Research Methodologies

This book offers advice to doctoral researchers and graduate and advanced undergraduate students on how to embark on their research. Based on a decade of teaching early-stage researchers in the social sciences at the LSE and other universities, and written with the central problems ofbeginning researchers in mind, Bob Hancke guides them through the process of thinking about the links between theory, cases and data, and to do so in a way that helps to turn their initial plausible ideas into convincing arguments. This lively book, deliberately jargon-free and with a hands-on,pragmatic approach to research design, addresses the problems that research students face - or ignore, often at their peril - in the course of their first few years. Its central message is that research is a complex and iterative process in which researchers construct every relevant part of theirproject with one goal in mind: make a persuasive point. They define the question they ask and the debate they engage, construct their cases and data to answer that question, and write it up as an argument that brings out the strengths of their research design. It addresses such key issues asstatistical versus configurational approaches, time in social science research, different types of case studies and comparative research, and a critical approach to data. The Appendix gives tips on presenting and discussing papers, and on crafting research proposals.

A concise, straightforward overview of research design and analysis, helping readers form a general basis for designing and conducting research The practice of designing and analyzing research continues to evolve with advances in technology that enable greater technical analysis of data--strengthening the ability of researchers to study the interventions and relationships of factors and assisting consumers of research to understand and evaluate research reports. Research Design and Analysis is an accessible, wide-ranging overview of how to design, conduct, analyze, interpret, and present research. This book helps those in the sciences conduct their own research without requiring expertise in statistics and related fields and enables informed reading of published research. Requiring no background in statistics, this book reviews the purpose, ethics, and rules of research, explains the fundamentals of research design and validity, and describes how to select and employ appropriate statistical techniques and reporting methods. Readers gain knowledge central to various research scenarios, from sifting through reports of meta-analyses and preparing a research paper for submission to a peer-reviewed journal to discussing, evaluating, and communicating research results. This book: Provides end-to-end guidance on the entire research design and analysis process Teaches readers how to both conduct their own research and evaluate the research of others Offers a clear, concise introduction to fundamental topics ideal for both reference and general education functions Presents information derived from the author's experience teaching the subject in real-world classroom settings Includes a full array of learning tools including tables, examples, additional resource suggestions, complete references, and appendices that cover statistical analysis software and data sets Research Design and Analysis: A Primer for the Non-Statistician is a valuable source of information for students and trainees in medical and allied health professions, journalism, education, and those interested in reading and comprehending research literature.

Research design can be daunting for all types of researchers. At its heart it might be described as a formalized approach toward problem solving, thinking, and acquiring knowledge--the success of which depends upon clearly defined objectives and appropriate choice of statistical tools, tests, and analysis to meet a project's objectives.Comprising more than 500 entries, the Encyclopedia of Research Design elucidates how to make decisions about research design, undertake research projects in an ethical manner, interpret and draw valid inferences from data, and evaluate experiment design strategies and results. Two additional features carry this encyclopedia far above other works in the field: bibliographic entries devoted to significant articles in the history of research design and reviews of contemporary tools, such as software and statistical procedures, used to analyze results.The Encyclopedia of Research Design is the perfect instrument for new learners as well as experienced researchers to explore both the original and newest branches of the field.

Research design is fundamental to all scientific endeavors, at all levels and in all institutional settings. In many social science disciplines, however, scholars working in an interpretive-qualitative tradition get little guidance on this aspect of research from the positivist-centered training they receive. This book is an authoritative examination of the concepts and processes underlying the design of an interpretive research project. Such an approach to design starts with the recognition that researchers are inevitably embedded in the intersubjective social processes of the worlds they study. In focusing on researchers' theoretical, ontological, epistemological, and methods choices in designing research projects, Schwartz-Shea and Yanow set the stage for other volumes in the Routledge Series on Interpretive Methods. They also engage some very practical issues, such as ethics reviews and the structure of research proposals. This concise guide explores where research questions come from, criteria for evaluating research designs, how interpretive researchers engage with "world-making," context, systematicity and flexibility, reflexivity and positionality, and such contemporary issues as data archiving and the researcher's body in the field.

This book is a comprehensive guide to design and conduct the research in management-related field, such as marketing management and human resources management. It provides an overview of the real research conducted by authors throughout their careers and explains the important and growing research design used in management research-mixed method research design. Video tutorials are also included for complete qualitative data collection and data analysis. These videos are included to help readers understand the research and apply the techniques using the recommended software programs. Mixed Method Research Design: An Application in Consumer-Brand Relationships (CBR) begins with an introduction, providing background on the study including related literature in the areas of consumer-brand relationships, which helps the book to show how research questions and research objectives can be developed for the mixed method study. This is followed by a detailed explanation of the methodology, which establishes the ground rule for the study. Finally it takes look at the analysis and results of mixed method research study. Additionally the book examines the procedures of mixing of qualitative and quantitative paradigms in research both in terms of hypothesis development and testing. It helps readers understand how to design their research studies using mixed method design. It also demonstrates managerial implications, to help understand how mixed research design could be used to show contribution to the theory and practice.

