This successful text furnishes students with the skills necessary to conduct research outside the laboratory, in real world situations. For the second edition, the text has been thoroughly revised in order to bring it right up to date, and to make it as useful as possible for teachers and students from a range of behavioral and social science disciplines. Changes for the new edition include: Examples and references have been updated, and new examples have been drawn in from the fields of applied psychology, applied social science, health studies, social work and education. Greater emphasis has been placed on flexible designs using largely qualitative methods, including additional coverage of ethnographic and grounded theory approaches. Critical discussion is included of the place of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and statistical significance testing in fixed, quantitative design research The quantitative analysis section is now based around the current version of SPSS, while the section on qualitative analysis is now based around the NUD - IST software. Material has been added on combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The author has situated the material more clearly within theoretical conceptualizations of the nature of social science research, pointing to the advantages of a critical realist approach. The text now incorporates more on tests and test theory. Improvements to the pedagogical material include the addition of a glossary and detailed cross-referencing across chapters.For sample chapters please visit www blackwellpublishing.com/robson

Table of Contents

Preface to Second Edition. Acknowledgements. Ways of Using the Book. Carrying out an Enquiry. Part I: Before You Start: Keeping a Research Diary. 1. Real World Enquiry. Focusing on the Real World. Fixed and Flexible Designs. Can All This Be Safely Skipped? Evaluation, Action Research and Change. The Audience for this Book. Returning to the Real World. Further Reading. 2. Approaches to Social Research. Introduction. Being Scientific. Relativist Approaches. Current Views of Social Research. Realism and Real World Research. A Pragmatic Approach. Further Reading. 3. Developing a Proposal. Introduction. Deciding on the Focus. Deciding on the Research Questions. Developing the Research Questions. The Place of Theory. Ethical Considerations. Further Reading. Part II: Designing the Enquiry: 4. General Design Issues. Introduction. A Framework for Research Design. Getting a Feel for Design Issues. Choosing a Research Strategy. Establishing Trustworthiness. Further Reading. 5. Fixed Designs. Introduction. General Features of Fixed Designs. Establishing Trustworthiness in Fixed Design Research. Experimental Fixed Designs. Experiments and the Real World. Field Experiments. Randomized Controlled Trials and the 'Gold Standard'. Realist Critique of Randomized Controlled Trials. True Experiments. Quasi-Experiments. Single-Case Experiments. Non-Experimental Fixed Designs. Relational Designs. Comparative Designs. Sample Size in Fixed Designs. Further Reading. 6. Flexible Designs. Research Traditions in Qualitative Research. Establishing Trustworthiness in Flexible Design Research. Case Studies. Ethnographic Studies. Grounded Theory Studies. Other Traditions of Flexible Research Design. Sample Size in Flexible Designs. Further Reading. 7. Designs for Particular Purposes: Evaluation, Action & Change. Evaluation Research. Action Research. Intervention and Change. Researchers and Practitioners. Further Reading. Part III: Tactics - the Methods of Data Collection: Selecting the Method(s). 8. Surveys and Questionnaires. Introduction. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Survey. Why a Survey? Approaches to Survey Data Collection. Carrying Out a Sample Survey. Diaries. Sampling in Surveys - and Elsewhere. Probability Samples. Non-probability Samples. Representative Sampling and the Real World. Further Reading. 9. Interviews. Introduction. Types and Styles of Interviews. Advantages and Disadvantages of Interviews. General Advise for Interviewers. Content of the Interview. Carrying Out Different Types of Interview. Informant Interviews. Group Interviews. Analysis of Interview Data. Skills in Interviewing. Further Reading. 10. Test and Scales. Attitude Measurement. Semantic Differential Scales. Other Scaling Techniques. Using Existing Tests and Scales. Further Reading. 11. Observational Methods. Introduction. Advantages and Disadvantages of Observation. Observation in Real World Research. Approaches to Observation. Participant Observation. Getting Started. Observational Biases. Structured Observation. Observer Effects. Deciding on a Coding Scheme. Coding Sequences of Behaviour. Reliability and Structured Observation. Further Reading. 12. Additional Methods of data Collection. Unobtrusive Measures. Using Documents. Content Analysis. Using Data Archives. Brief Review of Additional Approaches. Using Multiple Methods. Further Reading. Arranging the Practicalities. Part IV: Dealing with the Data: Collecting the Data. Analyzing and Interpreting the Data. Preparing for Analysis. 13. The Analysis of Quantitative Data. Introduction. Creating a Data Set. Starting Data Analysis. Exploring the Data Set. Analyzing Relationships between Two Variables. Analyzing Relationships among Three or More Variables. Analyzing Differences. Quantitative Analysis and Different Fixed Design Research Strategies. Further Reading. 14. The Analysis of Qualitative Data. Introduction. Types of Qualitative Analysis. Using Computer Software for Qualitative Data Analysis. An Overview of the NUD*IST Approach. Approaches to Qualitative Data Analysis in Different Design Traditions. Case Study Data Analysis. Data Analysis in Ethnographic studies. Data Analysis in Grounded Theory Studies. Further Reading. 15. Reporting on the Enquiry. Reporting What you Have Found. Introduction. Reporting Fixed Design Research. The Scientific Journal Format. Reporting Flexible Design Research. Reporting on Case Studies. Writing for Non-Academic Audiences - the Technical Report. Alternative Forms of Presentation. Writing Skills. Further Reading. Afterword. Appendix A: Writing a Project Proposal. Appendix B: The Roles of Practitioner-Researchers, Researchers and Consultants in Real World Research. Glossary. References and Author Index. Subject Index.

Author Biography

Colin Robson is a Professor in the Centres for Applied Childhood Studies and Evaluation Studies at Huddersfield University. He is chief consultant to an international project on special educational needs, statistics and indicators, at the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, OECD, Paris.