About the Book
Direct, informative and accessible the new edition of Gary Thomas′s bestselling title is essential reading for anyone doing a research project.
Packed full of relevant advice and real world examples the book guides you through the complete research process. Using refreshingly jargon-free language and anecdotal evidence it is a witty, easy to follow introduction that will answer your questions, set out best practice and walk you through every stage of your project step-by-step.
It covers:
- How to choose your research question
- Project management and study skills
- Doing an effective literature review
- Methodology, theory and research design
- Design frames
- Ethics and access
- Tools for data collection
- Effective data analysis
- Discussing findings, concluding and writing up
The expanded, insightfully redesigned second edition has a fully integrated companion website including student worksheets, annotated examples and links to SAGE Journals.
Gary Thomas also has an exciting new video in which he explains what’s new to this Second Edition.
This popular book is ideal for anyone undertaking a research project in the applied social sciences.
Available with Perusall—an eBook that makes it easier to prepare for class
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Table of Contents:
Your Introduction: Starting Points
Preparation: Project Management, Ethics and Getting Clearance
The Literature Review
Decide on Your Question - Again
Methodology Part 1: Deciding on an Approach
Methodology Part 2: The Design Frame
The Right Tools for the Job: Data Gathering
How to Analyse the Information You Gather
Concluding and Writing Up
About the Author :
Being of a nervous disposition as a child, Gary Thomas failed to write anything on his 11-plus examination paper, which inaction took him to secondary modern school.
He eventually became a teacher, then an educational psychologist, then a professor of education at the University of Birmingham, where his teaching, research and writing have focused on inclusive education and the methods used in social science research. He has led a wide range of research projects and has received research funding from the AHRC, the ESRC, the Nuffield Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, the Department for Education, charities such as Barnardo’s and the Cadmean Trust, local authorities and a range of other organisations. He has written or edited 30 books, lots of boring academic articles, and quite interesting essays on the state of education in the national press. He was the editor of journals such as the British Educational Research Journal and Educational Review.
He has two grown-up daughters, one daughter at school, and two grandchildren. He likes, in alphabetical order, birds, chess, cycling, dogs, his family, gardening, reading and writing.
Despite supporting Aston Villa football club, he maintains an optimistic outlook on life.
Review :
This is an excellent guide to research project work in the social sciences. Its practical advice is offered in clear and accessible ways, and is underpinned by sound research principles. Although the book won′t actually write your thesis, those who base their efforts on it should do very well!
Professor Andrew Pollard
Institute of Education, University of London and Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol
I think this edition is clear concise and helpful. It was a must have for me when writing my dissertation and I still refer often to it now. The student finds detailed information with useful examples and direction inside. A great guide to creating sound research projects.
How to Do Your Research Project has been my research ‘bible’! I used it a lot in initial stages, and now in my writing up, I am coming back to it, especially for some sane advice around analysing quantitative data. The writing style is very clear, and having exhausted many of the research texts around advanced research methods, I keep coming back to this book as it makes the most sense.
As learning by doing is very important especially in writing, students need a manual, written without heavy jargon and with lots of examples. Thomas gets you straight to the point by including a smart design, very clear and informative examples, anecdotes and a small dose of humour in his book How to Do Your Research Project. This book will be of great use to students and tutors. As such, it deserves a high place in academic reading lists.
Good detailed and useful book for the students
A good guide for undergraduate students in most scientific disciplines (despite the title!)
Really good step by step instructions. Very good companion website as well!
Very helpful text - clear and concise - good for undergraduate level.
This is very usefull book and I have been using as material in workshops with the students. The Graphics are making the process very clear and this has proved to be very good complementary material.
This is a wonderful text that gives students a good overview of the necessary aspects of undertaking a research project. Its easy to read and accessible with clear guidance on the essentials
Strikes the right tone and balance between scholarship and pragmatism. Has to be supplemented with more in-depth texts on specific issues, but is the kind of book a student can take to the field as a basic resource. I use it as a primary text because in our masters program they only take one methods course so I want them to get something that hits all the bases, is portable and practical.
I really appreciated the book and how the content is explained. It has a simple and elegant style and it covers most subjects needed for a methodology course. But my class is a mix of psychology and education students, and I felt that w the book is strongly geared to the Education field and it lacks a depth of informations needed for the psychology students. If my class was only for students in Education I would surely choose to adopt it.
Great book for research students, have recommended it to my project students
This is an interesting and generally well put together book. However, the tone of writing is perhaps better suited to undergraduate students in the UK (some of the writing is friendly, yet rather colloquial) and I′m unsure whether this is best suited to international students on a postgrad programme which I teach.
