Foundations For Inquiry

Most books about research address the ?how to” of inquiry, rather than the ?why.” Foundations for Inquiry enlightens readers about the variety of philosophic assumptions regarding inquiry and organizational phenomena; demonstrates how these assumptions shape subsequent choices about theories; and shows how theoretical and philosophic choices consequently shape and guide the research process.

Acquaints students and beginning researchers with a broad view of research methodologies and the assumptions that informs each approach. Text for introductory research courses in the professional fields and social sciences.

Critical approaches to qualitative research have made a significant impact on research practice over the past decade. This comprehensive volume of contemporary, original articles places this trend in its historical context, describes the current landscape of critical work, and considers the future of this turn. The book-includes contributions from some of the leading qualitative researchers on three continents;-consists of big-picture articles that describe the dimensions of this research tradition;-situates critical qualitative inquiry in the overall development and landscape of qualitative research.

Richard A. Swanson and Elwood F. Holton, leading scholars in the field, bring together contributions from more than twenty distinguished researchers from multiple disciplines to provide a comprehensive introductory textbook on organizational research. Designed for use by professors and students in graduate-level programs in business, management, organizational leadership, and human resource development, Research in Organizations teaches how to apply a range of methodolgies to the study of organizations. This comprehensive guide covers the theoretical foundations of various research methods, shows how to apply those methods in organizational settings, and examines the ethical conduct of research. It provides a holistic perspective, embracing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methodology approaches and illuminating them through numerous illustrative examples.

Provides a foundation for understanding research findings in social sciences. Designed to help students acquire basic skills in the methods of social science research, the second edition of Research Methods and Society contains numerous excerpts from professional journal articles, scholarly books, and popular press. The text uses a straightforward writing style to present essential information, without eliminating key concepts, tools, and their applications. Concrete, everyday examples and “hands-on” practice activities reinforce fundamental concepts that will be useful to students in their future careers and life. Topics are illustrated in ways that are student-centered, yet instructor-friendly. Features and updates to this 2nd edition include: Highlighted concepts and terms in each chapter -- In addition to a chapter-end list of key terms. These familiarize students with important content, and helps ensure they understand and retain it. Chapter summaries – Includes a section titled Your Review Sheet: Questions Discussed in This Chapter. Enables students to review the major themes presented in each chapter, and encourages them to reflect on the key points. Numerous “real-world” activities – Help students meet specific learning needs, such as evaluating excerpts from research articles, analyzing secondary data, and analyzing primary data from direct observation and other mini-projects Excerpts from professional journal articles and popular press readings – these are followed by questions, which guide learning on specific methods topics, and illustrates specific issues related to methodology typically employed by social scientists. Added and expanded discussion of Ethics, with special attention to chapters on direct methods of data collection, as well as new discussions about online research. New secondary data tables and their discussions/applications.

This text introduces readers to definitions and examples of arts-based educational research, presents tensions and questions in the field, and provides exercises for practice. It weaves together critical essays about arts-based research in the literary, visual, and performing arts with examples of artistic products of arts-based research (arts for scholarship’s sake) that illuminate by example. Each artistic example is accompanied by a scholARTist’s statement that includes reflection on how the work of art relates to the scholar’s research interests and practices. Arts-Based Research in Education: Foundations for Practice: helps the reader understand what arts-based research is – tracing the history of the field and providing examples; includes end-of-chapter questions to engage students in practicing arts-based inquiry and to generate class discussion about the material; features a diverse range of contributors -- very established scholars in educational and social science research as well those new to the field; represents a variety of voices – scholars of color, queer and straight orientations, different ages, experience, and nationalities; and presents beautiful illustrations of visual art, data-based poems, plays, short stories, and musical scores. First-of its kind, this volume is intended as a text for arts-based inquiry, qualitative research methods in education, and related courses, and as a resource for faculty, doctoral students, and scholars across the field of social science research methods.

The concept of the case is a basic feature of social science research and yet many questions about how a case should be defined, selected, and judged are far from settled. The contributors to this volume probe the nature of the case and the ways in which different understandings of the concept affect the conduct and the results of research. The contributions demonstrate that the work of any given researcher is often characterised by some hybrid of these basic approaches, and it is important to understand that most research involves multiple definitions and uses of cases, as both specific empirical phenomena and as general theoretical categories.