Small-Scale Research : Pragmatic Inquiry in Social Science and the Caring Professions

by Peter T Knight

• ISBN13: 9780761968627
• ISBN10: 0761968628
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-29
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd

Summary

The author takes the student through the whole of the research process including anticipating common mistakes and 'times of trouble' and offering advice on how to make things easier on yourself. The methods work is sound and the methodology is put across very well and nicely integrated with the 'thinking out' of the research '¦ Rigorous, accessible, upbeat - I would expect this to become a widely used resource for students and lone researchers at all levels' - Roger Sapsford, School of Social Sciences, University of TeesideTimely, assured and written with the needs of students uppermost, Small-Scale Research is a direct, comprehensive guide for students doing theses, dissertations, papers and projects. It systematically works through the central methods of inquiry and demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. The advice on when and how to use small-scale methods is pragmatic, recognizing that small-scale researchers are usually short on time and resources. Yet behind this pragmatism is the principle that research is, above all, about thinking. Whatever needs to be done in a research project has to be for the purpose of providing research audiences with the best possible answers, in the circumstances, to the research questions. The book argues that it is not enough to apply research methods. Sense-making and claims-making are central to good research practice.

Table of Contents

List of Boxes	vii
List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	x
Preface	xi
Starting with Writing	1	(15)
Private writing	1	(4)
Creating research questions	5	(6)
Writing a literature review	11	(5)
Research as Claimsmaking	16	(33)
Research is more thinking than doing	17	(6)
Claims that research may make	23	(10)
Research standpoints	33	(4)
Research forms	37	(6)
Generalizing and learning from research	43	(3)
A pragmatist account of social research	46	(3)
Face-to-face Inquiry Methods	49	(31)
Instrument structure and question formation	54	(1)
Special concerns in face-to-face research	54	(2)
Observation	56	(5)
Interviews	61	(8)
Nominal group technique	69	(1)
Focus groups	70	(1)
Memory work	71	(1)
Experiments	72	(8)
Research at a Distance	80	(34)
Measurement, rating scales and lookalikes	80	(7)
Questionnaires	87	(8)
Diaries, logs and journals	95	(2)
Q-sort	97	(1)
Concept mapping	98	(3)
Image-based research	101	(3)
Documentary analysis	104	(4)
Unobtrusive methods	108	(1)
Post-empirical research	109	(5)
Research Design: Bringing It All Together	114	(30)
A palette of methods	119	(1)
Sampling, generalizations and research methods	119	(8)
Multi-method design	127	(6)
Quality	133	(11)
Complexity	144	(17)
The significance of complexity	146	(5)
Complexity and organizations	151	(5)
Complex people	156	(5)
Doing It	161	(12)
Being pragmatic	161	(2)
Data capture	163	(6)
Disclosure and harm	169	(4)
Sensemaking	173	(20)
Data analysis: levels, objectivity and continuity	173	(3)
Numbers and data analysis	176	(6)
Analysing qualitative data	182	(11)
Writing, Disseminating and Influencing	193	(17)
Public writing	193	(6)
Disseminating	199	(11)
The influences of social research	210	(1)
Reflecting	210	(3)
Hints for hard-pressed researchers	210	(1)
A quality check	211	(2)
References	213	(7)
Index	220