Your Research Project

In the third edition of this bestselling book, you′ll find everything you need to embark upon your research project and write your proposal with confidence. Written with the needs of undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as practitioners in mind, Your Research Project will guide you through the process of formulating a research question, choosing your research methods, planning your research, and writing your proposal. Fully updated and revised, the new edition features: o A comprehensive introduction to the purpose and nature of research o Expanded coverage of writing a research plan or proposal o An overview of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis, as well as more on mixed methods research designs o New sections on digital media and online research methods o Exercises and examples to provide students from across the social sciences with the practical tools needed to succeed in their project. Nicholas Walliman is Senior Lecturer in the School of the Built Environment at Oxford Brookes University.

With a calming, reassuring tone, Nicholas Walliman gives you the ability and confidence to plan, design, and prepare for your research project. The new edition of this bestselling book will help you: - Explain research theory within the context of your own project - Curate, structure, and format your literature review - Anticipate the challenges of social media and web-based research - Apply ‘how to’ tips quickly to your own research planning and design - Monitor your progress in the field with checklists - Develop writing habits to use as a springboard for dissertations, reports, and articles - Build a foundation of practical, general research skills like time management, organization, and critical thinking to carry you beyond your project. New to the 4th Edition: - New step-by-step chapter on how to write a successful research proposal - New chapter ′Writing Strategies′ offers guidelines for different assignments to help carry students beyond their research proposal - More ‘How To’ examples of literature reviews, proposals and ethics applications - Expanded coverage of literature review strategies - more emphasis on accessing on-line resources and use of the internet - Enhanced checklists of issues for consideration or tasks students should undertake in order to progress their work - More information surrounding online and social media research and implications on information sourcing, ethics, and methods - Increased coverage of the research methods section to include more practical support and additional information on mixed-methods - Further stresses the importance of avoiding plagiarism with an expanded section on this topic.

The ultimate companion to successfully completing your research project, the author guides you through a step-by-step approach to research and provides all of the skills and momentum you need to excel. Each stage of a project is clearly set out with best practice highlighted alongside pragmatic advice for tackling research in the real world. The Third Edition uses multidisciplinary case studies, and examples from the author’s own experience, to answer your questions and support your progress as you move smoothly through each stage. With a new chapter on mixed methods approaches, more on disseminating research, more on the practical and legal implications of ethics and more international examples, the book is packed full of learning features and tools to support your journey, including: A fully-developed website with podcasts, videos, journal articles and examples of real projects Activities and worksheets to help you organize your time Learning objectives to sustain your momentum Top tips relating to key research skills Full glossary to test understanding and provide definitions Annotated further reading to help you move through the literature ‘Excuse me, I have a question!’ feature to answer common questions. Warm, innovative and clever, this book is packed full of must-have information for anyone doing a research project.

Gary’s book, never more than a metre away, has been my indispensable research companion. With its easy layout, my well-worn copy, stripy with florescent marker and pencilled notes, has been my go-to, on-hand supervisor throughout my degree; taking the distance out of distance learning. Replace daunting and impossible with clarity and entertainment. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it; it has been my gateway to achievement′ - Ellie Davies Moore, distance learner in Multi-Sensory Impairment at the University of Birmingham With more advice on concluding, writing up and presenting research, using social media and digital methods, and understanding what supervisors want and how to work with them, the third edition of this bestselling title continues to lead the way as an essential guide for anyone undertaking a research project in the applied social sciences. Setting out a clear and detailed road map, Gary Thomas guides the reader through the different stages of a research project, explaining key steps and processes at each level in refreshingly jargon-free terms. It covers: - How to choose your research question - Project management and study skills - Effective literature reviews - Methodology, theory and research design frames - Ethics and access - Data collection tools - Effective data analysis - Discussing findings, concluding and writing up Packed with engaging anecdotal evidence and practical advice and supported by an interactive website featuring worksheets, videos, SAGE Journal articles and more, this new edition is a user-friendly, one-stop-shop for guidance on research principles.

Lecturers, why waste time waiting for the post to arrive? Click on the above icon and receive your e-inspection copy today! ′Whether embarking on research as an undergraduate or for a doctorate, Gary Thomas′ book will be of great value to you. It is refreshingly different from other books about doing research: it′s informative, well-written, wide-ranging yet sufficiently detailed and above all it′s enjoyable to read! I recommend it highly′. Professor Peter Earley, Institute of Education, University of London Are you doing a research project? Do you need advice on how to carry out research? Using practical examples, this book takes you through what should happen at each phase in the project′s schedule. Gary Thomas explains the main design frames and methods of data collection and analysis used in education and social science research, and provides down to earth advice on how to weave these elements together into a coherent whole. Structured according to the main phases of doing a project, the book covers · deciding your topic and your research question · project management and study skills · doing a literature review · methodology and research design · design frames · ethics and access · how to analyse the information you gather · discussing findings, theorising, concluding and writing up This book is an essential read for undergraduate, postgraduate, CPD and doctoral students undertaking a project in the applied social sciences. Comments from tutors: ′I loved this book! It brought research methods alive′: Gill Richards ,Nottingham Trent University ′Unputdownable′: Joy Jarvis ,University of Hertfordshire ′Accessible and encouraging style′: Neil Stott ,Nottingham Trent University Comments from students: ′Brilliant′: Alison Patterson ′Love the visual models′: Susan Allan ′Filled me with optimism′: Anne Cowan ′Very entertaining as well as extremely useful′: Viv Brown Gary Thomas is Professor of Education at the University of Birmingham.

In this new edition of Your Research Project, Nicholas S.R. Walliman has made this bestselling book even better with the addition of a number of new features whilst retaining all the benefits of the original. New features include: more elaboration on the differing needs of masters and PhD students; a new overview of the entire research chronology from start to finish; student checklists throughout; a new chapter on research ethics; new sections on critical reading skills and compiling literature reviews; examples from a wide range of disciplines and a student glossary.

This book provides information about the key areas needed for a successful project. It includes software skills, developing research objectives, writing proposals, literature reviews, getting ethics approval, seeking funding, managing a project, communicating research findings, and writing reports. There is also a chapter on working as an independent researcher. The book includes numerous examples, checklists, and practical exercises designed to assist the learning of research skills and the completion of crucial project tasks. It covers procedures needed for conducting projects electronically and accessing information from the Internet.

Doing your Research Project is the market leading book for students across the social sciences conducting small scale research projects.