she was awarded both the MBE E s, L
for services to educational research and the degree of D.Univ by the Open University for d LC
services to adult education. itio . Not to
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stephen Waters has 35 years’ experience in education, as a secondary teacher, head e
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of department, Assistant Head Teacher and a Secondary English Consultant with a local d
authority. He holds an Advanced Diploma in Educational Management and an MA in Be istrib
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ww.hybertdesign.com juDith Bell with stePhen Watersithout permission
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Doing Your Research Project 2.1
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Doing Your 2.1
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A Guide for t ©
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First-time Researchers ra
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Judith Bell s, L
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Open University Press ac
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McGraw-Hill Education lty
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McGraw-Hill House f N
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email: [email protected] iv
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world wide web: www.openup.co.uk rsity
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and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA 2.1
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First published 1987 17
Second edition published 1993 ] at [0
Third edition published 1999 7
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Fourth edition published 2005 8/1
Fifth edition published 2010 6]. C
First published in this sixth edition 2014 o
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Copyright © Judith Bell with Stephen Waters, 2014 ht ©
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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes cG
of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a raw
rceatlr, ipehvoatl oscyospteymin,g o, rr tercaonrsdminigtt eodr ,o itnh aenrwy ifsoer,m w oitrh boyu ta tnhye m periaonrs w, erliettcetnro pneicrm, misesciohna noif- -Hill G
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the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of b
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such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright l E
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Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS. c
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A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library H
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ISBN-13: 978-0-335-26446-9 s, L
ISBN-10: 0-335-26446-8 L
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eISBN: 978-0-335-26447-6 . N
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CIP data applied for re
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Cover and internal illustrations by Clare Wood istribu
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Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data that may ified
be used herein (in case studies or in examples) are not intended to represent any in a
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real individual, company, product or event. y
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Brief Table of Contents lty
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Acknowledgements x a
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Introduction 1 rsity
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PART I Preparing the Ground 5 .1
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1 Approaches to Research 8 7] a
2 Planning the Project 28 t [0
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3 Ethics and Integrity in Research 46 /1
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4 Reading, Referencing and the Management of ]. C
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Information 65 yrig
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5 Literature Searching 87 t ©
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6 The Review of the Literature 104 cG
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PART II Selecting Methods of Data Collection 119 ill G
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7 The Analysis of Documentary Evidence 125 al E
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8 Using Social Media in Research 141 c
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9 Designing and Administering Questionnaires 156 n H
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10 Planning and Conducting Interviews 177 ldin
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11 Diaries, Logs, Critical Incidents and Blogs 195 s, L
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12 Observation 210 . N
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PART III Interpreting the Evidence and Reporting re
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the Findings 227 istrib
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13 Interpreting the Evidence and Reporting the Findings 229 ted
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14 Writing the Report 256 r m
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Glossary 274 in
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References 284 w
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Index 297 w
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Acknowledgements x a
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Introduction 1 e
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PART I Preparing the Ground 5 .6
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1 Approaches to Research 8 .15
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Styles of research 9 .1
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Action research and the role of practitioner researchers 10 7] a
Case study 11 t [0
Survey 14 7/1
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The experimental style 15 /1
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Ethnography and the ethnographic style of research 17 ]. C
The grounded theory approach 18 op
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Narrative inquiry and stories 20 rig
Which approach? 23 ht ©
Laying the Groundwork Checklist 24 M
Further reading 25 cG
2 Planning the Project 28 raw
Selecting a topic 29 -H
Getting started 29 ill G
The purpose of the study 32 lob
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Hypotheses, objectives and researchable questions 33 l E
