How to Do Your Research Project: A Guide for Students in Education and Applied Social Sciences

Lecturers, why waste time waiting for the post to arrive? Click on the above icon and receive your e-inspection copy today! 'Whether embarking on research as an undergraduate or for a doctorate, Gary Thomas' book will be of great value to you. It is refreshingly different from other books about doing research: it's informative, well-written, wide-ranging yet sufficiently detailed and above all it's enjoyable to read! I recommend it highly'. Professor Peter Earley, Institute of Education, University of London Are you doing a research project? Do you need advice on how to carry out research? Using practical examples, this book takes you through what should happen at each phase in the project's schedule. Gary Thomas explains the main design frames and methods of data collection and analysis used in education and social science research, and provides down to earth advice on how to weave these elements together into a coherent whole. Structured according to the main phases of doing a project, the book covers -deciding your topic and your research question -project management and study skills -doing a literature review -methodology and research design -design frames -ethics and access -how to analyse the information you gather -discussing findings, theorising, concluding and writing up This book is an essential read for undergraduate, postgraduate, CPD and doctoral students undertaking a project in the applied social sciences. Comments from tutors: 'I loved this book! It brought research methods alive': Gill Richards, Nottingham Trent University 'Unputdownable': Joy Jarvis, University of Hertfordshire 'Accessible and encouraging style': Neil Stott, Nottingham Trent University Comments from students: 'Brilliant': Alison Patterson 'Love the visual models': Susan Allan 'Filled me with optimism': Anne Cowan 'Very entertaining as well as extremely useful': Viv Brown Gary Thomas is Professor of Education at the University of Birmingham.

Review :
'Academic staff should make this part of their essential reading. Thomas has succeeded in thinking through the research process and sharing a perspective that offers clarity, wit, wisdom and common sense' - British Educational Research Journal 'This book is well written, accessible, and strips away a lot of the mystery associated with research endeavour. At the same time, it is rigorous and thought-provoking' - SENCO Update 'I would like to congratulate the author on the clarity, accessibility, wit and excellent illustrations/examples. I have recommended it to our doctoral students' - Judy Sebba, University of Sussex 'With effortless language devoid of jargon, [Gary Thomas] covers practicalities like ethics, research tools and data gathering, and how to analyse information .This book will help all researchers, whether at the undergraduates or PhD level, to think, inquire and actually do research' - Youth Studies Australia 'Gary Thomas's book is the most accessible and useful book I have yet found for students who are beginning research....It manages to deal with potentially difficult issues in a direct and unpretentious way' - Professor Neil Mercer, University of Cambridge 'This is a splendid contribution for enhancing research capacity. In combining balance, accessibility and vigour, it models an impact strategy to which TLRP has been pleased ton contribute' - "Andrew Pollard, Teaching and Learning Research Programme " 'I liked the style which is clear and informative, the short anecdotes and humour, and the contents since it covers the really important stuff. I kept smiling to myself since the book is crammed full of the 'craft' of doing research so maybe this book is as much for supervisors as it is for students. But what I liked most was the clear portrayal of complexity. It gives access to the subtle and the difficult aspects of doing research - that is, the revelation of the complexity' - "Dr John Prosser, Universit