Real World Research
5. Edition May 2024
704 Pages, Softcover
Textbook
Provides students and practitioner alike with clear and systematic guidance on performing social research in applied settings
Real World Research supplies the multidisciplinary skills necessary to conduct social research projects inside and outside of the classroom or the workplace. Offering well-balanced coverage of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, this highly practical resource incorporates approaches from different social science disciplines to help readers find answers to real-life research questions in healthcare, education, business and management, and in many other public and private settings. Detailed yet accessible chapters include step-by-step advice for developing a research question, choosing a research design strategy, collecting and analyzing the data, interpreting and reporting the results, and more.
The fifth edition contains timely coverage of contemporary methodologies, key ethical issues, and ongoing debates within the field of social research. New and expanded sections address topics such as evidence-based approaches to social research, ethical considerations when conducting research involving people, carrying out projects based solely on existing research, and the importance and implications of internet-based research. Featuring a wealth of up-to-date examples drawn from a wide range of disciplines, this classic textbook:
* Focuses on useful real-world research in applied settings such as homes, schools, businesses, and other workplaces
* Provides a concise overview and a well-defined example of each main step of the research process
* Highlights the importance of collaboration, cooperation, and active participation in social research
* Explains flexible research designs using largely qualitative methods, including additional coverage of ethnographic and grounded theory approaches
* Includes an extensive companion website with numerous research examples, links to journal articles, PowerPoint slides, and many other additional resources
Real World Research, Fifth Edition, remains essential reading for those tasked with developing, performing, and reporting the findings of a research project, including students, academics and educators, social scientists, health practitioners, and professionals in a diverse range of fields.
Preface xv
Why a resource for users of social research methods in applied settings? xvii
Ways of using the book xviii
The main steps in carrying out a project xx
The readership for this book xxi
About the companion website xxiv
Part I Setting the Scene 1
Keeping a project diary 2
Chapter 1 What is real-world research? 5
What is real-world research? 5
Leaving the laboratory 7
Research evidence and real-world experience 8
Evaluation and change 8
Participation and collaboration 9
Ethical and political issues 10
Returning to the real world 10
Why do research in the real world? 12
Website examples 13
Beginning the journey 14
Chapter 2 Approaches to social research 18
What is science? 20
Postmodernism and extreme relativist approaches 22
The two traditions: Quantitative and qualitative social research 23
The quantitative paradigm 26
The qualitative paradigm 29
Paradigms and research questions 31
A pragmatic approach 33
Mixed research designs 35
Realism and real-world research 35
Working in open systems 42
The purposes of research 44
Practical value of the theoretical material covered in the chapter 46
Part II Planning: Selecting a Strategy 55
Chapter 3 Developing your ideas 57
Design matters 57
Deciding on the focus of a project 60
Searching and reviewing the literature 65
Research questions 73
Developing your research question(s) 78
The place of theory 81
Chapter 4 General design issues 92
A framework for research design 93
Getting a feel for design issues 96
Choosing a research design strategy 97
Establishing trustworthiness 103
Chapter 5 Desk-based research 106
Types of desk-based research 107
Doing a literature review as a desk-based project 116
The main steps to take in carrying out a literature review as a desk-based project 117
Doing a systematic review 121
Doing a realist review 126
In summary 129
Chapter 6 Fixed designs 135
General features of fixed designs 137
Establishing trustworthiness in fixed-design research 139
True experiments 158
Quasi-experiments 163
Single-case experiments 172
Non-experimental fixed designs 178
Sample size in fixed designs 183
Chapter 7 Flexible designs 190
General features of flexible designs 191
Research traditions in qualitative research 194
Case studies 195
Ethnographic studies 201