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Working title and the project outline 34 uc
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Timing 35 tio
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Supervision 36 H
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Student–supervisor relationships 37 ld
Codes of practice for supervision 38 ing
Change of supervisor 38 s, L
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Keeping records of supervisory tutorials 39 C
The research experience 40 . No
Writing as you go along and the research diary 40 t to
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Planning the Project Checklist 41 e
Further reading 44 red
3 Ethics and Integrity in Research 46 istrib
Research contracts, codes of practice, protocols and the ute
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principle of informed consent 47 o
Ethics committees 49 r m
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CSaofnefgidueanrtdiianlgit yc oannfdid aennotniaylmityit ay nd anonymity if disseminating 51 dified
information online 52 in a
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Ethical research in practice, the problems of ‘inside’ research and y
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personal codes of practice 55 a
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Codes of ethical practice relating to intellectual ownership/property 59 w
Ethics and Integrity in Research Checklist 60 itho
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Further reading 63 t p
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DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS vii n
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4 Reading, Referencing and the Management of Information 65 ac
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Reading 66 lty
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Note-taking 67 f N
NReofteer-etankciinngg and guarding against plagiarism 7607 ursin
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Creating, editing and storing references 74 , C
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Backing-up: better safe than sorry 76 ia
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Making a note of references 76 m
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The management of information 77 i U
A lot of fuss about nothing? 81 niv
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Reaanddin tgh, eN Motaen-taagkeinmge, nGt uoafr Idnifnogr magaatiionnst C Phlaegckialirsits m, Referencing 82 rsity 5
Further reading 85 .62
5 Literature Searching 87 .15
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Defining the parameters of your search (search limiters) and keywords 88 .11
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Focusing, refining and grouping your keywords 90 ] a
Digital or print? 90 t [0
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Libraries, librarians – and books 91 /1
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Google search 91 /1
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Google Books 93 ]. C
Journals 95 op
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Evaluating sources 97 rig
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Copyright and licensing restrictions when downloading items t ©
from the web 98 M
The Top Ten Guide to Searching the Internet Checklist 99 cG
Further reading 103 raw
6 TThhee ‘cRreitvicieawl r eovfie twh’e o fL tihtee rlaitteuraretu re 110045 -Hill G
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Theory and theoretical (or conceptual) frameworks 106 b
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The ‘critical review’ in practice 109 l E
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Reviewing the reviews 112 uc
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Review of the Literature Checklist 113 tio
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Further reading 115 H
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P 7A RTTh eII ASneallyescitsi nogf DMoectuhmodesn toafr yD aEtvaid Ceonlcleec tion 112195 gs, LL
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The nature of documentary evidence 126 . N
AThpep rloocaacthieosn toof ddooccuummeennttss 112276 ot to b
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The selection of documents 131 re
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TFahcet c orrit ibciaals ?a nalysis of documents 113346 istrib
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The Analysis of Documentary Evidence Checklist 137 te
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Further reading 139 or m
8 Using Social Media in Research 141 o
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Social media and the research process 143 ifie
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Using social media in research 146 in
Summary 153 an
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Using Social Media in Research Checklist 153 w
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Further reading 154 y w
9 Designing and Administering Questionnaires 156 ith
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Exactly what do you need to find out? 158 u
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Question types 158 ac
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Question wording 160 lty
Appearance and layout 165 of N
Drawing a sample 166 u
Piloting the questionnaire 167 rsin
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Distribution and return of questionnaires 168 , C
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The rights of respondents and your rights and responsibilities 169 ia
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Non-response 169 gm
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Analysis of data 170 i U
Designing and Administering Questionnaires Checklist 170 niv
10 FPulartnhneirn rge aadnindg Conducting Interviews 117775 ersity 5
Advantages and disadvantages of the interview 178 .62
The ethics of conducting interviews 178 .15
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Question wording 179 .1
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The interview schedule 179 7] a
Group interviews and focus groups 182 t [0
Recording interviews 184 7/1
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Skype and Google Hangouts 185 /1
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Bias – the old enemy 186 ]. C
Remember! 187 op
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Planning and Conducting Interviews Checklist 189 rig
Further reading 192 ht ©
11 Diaries, Logs, Critical Incidents and Blogs 195 M
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Representativeness 198 G
The diary-interview method 198 raw
