Doing Your Research Project

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Step-by-step advice on completing an outstanding research project.This is the market-leading book for anyone doing a research project for the first time. Clear, concise and extremely readable, this bestselling resource provides a practical, step-by-step guide from initial concept through to completion of your final written research report.Thoroughly updated but retaining its well-loved style, this 6th edition provides: A brand new chapter describing the benefits of using social media in research, including how to use blogs, sharing ideas on research community sites, crowdsourcing, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook Tips on using online tools such as Delicious, Mendeley, Dropbox, EndNote and RefWorks to manage and organize your researchGuidance on searching efficiently and effectively online using Google Scholar, Google Books and library databases and on correctly citing online sources Advice on creating online surveys for your research project, plus new material on using Skype and Google Hangouts for online interviewingTo support your learning, each chapter contains introductory key points, "Dead End" boxes to warn of pitfalls, "Success" checklists and further reading sections. This practical, no-nonsense guide is vital reading for all those embarking on undergraduate or postgraduate study in any discipline, and for professionals in such fields as social science, education and health.

PART IPreparing the ground 1Approaches to research 2Planning the project 3Ethics and integrity in research 4Reading, referencing and the management of information 5Literature searching 6The review of the literature PART IISelecting methods of data collection 7The analysis of documentary evidence 8Using social media in research 9 Designing and administering questionnaires 10Planning and conducting interviews 11Diaries, logs, critical Incidents and blogs 12Observation PART IIIInterpreting the evidence and reporting the findings 13Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings 14Writing the reportGlossary References Index

About the Author

Judith Bell's career in education began as a university lecturer, head of department and then vice principal in Further Education. After positions at the Open University as a senior counsellor and course team writer, she became one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, specializing in continuing education. In 1997, she was awarded both the MBE for services to educational research and the degree of D.Univ by the Open University for services to adult education. Stephen Waters has 35 years' experience in education, as a secondary teacher, head of department, Assistant Head Teacher and a Secondary English Consultant with a local authority. He holds an Advanced Diploma in Educational Management and an MA in Education from the Open University, both of which required him to conduct a range of research case studies. Stephen is currently an associate trainer and social digital coach with the Digital Youth Academy, connecting the "born digital" generation to the business world via apprenticeships in using social media in business.

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About the Author