Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers in education and social science

If the reader is a beginner researcher, the problems facing them are much the same whether they are producing a small project, an MEd dissertation or a PhD thesis.

The reader will need to select a topic, identify the objectives of their study, plan and design a suitable methodology, devise research instruments, negotiate access to institutions, material and people, collect, analyze and present information, and, finally, produce a well-written report or dissertation.

Whatever the scale of the undertaking, the reader will have to master techniques and devise a plan of action which does not attempt more than the limitations of expertise, time and access permit.

Most people learn to do research by actually doing it, but a great deal of time can be wasted and goodwill dissipated by inadequate preparation. This book aims to provide the reader with the tools to do the job, to help them avoid some of the pitfalls and time-wasting false trails that can eat into their time, and to establish good research habits.

It takes the reader from the stage of choosing a topic through to the production of a well-planned, methodologically sound and well-written final report or dissertation on time.

'Doing your research project' is designed to serve as a source of reference and guide to good practice for all beginner researchers, whether undergraduate and postgraduate students or professionals such as teachers or social workers undertaking investigations in education and the social sciences. This second edition retains the basic structure of the first edition, whilst incorporating some important new material.