At some
point or other in their academic careers, most tertiary-level students will
become engaged in the planning and execution of research projects. It is a
fundamental part of further education that many students find daunting, which need
not be the case. First steps in research uses the most current
perspectives in the field both locally and internationally to provide theoretical
and practical guidelines on how to conduct and report on research at
undergraduate and postgraduate level.
First steps in research brings together the views of academics, theorists, researchers, and practitioners. It presents perspectives and theory on how to facilitate the understanding and application of theories, goals, methods, and strategies. The book is easy to read and use without diluting the conceptual and terminological complexities of the field. It examines the historical and philosophical underpinnings of qualitative, quantitative, and integrative (integrated) or mixed methods of conducting research, and suggests how these three approaches may be used most appropriately. It also elaborates on the methodological dimensions of action research processes and exemplifies participatory reflection.
Contents
include the following:
· Conceptualising and writing research proposals
· An example of a research proposal using a mixed-methods approach and one using an action research proposal
· Conducting a preliminary literature review
· Ethical considerations
· Interpreting data
· Data construction or generation (collection methods, including how to engage participants and elicit “thick” data)
· Sampling methods
· Graphical ways of representing data
· Basic probability rules
· Basic statistical methods and tests/techniques
· Employing online and technical instruments in the areas of literature review, data collection, and data analysis
· Mixed-methods (avant garde) frameworks
First steps in research is aimed at scholars, academics, researchers, and Master’s and doctoral students conceptualising and conducting research as well as undergraduate students or junior postgraduate students who are encountering research methodology for the first time.
Jacobus G. (Kobus) Maree, DEd, PhD, DPhil, is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria. A fellow of the International Association for Applied Psychology and the Psychological Association of South Africa, he has spent much time abroad as a visiting professor. Kobus is a regular keynote speaker at national and international conferences and has received multiple awards for his work. He has authored or co-authored 115+ peer-reviewed articles and 65 books/ book chapters on career counselling and related topics since 2009.
Chapter 1: What is a research question and why
is it important?
Chapter 2: Introduction to the language of research
Chapter 3: Planning a research proposal
Chapter 4: Introducing qualitative research
Chapter 5: Qualitative research designs and data- gathering techniques
Chapter 6: Analysing qualitative data
Chapter 7: First steps in action research
Chapter 8: The quantitative research process
Chapter 9: Surveys and the use of questionnaires
Chapter 10: Sampling
Chapter 11: Statistical analysis I: descriptive statistics
Chapter 12: Statistical analysis II: inferential statistics
Chapter 13: Standardisation of a questionnaire
Chapter 14: Overview of some of the most popular statistical techniques
Chapter
15: Foundations and approaches to
mixed methods research
Supplementary material available for this title includes:
• PowerPoint Templates for all chapters (these templates are outlines to assist you with your lectures)
• Jpegs of all figures and tables
All source material (excluding figures and tables) has been supplied in an editable format (Microsoft Office) and you can fully customise it to your needs.
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