Grounded theory 206
Other approaches 210
Sampling in flexible designs 210
Establishing trustworthiness in flexible-design research 213
Chapter 8 Mixed designs 223
The quantitative-qualitative incompatibility thesis 224
The mixed- methods movement 225
Types of mixed designs 226
Designing and carrying out mixed- design research 229
Pragmatism, realism or 'anything goes'? 232
Dealing with discrepancies in findings 233
Concluding comments 235
Chapter 9 Designs for particular purposes: Evaluation, action, participation and change 239
Evaluation 240
Action research 255
Intervention and change 259
Researchers and practitioners 260
Chapter 10 Ethical and political considerations 268
Ethical codes and guidelines 271
Ethical issues 273
Researcher safety and risk 285
Working with vulnerable groups 287
General ethical responsibilities 295
Ethical review boards and committees 298
Politics and real-world research 302
Sexism, racism, and social research 307
Part III Tactics: the Methods of Data Collection 319
Selecting the method(s) 320
Chapter 11 Surveys and questionnaires 323
The ubiquity of surveys 324
Designing surveys 325
Carrying out a sample survey 337
Designing and using a questionnaire 339
Diaries 355
Sampling in surveys and elsewhere 358
Probability samples 359
Non-probability samples 362
Chapter 12 Interviews and focus groups 371
Types and styles of interviews 372
General advice for interviewers 374
Content of the interview 376
Carrying out different types of interviews 378
Focus groups 387
Dealing with interview data 394
Skills in interviewing 395
Chapter 13 Tests and scales 400
Measurement scales 401
Other scaling techniques 409
Using the existing tests and scales 410
Developing your own test 411
Chapter 14 Observational methods 415
The advantages of observation 416
The disadvantages of observation 417
Observation in real-world research 417
Approaches to observation 418
Participant observation 420
Getting started as a participant observer 423
Structured observation 429
Deciding on a coding scheme 432
The use of existing coding schemes 432
Developing your own scheme 434
Reliability and structured observation 435
Chapter 15 Additional methods of data collection 443
Unobtrusive measures 444
Content analysis of documents 446
Secondary data analysis 456
Introduction to a range of more specialist techniques 459
Internet-based research 460
Feminist research methods 465
Using multiple methods 466
Part IV Carrying Out the Project 471
Arranging the practicalities 471
Part V Dealing with the Data 481
Collecting the data 481
Analysing and interpreting data 483
Realist analysis and interpretation 484
Preparing for analysis 485
Analysis or interpretation? 486
Quantitative and qualitative data and their integration into mixed designs 487
Chapter 16 Writing a project proposal 489
How to recognize a good proposal 490
The content of a research proposal 491
The problem of pre-specifying flexible design studies 496
Shortcomings of unsuccessful proposals 497
Sources of funding 498
Chapter 17 The analysis and interpretation of quantitative data 502
Some assumptions 503
Organization of the chapter 504
Creating a dataset 504
Starting data analysis 507
Exploring the dataset 510
Summary or descriptive statistics 512
Exploring relationships between two variables 520
Exploring relationships among three or more variables 527
Analysing differences 533
Quantitative analysis and different fixed-design research strategies 548
The 'new statistics' 554
Chapter 18 The analysis and interpretation of qualitative data 564
Two assumptions 565
Types of qualitative analysis 565
Using the computer for qualitative data analysis 569
Dealing with the quantity of qualitative data 572
Thematic coding analysis 573
Data analysis in grounded theory studies 587
Alternative approaches to qualitative analysis 591
Integrating qualitative and quantitative data in mixed designs 591
Chapter 19 Reporting, disseminating, and moving forward 598
Ethics and reporting 600
Reporting on fixed-design research 602
The scientific journal format 603
Reporting on flexible-design studies 604
Reporting on mixed-design studies 607
Reporting on case studies 607
Reporting on literature reviews 608
Writing for non-academic audiences: The technical report 608
Alternative forms of presentation 612
Writing skills 614
Where next? 618
Appendix A: Using specialist software for quantitative analysis 623
Using Excel with Analyse-it 623
SOFA statistics 623
Using SPSS 625
Acquiring skills in using SPSS 625
Other statistical packages 625
Appendix B: Using specialist software for qualitative analysis 627
Name index 628
Subject index 648