PFiivloet icnags ere sttuurdnise sfo rms and instructions to participants 210909 -Hill G
The ethics of diary use 204 lob
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Blogs 205 l E
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Diaries, Logs, Critical Incidents and Blogs Checklist 206 uc
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Further reading 208 tio
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12 Observation 210 H
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Unstructured observation 212 ld
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Participant observation 212 g
Structured observation and keeping records 214 s, L
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Recording behaviour 215 C. N
Content 218 o
A few words of warning – again 219 t to
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After the event 220 e re
Observation Checklist 221 d
Further reading 223 istrib
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PART III Interpreting the Evidence and Reporting o
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the Findings 227 o
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13 Interpreting the Evidence and Reporting the Findings 229 ifie
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List questions 230 in
Quantity and category questions 233 an
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Measures of central tendency 233 w
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Coding 239 y w
Grids 242 ith
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Scales 243 u
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DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS ix n
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Verbal questions 250 ac
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Conclusions 250 lty
Interpreting the Evidence and Reporting the Findings Checklist 251 of N
Further reading 253 u
14 Writing the Report 256 rsin
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Getting started 257 , C
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The final writing task 257 ia
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Structuring the report 259 m
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The need for revision 265 i U
Any possibility of plagiarism? 267 niv
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EWvariltuinagti ntgh ey oRuerp oorwt nC rheescekalriscth 226679 rsity 5
Further reading 272 .62
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Glossary 274 .11
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References 284 ] a
Index 297 t [0
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Acknowledgements lty
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I have been helped throughout the preparation of all six editions of a
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this book by the interest of friends, colleagues and former research n
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stuId eanmts pwahroti chualvaer lgyi vgerna tsetfruoln gto s uSptpeoprhte inn oWftaetne drsif, fiacnu lot utitmsteasn.ding ersity 5
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former research student. Stephen has supported me in the writing of 2.1
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this edition with invaluable work on reading, drafting and updating 8.1
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chapters and his collaboration has been a real asset. He also contrib- 7] a
uted the new Chapter 8, ‘Using social media in research’, to this sixth t [0
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edition, which provides an introduction to how social networks can /18
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be harnessed to enhance the research process. 6]. C
Brendan Duffy, another exceptional former student, wrote o
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Chapter 7. ‘The analysis of documentary evidence’, included in this rig
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and earlier editions. I am very grateful for his continued contribution. t ©
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My thanks to Gilbert Fan, Singaporean-based former postgrad- c
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uate student of the University of Sheffield, who permitted me to ra
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quote parts of his MEd literature review in Chapter 6 and to John -H
Richardson and Alan Woodley, both of the British Open University, ill G
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who have again given me permission to quote from their journal arti- al E
cle, ‘Another look at the role of age, gender and subject as predic- du
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tors of academic attainment in higher education’ (Richardson and tio
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Woodley 2003). H
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I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of two friends, ldin
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Jan Gray, who provided the narrative inquiry sections in Chapter 1, s, L
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and Katie Waterhouse, who supplied the ‘Top ten guide to Internet C
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searching’ in Chapter 5. My thanks to you both. o
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In my experience, I have found that good librarians generally b
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know everything about most things and so I ‘persuaded’ Richard re
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Pears, co-author of Cite Them Right (Pears and Shields 2013) and istrib
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faculty support librarian at Durham University library, to read and te
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comment on Chapter 5 (‘Literature searching’) when I drafted it for or m
the fifth edition. He commented in great detail and also brought me od
up to date about online search facilities in libraries – and a great deal ified
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more. My apologies for this imposition Richard, but also my thanks. a
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Long-suffering Fred Bell once again took on the boring task w
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of reading all the scripts and checking that the figures, tables, y w
graphs and the like matched the texts. As usual he winced at what itho
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he regarded as some of my oversimplifications and ‘unscientific’ t p
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