Doing Your Research Project : A Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education and Social Science

Over 200,000 copies sold!

Reviewers comments on the 2nd Edition:
"The first edition of this book was something of a classic, and a battered and thumbed copy will be found on most researchers' shelves. The second edition deserves to enjoy every bit as much success" - Nursing Times

..."Nicely done Judith Bell - no wonder the book is in its 10th printing" - Social Work Review

Since it was first published in the late 1980s, Doing Your Research Project has become the benchmark reference for first-time researchers in social science. This third edition reflects advances in technology and methodology and positions the book to support researchers in the twenty first century. However, the book's formula remains essentially the same because of its unmatched ability to deliver two key benefits:

* it enables students to get through their first research projects successfully and without wasting lots of time in trial and error;

* in the process, it helps students to develop sound techniques and good practice which will serve them well in future research projects

Doing Your Research Project assumes that the reader has no prior knowledge of research methodology or experience of carrying out research. Written in lucid, plain English, it takes the reader step by step through each stage of preparing for, carrying out and writing up a research project.

Judith Bell speaks directly to the beginner student, frequently introducing examples from her own experience of, for example, supervision, the problems of getting access to data, and so on. There are regular checklists to help students monitor the progress of their own projects and the book is full of examples of good practice and warnings about pitfalls to be avoided. It serves as a guide to practice for beginner researchers who are embarking on undergraduate or postgraduate study and professionals such as teachers, nurses and social workers who are involved in the preparation and production of research projects.

The third edition includes coverage of Narrative Inquiry, Supervision, Intellectual Property, Ethics, Finding and Searching Information Sources (including an extensive section on use of electronic resources such as CD-Roms and the Internet), and the production of Literature Reviews.

Judith Bell has worked as a university lecturer, head of department and vice principal in colleges of further education, senior counsellor and course team writer for the Open University, and as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools specializing in continuing education. She works now as a freelance writer, lecturer and consultant and holds honorary fellowships in various universities in the UK.