Table Of ContentTHE RESEARCHER’S
TOOLKIT
Designed for those undertaking research for the first time, this fully
updated edition of The Researcher’s Toolkit is a practical and accessi-
ble guide for all those partaking in small-scale research. Jargon-free and
assuming no prior knowledge, it covers the entire research process, from
defining a research topic or question through to its completion.
This second edition has been fully revised by a collaborating team with
a wealth of knowledge and practical experience in research project work.
Including activity boxes to highlight key concepts and short summary
boxes to indicate fundamental elements of various research areas, the
chapters cover:
The importance of research and framing your research question and
●
research ethics
Practical elements associated with planning and executing your
●
research activity
The application of survey-based research methods and the value pro-
●
vided by social media as data collection devices
Deploying both quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques to
●
analyse research data
Writing up your research work and preparing it for wider access and
●
consumption
Examining the effect of your research work through assessing or
●
measuring its impact
The Researcher’s Toolkit is a must-read guide for students and budding
researchers as well as educators seeking to explain academic research
and writing to their pupils. It will benefit anyone looking to complete a
research project whether inside academia or beyond.
David Wilkinson is based in Nexus at the University of Leeds where he
runs his consultancy – Research Toolkit. He edited the first edition of this
textbook and has been a researcher and evaluator for over twenty years.
Dennis Dokter is the Manager of Data & Insights and Smart Cities lead at
Nexus, the University of Leeds’ innovation hub and community. He pos-
sesses wide-ranging experience in writing research proposals as well as
coordinating, managing, and leading them.
THE RESEARCHER’S
TOOLKIT
The Complete Guide to Practitioner
Research
Second Edition
David Wilkinson and Dennis Dokter
Designed cover image: © Getty Images
Second edition published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 David Wilkinson and Dennis Dokter
The right of David Wilkinson and Dennis Dokter to be identified as authors of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2000
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-01809-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-01810-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-18015-9 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003180159
Typeset in Mixage
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
CONTENTS
List of figures vii
Preface ix
David Wilkinson and Dennis Dokter
1 Why research? What to look out for and what to think of 1
David Wilkinson
2 Planning the research 23
David Wilkinson
3 Collecting your data: literature and other forms of data 45
David Wilkinson
4 Analysing your data 82
David Wilkinson
5 Writing it all up 116
Dennis Dokter
6 Research impact 139
Dennis Dokter
Index 161
FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Pure and applied research comparison 4
Figure 1.2 Traditions in research 10
Figure 1.3 Quantitative and qualitative research compared 13
Figure 2.1 The research project process 25
Figure 2.2 An example research plan – Gantt chart 37
Figure 2.3 Example informed consent protocol 42
Figure 3.1 Examples of open-ended questions 63
Figure 3.2 Examples of multiple-choice questions 64
Figure 3.3 Advantages and disadvantages of social media
platforms as data collection devices 77
Figure 4.1 Sample categories that may emerge from the data
when exploring important memories linked to music 84
Figure 4.2 Analysing content: stages in developing
a coding frame 85
Figure 4.3 Charts showing admissions to Paperfield Hospital
(year and gender) 95
Figure 4.4 Admissions to Barnswell Hospital (2022 and 2023
compared) 96
Figure 4.5 Age of admissions (female) to Department A in 2022 97
Figure 4.6 Tally chart of female admissions to Department A
in 2022 97
Figure 4.7 Grouping of ages – female admissions to
Department A in 2022 98
Figure 4.8 Frequency of ages of female admissions during
2022 100
Figure 4.9 Distribution of exam results 101
Figure 4.10 Working out standard deviations 102
Figure 4.11 Distribution of exam results showing standard
deviation 103
viii Figures
Figure 4.12 Positive relationship (correlation) between two
data sets 104
Figure 4.13 Negative relationship (correlation) between two
data sets 105
Figure 4.14 No relationship (correlation) between two data sets 105
Figure 4.15 An example using Pearson’s Product Moment
Correlation Coefficient approach (R) 106
Figure 6.1 Exploring impact and examples 144
Figure 6.2 A co-produced view of a research topic in health 147
Figure 6.3 Dissemination identifier 152
PREFACE
The first edition of this book was written over twenty years ago to support
those engaging in research work for the first time. It was developed to
help demystify the research project process and make it accessible and
(hopefully) enjoyable.
A new element of this edition is to assess the value of the content
specific to four user-groups or stakeholders who may have a voice in the
research work: academics (including undergraduate or college students),
industry or business representatives, those who work in the public sector,
and society or wider community groups. Throughout the content we
make regular reference to these groups and discuss elements of the
research process and its application and relevance to them. Our aim is to
contextualise the content and make it meaningful, applicable and relevant.
Whilst this updated edition recasts and updates the content, it still
follows the typical research project structure and timeline. We begin (in
Chapter 1) by exploring why research work is undertaken and the purposes
it satisfies. This includes an assessment of the defining characteristics of
different attitudes towards research work and its associated definitions.
From this foundation we then quickly move (Chapter 2) to practical
elements associated with planning and executing your research activity.
In this section we spend some time on the importance of specifying an
appropriate research question or hypothesis and linking this to relevant
published material. Developing a research strategy and considering the
best or most effective research methods are also covered in this chapter.
Following the planning stage, we then move on (Chapter 3) to consider
the forms and types of data you might collect or collate as part of your
research project work. This section provides an overview of the typical
research methods used in small-scale research project work (experimental
methods, survey-based approaches, research interviews, focus groups,
observation techniques, and the value provided by social media as data
