Includes bibliographical references and index.

The challenge of tackling a research project -- So what is this thing called research and why do it? -- Delving into the 'construct' of research -- Getting help along the way -- Getting started -- Navigating the process -- Staying on course -- The importance of good questions -- Defining your topic -- From interesting topics to researchable questions -- Characteristics of good questions -- Power, politics, ethics and research integrity -- Credibility: integrity in the production of knowledge -- Ethics: integrity and the 'researched' -- Role of the proposal -- Elements of the proposal -- Writing a winning proposal -- Obstacles and challenges
The importance of literature -- Sourcing relevant literature -- Managing the literature -- Writing the formal 'literature review' -- Moving from questions to answers -- Getting it right for the researcher -- Pragmatics: making it doable -- It's all in the details -- Understanding the quantitative-qualitative divide -- The quantitative tradition -- The qualitative tradition -- Mixed methodology -- Research that attempts to drive change -- Evaluative research -- Action research -- Emancipatory research -- Who holds the answer? -- Samples: selecting elements of a population -- Key informants: working with experts and insiders -- Cases: delving into detail
The challenge of collecting primary data -- Surveying -- Interviewing -- Observation -- The challenge of working with secondary data -- 'Texts' and documents -- Existing studies and data sets -- Online data -- Moving from raw data to significant findings -- Managing data and defining variables -- Descriptive statistics -- Inferential statistics -- Presenting quantitative data -- The promise of qualitative data -- The logic of QDA -- The methods of QDA -- Specific QDA strategies -- Presenting qualitative data -- A final word -- The writing challenge -- Research as communication -- The writing process -- Creating powerful presentations -- The need for exposure -- The final word

A This is a comprehensive, practical and engaging guide to understanding and embarking upon social science research. By adopting a clear and accessible approach, the text encourages students to think about, and engage with, every aspect of the research process