There is a curious section on non-probability sampling - the word ′sampling′ is dismissed without an alternative being proposal (unhelpful to students I think).
The section on paradigms covers positivism and interpretivism. I wondered whether this now seems a little dated with Colin Robson′s textbook now suggesting an alternative, drawing on critical realism. I suspect a critical realist perspective (usefully outlined in Alderson P (2013) Childhoods, Real and Imagined) will appeal to many students, especially those in education (which is my area of teaching).
Otherwise, a generally well-written and accessible book which has a down to earth appeal.
A useful additional text for this area.
Excellent and accessible book which I will be recommending to my undergraduate and post-graduate students
I will be recommending this text book to both Undergraduate and Masters courses.
A well structured introduction to educational research for students at Master and early PhD level.
This is very good book for students who want start their career in research methods. It is easy to follow introduction that will answer their questions with illustrative figures and go thought the steps of researches step by step. I would strongly recommend it for students who are required to do a research project in their study.
Best Wishes
************************
Dr. Maryam Ba-Break
Teaching Fellow in Public Health
Very accessible for undergraduates. Thomas draws effectively on his own experiences as both a researcher and tutor. He is adept at demystifying complex terms and processes.
A really good fit for our final year UG module on researching education.
A richly illustrated, detailed and systematic guide to conducting research which will be useful to students in the Development Experience module and my dissertation students. It is accessible, but the amount of blue ink is excessive and distracting.
A good practical guide which will help to lessen students′ anxieties about conducting their study
I think this is an accessible book on conducting research which is very useful for students new to research.
A clear guide to conducting research - will recommend it to my students. The link to the companion website does not work.
This is a welcome update to an essential text for a wide constituency of students in Art, Design and Language
I particularly like the chapter on the literature review and the one on data analysis and have recommended these to the PGCE Science trainees that I work with.
The chapters on data gathering and data analysis are very useful for my students. I also love the little ′post-it′ types notes throughout the text - a very human and accessible approach
Recommended to the Library
Recommended to the Library
This is a good guide for students struggling to progress with their thesis. It is clear and give a structured guid to undertaking a research project.
A comprehensive text providing very helpful guidance which is accessible even to first time researchers
Useful for supporting the teaching of research methods modules.
This book as proved to be very useful for students on research methods modules across all levels. It written and presented in an accessible format.
Excellent book for undergraduates and post graduates. Explores all concepts of research in an accessible way with pictures, tables and graphs.
Detailed guidance given for students. Well structured with useful websites and worksheets.
This is an excellent guide to research project work in the social sciences for undergraduates and postgraduates. Its content is clear, concise and provides very helpful examples to assist students in understanding research principles which are necessary for them to plan for, carry out and write-up their research project.
How to Do Your Research Project by Gary Thomas is a prefect supplement to any social research undergraduate course. With it′s easy to digest and simple layout, this makes research methods clear and concise for any academic. I certainly recommend to all my undergraduate students as well as research colleagues and friends.
Highly recommended to all students conducting primary research projects in the course of their master thesis.
A useful book to guide students through the process
One of a number of useful texts on my reading list.
This book is a great help for any students undertaking projects at College/University. It offers excellent advice on ensuring a complete project and covers a whole range of topics essential for any successful research project from start to finish.
An excellent book; this covers all the major points of a research project and carries the reader through the process step by step. It is set out in an assessable way and does not skip out on any of the major facets to a research project. Would highly recommend this.
This book shows up twice on my feedback sheet, and have just reviewed it.
An excellent and clear text that provides students with a fantastic grounding in applied research.
Not relevant to our particular student base
A good grounding for students undertaking a variety of research projects in their final year.
This book gives a step by step guide to creating a research project. It is well written and easily navigated.
The content is appropriate, and the tables/figures helpful.
I found the font rather small.
One small criticism. The front cover shows two people apparently climbing up something. It turns out they are abseiling down, as the ′You are here′ captions reveal at the start of each chapter. A strange visual device.
It is now the core text for our Dissertation Module!
fantastic Book for students as researchers at all levels
An excellent text.
I found this a useful text which I have recommended along with other books for students in our research journal club. Covers all the imporant questions students generally have about research in a user-friendly format.
This will be ordered through the library to be used as essential reading for the Individual Project module
A highly useful book in helping students prepare for their research report. Particularly useful for those students who are embarking on this level of research for the first time but also useful for those at postgraduate level.
