Table of Contents

Preface to Third Edition . Preface to Second Edition . Part 1 Producing a Proposal . 1 Introduction . The concept of research. Classifications of research. Theories and paradigms. Research styles. Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Where to begin. Summary. References. 2 Topic for Study . Selection of a topic. Writing the proposal. Summary. References. Part 2 Executing the Research . 3 Initial Research . The research process. Initial search. Assembling the theoretical framework. Philosophy and methodology. Theoretical models and constructs. Proper referencing. Summary. References. 4 Approaches to Empirical Work . Role of experience. Research design. Qualitative approaches. Quantitative approaches. Experimental design (including experiments and quasi-experiments). Case study research. Modelling. Simulation. Summary. References. 5 Hypotheses . Essentials of a valid hypothesis. Roles of hypotheses. Objective testing of hypotheses. Role of sampling. Common statistical measures. Null hypotheses. Validities. Summary. References. 6 Data Collection . Data requirements. Collecting data from respondents. Sampling. Sample size. Scales of measurement. Obtaining data. Summary. References. 7 Data Analysis . Analysing data. Plotting data. Statistical methods. Non-parametric tests. Parametric tests. Other analytical techniques. Summary. References. 8 Ethics in Research . The concepts of morals and ethics. Research ethics. Data analysis, intellectual property and data protection. Summary. References. Part 3 Reporting the Results . 9 Results, Inferences and Conclusions . Requirements for valid results. Potential sources of error. Reliability. Results. Inferences. Conclusions. Summary. References. 10 Reports and Presentations . Report production. Communication. Contents of the report. Oral presentation. Summary. Index

About the Author

Richard Fellows is a Professor in the Department of Real Estate and Construction, University of Hong Kong and joint co-ordinator of CIB W112: Culture in Construction. He graduated from the University of Aston and has worked as a quantity surveyor for several major contractors. He has a PhD from the University of Reading, was co-ordinator for research in construction management for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the UK and has extensive experience in research and teaching in many countries. Anita Liu graduated from the University of Reading and returned to Hong Kong to work in industry, quantity surveying consultancy and for the Hong Kong government. She has carried out many research projects and gained her PhD from the University of Hong Kong. She is currently Professor of Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying in the Department of Civil & Building Engineering at Loughborough University.