[...]... / 13 SUMMARY You must take time to think about your research as this will save you problems later When you’re thinking about your research, ask yourself the five ‘Ws’: – What is my research? – Why do I want to do the research? – Who are my research participants? – Where am I going to do the research? – When am I going to do the research? Sum up your research project in one sentence Discuss your sentence... might prefer one type of research over the other If this is the case, you might have a harder time justifying your chosen methodology, if it goes against their preferences EXAMPLES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLGIES Action research Some researchers believe that action research is a research method, but in my opinion it is better understood as a methodology In action research, the researcher works in close... The research methodology is the philosophy or general principle which guides the research Research methods are the tools you use to gather your data Qualitative research explores attitudes, behaviour and experiences H O W T O D E C I D E U P O N A M E T H O D O L O G Y / 23 Examples of qualitative methodologies include action research, ethnography, feminist research and grounded theory Quantitative research. ..x / PRACTICAL RESEARCH METHODS able project and how to keep motivation levels high, especially if you have no real inclination to become a researcher It discusses the issues involved in thinking about your research and defining your project, before moving on to the methods – how do you actually do your research, analyse your findings and report the results?... MA in Social Research in 1987 Working within both further and higher education and as a freelance researcher, I have been involved in a variety of projects in the areas of education, housing and community research I have taught research methods to adults returning to education and conducted in-house training for employees who need to carry out their own research Becoming a successful researcher is... population Feminist researchers critique both the research topics and the methods used; especially those which emphasise objective, scientific ‘truth’ With its emphasis on participative, qualitative inquiry, feminist research has provided a valuable alternative framework for researchers who have felt uncomfortable with treating people as research ‘objects’ Under the umbrella of feminist research are various... topic, the way you conduct the research and the way in which you report the results If you’re doing it for a university dissertation or project, does your proposed research provide the opportunity to reach the required intellectual stan- 6 / PRACTICAL RESEARCH METHODS dard? Will your research generate enough material to write a dissertation of the required length? Or will your research generate too much... Your research methodology is different to your research methods – these are the tools you use to gather data, such as questionnaires or interviews, and these will be discussed in Chapter 3 UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH When you start to think about your research methodology, you need to think about the differences between qualitative and quantitative research. .. that time For example, if you want to go into schools and observe classroom practice, you wouldn’t choose to do this research during the summer holiday It might sound obvious, but I have found 8 / PRACTICAL RESEARCH METHODS some students present a well-written research proposal which, in practical terms, will not work because the participants will be unavailable during the proposed data collection stage... Social Research, 3rd edition, London: UCL Press Fowler, F (2001) Survey Research Methods, 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Marsh, C (1982) The Survey Method: The Contribution of Surveys to Sociological Explanation, London: George Allen and Unwin Sapsford, R (1999) Survey Research, London: Sage Action research Alvesson, M and Skoldberg, K (2000) Reflexive Metho¨ dology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research, . my research? If your research is to be employment based, the chances are you will have work experience which you’ll find useful 2 / PRACTICAL RESEARCH METHODS HOW. info@howtobooks.co.uk http://www.howtobooks.co.uk Practical Research Methods A user-friendly guide to mastering research techniques and projects DR CATHERINE