Excellent guide for starting researchers, introduces all important steps of research project. It is accessible, well structured, and informative. Perfect as a textbook to use in class or a self-study guidebook for more independent students.
This replaces the previous edition on the reading list. It is accessible, concise and helps the students to structure academic M level work on the PGCE.
Good supplemental material.
This book provides a very clear outline ideal for the research course provide to the occupational therapy students. I
This book is an excellent guide for my students who are studying at Higher Level. The layout is clear and consise and will prove to be a valuable aid for their research module.
Many thanks Sage
This is a very reassuring book, written in an accessible way, that will give confidence to teaching students, that they can, and will, complete their research project.
An essential read for students studying for an Education MA.
I use this book myself as it is not only informative but enjoyable to read, not something that can be said of all research methods books! My postgraduate students come to my programme with various levels of research skills, many with none at all, and all of them benefit from this book.
Excellent feedback from our students and from staff has led us to recommend this text as essential reading for all students undertaking a research project/dissertation/independentstudy.
An excellent textbook for Masters Level courses
Not relevant to course
Useful for staff and student researchers alike! Highly recommended.
Clear and comprehensive guide for novice and experienced researchers.
Excellent book, I would recommend to anyone taking on a research project, especially for the first time as the author manages to both convey and demystify the fundamental aspects of research, in a succinct and very user-friendly manner, yet retaining the level for masters students.
Many thanks to Gary Thomas for writing this book, specifically to address the needs of the scholars like myself on how to conduct and complete a research project. This book is so user friendly and worth reading.
Keep the critical awareness in your mind while reading Gary’s book! It takes you to a jargon-free journey with brilliant practical examples, advice and reflection. Somehow Gary manages to write truly enjoyable research book.
A comprehensive account of both basic and more complex issues relating to research considered in a thought- provoking way. Academically, a step-up from some similar texts within this area, which might appropriately challenge some learners but prove a little too complex for others. That said, it provides excellent and essential grounding.
Excellent research book. I have recommended this book to my learners. It offers step by step instruction, providing key research principles to enable them to undertake their research project.
Useful, clear guidance for students
detailed guide to the completion of a research project. Informative and justified explanations of the whole process
An excellent title, clearly structured and very informative. This book is ideal for first time researchers. This book was recommended to students on the foundation degree. The feedback from them has been very positive.
Well laid out, easy to follow and read. Useful back up for alternative style.
This is an excellent guide for any student undertaking a research project. The text is user friendly and well structured.
This guide is very helpful for any student struggeling with the implementation of a research project. The book is easy to read and applicable for any level from Bachelor to PhD student.
A good guide for the student, it breaks down the research process into sizeable chunks making it easy to understand
I like the practical advice mixed with methodology content
This book has a logical layout and is easy to read, I like the straightforward way complex topics are explained, and the humour within it.
I feel it will help anyone who is apprehensive about approaching their research project to carry it out effectively. I like the case studies as they put theory into practice. An all round good book which I will recommend!
A basic text offering supplemental reading for students embarking on research for the first time.
Very clear and sufficiently detailed
It has been recommended as a purchase for our library
This has useful information from a social perspective and the content can be related to nursing albeit not enough to be used as a core text,
A practical guide for work based students, written in an accessible way.
A good, alternative text to our core text. We like students to select extra reading from other authors
slightly too much depth for the module that I support. but would suggest for supplemental information.
Comprehensive, well explained terminology, a must for undergraduate and postgraduate students approaching various research projects.
Have used with Academic tutees and dyslexia students to start with as the text is easy to understand and apply. Hence recommended. However feel that it is essential reading and so am recommending onto main list for 3rd and 4th year students this year, and adding to PE degree as well.
This was a really good book for students who have moved from Foundation level into a top up degree because the students could use it section by section, and also go back to reread sections when they were having problems with transferring from theory to practice and viceversa. It was easy to read and understand the prinicples and how to make choices for their research project
I am now planning to use with BA Hons Physical Education students in a module this current teaching semester (2015) as well.
Limited in covering research methods different from traditional ones (e.g., experiments, simulation)
Indicated for students in a primary research project.
Easy to read, appellative graphics, and the lateral boxes in blue help the reader to be aware of important details.
Lots of similar books in this area, but this one has an extended and practical section on methods which is often a [conceptual] stumbling block for new researchers.Focus on education and social sciences also sets this book apart.
An excellent guidetp write your research project. I love this text.It is a direct and accessible text for most postgraduate students and researchers. Well planned examples.