About the Book: This second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and efforts have been made to enhance the usefulness of the book. In this edition a new chapter The Computer: Its Role in Research have been added keeping in view of the fact that computers by now become a indispensable part of research equipment. The other salient feature of this revised edition, subject contents have been developed and restructured at several places. New problems have also been added in various chapters. Adoption of appropriate methodology is an essential characteristic of quality research studies irrespective of the discipline with which they are related. The present book provides the basic tenets of methodological research so that researchers may become familiar with the art of using research methods and techniques. The book contains introductory explanations of several quantitative methods enjoying wide use in social sciences. It covers a fairly wide range, related to Research Methodology. The presentations are uniformly economical and cogent. Illustrations given are meaningful and relevant. The book can be taken as a well-organised guide for researchers whose methodological background is not extensive. The book is primarily intended to serve as a textbook for social science students of all Indian universities. It will also serve as a text for the students of M.Phil, Management, and students of various institutes. It will serve all practitioners doing research of one form or other in a general way. Contents: Research Methodology: An Introduction Defining the Research Problem Research Design Sampling Design Measurement and Scaling Techniques Methods of Data Collection Processing and Analysis of Data Sampling Fundamentals Testing of Hypotheses-I (Parametric or Standard Tests of Hypotheses) Chi-Square Test Analysis of Variance and Covariance Testing of Hypotheses-II (Non parametric or Distribution-Free Test) Multivariate Analysis Techniques Interpretation and Report Writing The Computer: ITS Role in Research Appendix-Selected Statistical Tables.

Fundamentals of Research Methodology: A Holistic Guide for Research Completion, Management, Validation and Ethics is a rich conceptual, comprehensive and practical text for researchers. A book for beginners and experts, it focuses on research across medical, social, natural and applied sciences. This text aims to fully expose research methodology from a broader prospective, to accompany its readers in research, management and continuity. This book consists of ideas, examples and summary questions as a guide in the following fields:

Research Methodology is written for university and college students who are looking for guidelines when writing for a research project. It describes some of the most influential methods in social science and speaks directly to students without any prior knowledge of project work. Written in a simple, straight-forward, and a highly engaging style, the book takes the reader through the essential features of the project work process and guides students in making key decisions that will reduce the anxieties they are likely to experience in their research process. The book also introduces students to the nature of their group work process and provides guidelines on how to work with other students in order to produce good projects. It is intended as a supplementary textbook for courses in research methodology, for bachelor and master's degree students. Highlights of the issues discussed include: structure of projects * research design * the role of theories in research projects * paradigms and philosophy of science * qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and techniques * mixed research methods.

Quantitative Social Research Methods explores the entire spectrum of quantitative social research methods and their application, with special reference to the development sector. It provides detailed coverage of all statistical research and analysis method with an emphasis on multivariate analysis techniques, such as regression discriminant analysis, logistic regression, factor, factor, cluster, correspondence and conjoint analysis. The book is thematically arranged in two sections: the first section introduces development research techniques, explores the genesis and scope of social research, research processes and then goes on to explain univariate, bivariate and multivariate data analysis with the help of software packages such as SPSS and STATA. The second focuses on the application of social and development research methods in the development sector. It explores research method application and the issues relevant to aspects of development such as population, health and nutrition, poverty and rural development, education, water and sanitation, and environment and natural resource management.

Since research is best learned by doing, this book emphasizes a hands-on, do-it yourself approach. The readers have many opportunities to see how business researches affect and support management decision.  The book used a case study approach for all the chapters with interactive videos. The book gave emphasis to quantitative data analysis using a software program, IBM SPSS 20.0. The data analysis chapters illustrate in detail each step in running the software programs.  The software programs files are provided for all data sets: outputs, demonstration movies, and screen captures are on the Website. This book provides students most extensive help available to learn quantitative data analysis using SPSS. Thus, the authors prepared this textbook and all the additional materials to help the students to understand the functional principles of business research and how to apply them in real-life situations.

An indispensable reference for postgraduates, providing up to date guidance in all subject areas Methods for Postgraduates brings together guidance for postgraduate students on how to organise, plan and do research from an interdisciplinary perspective. In this new edition, the already wide-ranging coverage is enhanced by the addition of new chapters on social media, evaluating the research process, Kansei engineering and medical research reporting. The extensive updates also provide the latest guidance on issues relevant to postgraduates in all subject areas, from writing a proposal and securing research funds, to data analysis and the presentation of research, through to intellectual property protection and career opportunities.  This thoroughly revised new edition provides: Clear and concise advice from distinguished international researchers on how to plan, organise and conduct research. New chapters explore social media in research, evaluate the research process, Kansei engineering and discuss the reporting of medical research. Check lists and diagrams throughout.  Praise for the second edition: "... the most useful book any new postgraduate could ever buy." (New Scientist) "The book certainly merits its acceptance as essential reading for postgraduates and will be valuable to anyone associated in any way with research or with presentation of technical or scientific information of any kind."(Robotica)  Like its predecessors, the third edition of Research Methods for Postgraduates is accessible and comprehensive, and is a must-read for any postgraduate student.

Teeming with practical examples, this guide promotes an integrated approach for carrying out a case study. With a background emphasis on how to ensure the reliability and validity of results, the different steps of this approach are detailed: assessing the appropriateness of a case study; preparation; selecting cases; data collection, analysis and interpretation; and reporting results