Small-scale research : pragmatic inquiry in social science and the caring professions / Peter T. Knight.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Knight, Peter, 1950-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Research.

Social sciences.

Physical Description:

xiii, 223 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Thousand Oaks, CA : SAGE, 2002.

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 Teeside"

Timely, assured and written with the needs of students uppermost, Small-Scale Research is a direct, comprehensive guide for student 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.

Contents:

1 Starting with Writing 1

Private writing 1

Creating research questions 5

Writing a literature review 11

2 Research as Claimsmaking 16

Research is more thinking than doing 17

Claims that research may make 23

Research standpoints 33

Research forms 37

Generalizing and learning from research 43

A pragmatist account of social research 46

3 Face-to-face Inquiry Methods 49

Instrument structure and question formation 54

Special concerns in face-to-face research 54

Observation 56

Interviews 61

Nominal group technique 69

Focus groups 70

Memory work 71

Experiments 72

4 Research at a Distance 80

Measurement, rating scales and lookalikes 80

Questionnaires 87

Diaries, logs and journals 95

Q-sort 97

Concept mapping 98

Image-based research 101

Documentary analysis 104

Unobtrusive methods 108

Post-empirical research 109

5 Research Design: Bringing It All Together 114

A palette of methods 119

Sampling, generalizations and research methods 119

Multi-method design 127

Quality 133

6 Complexity 144

The significance of complexity 146

Complexity and organizations 151

Complex people 156

7 Doing It 161

Being pragmatic 161

Data capture 163

Disclosure and harm 169

8 Sensemaking 173

Data analysis: levels, objectivity and continuity 173

Numbers and data analysis 176

Analysing qualitative data 182

9 Writing, Disseminating and Influencing 193

Public writing 193

Disseminating 199

The influences of social research 203

Hints for hard-pressed researchers 210

A quality check 211.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [213]-219) and index.

ISBN:

076196861X

0761968628

OCLC:

47939138