Full Description
Designing research is about making decisions to transform an idea into a plan that can provide answers to a research problem or question. Thinking about, and then making these decisions results in the research design - the plan that will be followed to conduct the research and answer the question. This text engages in a dialogue with the reader, providing a serious but accessible introduction to research design, for use as a guide when designing your own research or when reading the research of others.
Julianne Cheek and Elise Øby show that designing research is an iterative and reflexive process in which there is constant thinking through, and re-visiting of, decisions about that design as it develops. They use a variety of pedagogical devices throughout the book including Tip; Activity; and Putting it into Practice boxes to emphasize specific points and encourage readers to think about the practical implications of what they have learned.
Contents
Chapter 1 - Research Design: What You Need to Think About and Why
Introduction: What Is Research Design?
Designing Research Is an Iterative Process
Research Design: Working With the Literature
How Do You Make Decisions About Which Literature to Trust or Rely On?
Research Design: Considering Methodology and Methods
Research Design: Considering Theory
The Importance of Reflexive Thinking When Designing Research
Chapter 2 - Ethical Issues in Research Design
What Is Research Ethics?
Putting Informed Consent Into Practice
Putting Confidentiality and Anonymity Into Practice
What You Need to Think About When Reusing, Repurposing, and Sharing Data
What You Need to Think About When Using Information on the Internet as Data
Working With Ethics Committees
Chapter 3 - Developing Your Research Questions
Bringing Research Questions Into Focus
Putting the Idea of "Think Big, Plan Big, but Do a Small, Well-Contained Study"3 Into Practice.
Using the Literature When Developing Research Questions
Different Forms of Reasoning and How They Shape the Form That Research Questions Take
Putting Iterative and Reflexive Research Question Development Into Practice—Learning From Others
Scratching the Underbelly of Research Design: Developing Clear Research Question(s). Reflections by Maxi Miciak and Christine Daum.7
Chapter 4 - Why Methodology Matters When Designing Research
Thinking Methodologically
Data: A Concept Shaped by Methodological Assumptions
Paradigms: Sets of Basic Beliefs That Guide Methodological Thinking
Onto-Epistemological Derived Assumptions Underpin Methodological Thinking
Inquiry Paradigms and How They Connect to Methodological Thinking
Inquiry Paradigms Affect Thinking About Whether Research Is Credible
The Importance of Asking Methodological Questions of Your Research Design
Chapter 5 - Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Designing Research
Qualitative and Quantitative Research Strategies
Common Features Associated With Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches
Variation Within Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches
Which Are Better: Qualitative or Quantitative Research Approaches?
Chapter 6 - Obtaining Data Using Qualitative Approaches
Qualitative Methods Are Not Stand-Alone Data Collection Techniques
Different Qualitative Methods Use Different Strategies of Inquiry
How Structured Will Your Qualitative Interviews Be and Why?
Will You Interview Your Participants Individually or in Some Form of Group and Why?
What Will You Ask Your Participants in the Interview and Why?
Who Will You Interview and Why?
Chapter 7 - Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative Data
Analysis of Qualitative Data: An Iterative and Dynamic Strategy
When Does Analysis "Begin" When Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research?
Developing an Iterative Qualitatively Driven Analytic Strategy
Coding—A Strategy to Condense Your Data
More Choices and Decisions to Make When Putting Coding Into Practice
The Art of Interpretation
Collecting and Analyzing Data—When Do You Know That You Are "Done"?
Chapter 8 - Foundational Design Issues When Using Quantitative Methods
What You Need to Think About in Order to Design Credible Quantitative Research
Where to Begin? Deciding Who You Will Collect Numerical Data From and Why
Choosing an Analysis Procedure Suitable for Answering Your Research Question
What Types of Data Are There?
How Different Types of Data Enable Different Types of Knowledge
Chapter 9 - Collecting Data Using Quantiative Methods
Measuring Variables to Enable Valid Research Findings
Making Sure the Measurements You Make Measure What They Claim to
Taking a Closer Look at What Enables Variables to Be Measured
How to Make Abstract Variables Measurable
Developing a Measurement Instrument
Putting a Measurement Instrument Into Practice
Chapter 10 - Designing Research Using Mixed Methods
What Is a Mixed Methods Research Approach?
Why Use a Mixed Methods Research Design?
Priority and Timing of the Components in a Mixed Methods Study
An Example of How to Connect Purpose, Priority, and Timing and Why This Matters
Mixing—A Central Consideration in Mixed Methods Research
Strategies for Navigating the Complex and Contested Field of Mixed Methods Research
Chapter 11 - Why Knowing and Declaring Your Research Design Hand Matters
Knowing and Declaring What Your Research Design Related Hand Is
Declaring Your Hand: Missing in Action in Much of the Reporting of Research
How to Declare Your Research Hand: Circling Back to Tell the Story of the Designing of Your Research
Capturing All This in a Diagram of Some Sort
