The Foundations of Research

by Grix, Jonathan

• ISBN13: 9780230248977
• ISBN10: 0230248977
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-15
• Publisher: Red Globe Pr

Summary

This book will continue to provide advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students with an accessible overview of the 'nuts and bolts' of research.The Foundations of Research 2ecovers the tools, terminology and research perspectives students need to know in order to (i) engage in academic debates; (ii) successfully complete their long essays, dissertations and theses, and (iii) familiarise themselves with the roots of research, preparing them for further research.The new edition will take account of the new developments that have taken place since the book first appeared five years ago. Many of the examples in the current edition will be updated using debates and examples from current research. Furthermore, the author has added more examples in order to clarify some of his original arguments. Since the book was first published, no significant competitor has entered the market place, whilst the plethora of specialist books - to which Palgrave has contributed - offering help with your 'dissertation', 'thesis', 'supervisor relationship', 'research methods', 'successful project' and so on, has surged. There is still no other text which does what Foundations of Research does: offer the advanced undergraduate/postgraduate an accessible overview of the 'hard stuff' in and around research. The author has used the feedback he received on the first edition to help him shape his proposal for a second edition, to ensure it is as relevant as possible for the wide variety of markets that the first edition appealed to. He has included entirely new sections on plagiarism web-based research, and added a new example which demonstrates how to set up a hypothesis.

Author Biography

JONATHAN GRIX is Senior Lecturer in Political Studies at the University of Birmingham. He is the author of Information Skills: Finding and Using the Right Resources (with Gerald Watkins) and Demystifying Postgraduate Research. From MA to PhD.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. x
List of Tables	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
The structure of the book	p. 2
The Nature of Research	p. 7
The 'language' of research	p. 8
The nature of research	p. 9
The nature of the doctoral process	p. 11
Why do a PhD?	p. 11
The right place to study	p. 12
Matters of time	p. 13
Familiarise yourself	p. 15
Summary	p. 16
Further reading	p. 17
The 'Nuts and Bolts' of Research	p. 18
The tools of research	p. 18
Key terms in research	p. 30
Summary	p. 33
Essential reading	p. 34
Further reading	p. 34
Getting Started in Research	p. 35
Getting started	p. 36
Levels of analysis and types of research	p. 47
Types of study	p. 50
Summary	p. 55
Essential reading	p. 56
Further reading	p. 56
The Building Blocks of Research	p. 57
Ontology	p. 59
Epistemology	p. 63
Differing ontological and epistemological views	p. 66
The directional relationship between ontology, epistemology, methodology, methods and sources	p. 67
The 'social capital' debate	p. 70
Summary	p. 75
Essential reading	p. 76
Introducing the Key Research Paradigms	p. 77
Research paradigms	p. 79
Key perspectives in research	p. 89
Summary: Disciplines, perspectives, discourses and interdisciplinarity	p. 97
Interdisciplinarity or 'post-disciplinarity'	p. 98
Summary	p. 99
Essential reading	p. 100
Further reading	p. 100
The Types and Uses of Theory in Research	p. 101
Introducing theory	p. 103
The traditional view of theory	p. 105
The role of theory in social research	p. 106
Research paradigms and the role of theory	p. 106
Different uses of theory	p. 110
Inductive and deductive theory and research	p. 114
Summary	p. 115
Essential reading	p. 116
Further reading	p. 116
Introducing Research Methods	p. 117
Quantitative research	p. 117
Qualitative research	p. 120
The quantitative-qualitative dichotomy: A false antithesis	p. 122
Methods	p. 126
Triangulation, mixing methods and data	p. 135
Summary	p. 137
Essential reading	p. 138
Further reading	p. 138
Academic Standards, Plagiarism and Ethics in Research	p. 139
Why worry about academic standards, plagiarism and ethics?	p. 139
Ethics in research	p. 143
Continuum of ethics in research	p. 147
Summary	p. 150
Essential reading	p. 150
Further reading	p. 150
Conclusion: Summary of Key Points	p. 151
Stages of the Research Process	p. 155
The stages of doctoral research	p. 157
	p. 159
	p. 160
	p. 160
Glossary of Research Terms	p. 162
Bibliography	p. 177
Index	p. 184
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