This book offers a comprehensive and well-rounded view of research as a tool for problem-solving in the wide range of the social sciences. It is built on the foundation of philosophical pragmatism, postulating that the value of knowledge and research methodologies lies in their usefulness in engaging with the real world.

The book synthesizes both positivist and non-positivist methodologies. It is meant for students who are undertaking their first research course or project. The techniques, while basic, are used in many masters and doctoral research studies. The book uses engaging language, real-life examples from various subject areas and follows an inductive approach. With the help of this book, from an experiential base, students should be able to build a more advanced conceptual and theoretical understanding of research through further reading and practice.

This book discusses a policy-applied-pure-action model of research covering both quantitative and qualitative methods for the case study, survey, and experimental designs. It pays considerable attention to measurement principles and to data analysis techniques that make practical use of Microsoft Excel for analysis of both words and numbers. It includes a building block approach to writing, as well as the author’s thoughts on the application of research in the real world

Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-216) and index.

Preface
PART ONE: THE PROBLEM
Approaches to Research Research Ethics Research Proposal and Literature Review Research Methodology
PART TWO: DATA COLLECTION
Sampling Case Study Method Survey Method / Experimental Method Available Data Observation Interviews Questionnaires Tests
PART THREE: DATA ANALYSIS
Measurement Principles Qualitative Data Quantitative Data
PART FOUR: ACTION
Social Science English The Report Using the Results Glossary References Index