Research Methods and Methodologies in Education - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857020390 ISBN 13: 9780857020390

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012

Synopsis

Using a variety of methodological approaches and research techniques in education, this book provides students with the theoretical understandings, practical knowledge and skills which they need to carry out independent research. The editors bring together an array of international contributors, all of whom identify key research methodologies, data collection tools and analysis methods, and focus on the direct comparisons between them.

The chapters cover the full range of methods and methodologies, including internet research, mixed methods research, and the various modes of ethnographic research. Online support materials include tips on how to use the book, and links to useful websites, societies and research organizations.

About this title

About the Author

Professor James Arthur, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor of Education and Civic Engagement, University of Birmingham. He is Director, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, an inter-disciplinary research centre focussing on character, virtues and values in the interest of human flourishing. He has written widely on the relationship between theory and practice in education, particularly the links between communitarianism, social virtues, citizenship, religion and education. He is Secretary to the Society for Educational Studies.

Review

′This work will be of immense value to those who are undertaking a significant post-graduate research study in Education at the M. Phil or PhD level. As well it will be helpful to commissioners of research who may have expertise in one method or another, but not the across-the-board insight when evaluating proposals that employ varied and innovative methods. Its array of impressive contributors writes in an accessible and clear manner and brings the attention of the reader to both technical and conceptual terms.

Not only does the handbook provide the reader with a range of research methods with their associated costs and benefits, but also draws attention to the need for careful and systematic planning at all stages of the inquiry. It cautions against employing any method without first evaluating its appropriateness to the questions being investigated, that is, the commensurability of the research to the purpose of the inquiry.

As a seasoned researcher I found myself refreshed and curious regarding the ongoing debates that continue to circulate around matters of validity and generalisability in increasingly complex contexts. It certainly will be an addition to my own reference library′
-Susan Groundwater-Smith
Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney

Edition details

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0857020390
• ISBN 13: 9780857020390
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456
• Editor: Arthur James, Waring Michael, Coe Robert, Hedges Larry V.