Researching Learning in Higher Education: An Introduction to Contemporary Methods and Approaches

Across the world, universities are transforming their teaching and learning practices to meet the challenges facing Higher Education in the 21st century. Research into teaching and learning in Higher Education has never been a more important issue. Growing numbers of academics across disciplines are conducting research in their teaching. This book presents contemporary approaches to researching university teaching and learning to address this rising demand. The author provides a much needed comprehensive yet basic approach for conducting this type of research.

A perfect resource for new lecturers, professional developers, researchers and graduate students; this book provides useful and effective guidance for conducting teaching and learning research in Higher Education. Filling a clear gap in the market, this book covers all the essential methodological and theoretical bases needed to engage in Higher Education research. This book offers a refreshingly light yet serious approach to research which has proved to yield significant advances in the field, allowing new academics from any discipline to effectively conduct higher education research. Each chapter covers the following:

1. FRAMING HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH
2. Generating an ETHICAL FRAMEWORK
3. QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
4. FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH
5. SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
6. NARRATIVE INQUIRY
7. ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACHES
8. CASE STUDY RESEARCH
9. ACTION RESEARCH
10. APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
11. PHENOMENOGRAPHY
12. RESEARCHING THRESHOLD CONCEPTS
13. VISUAL RESEARCH
14. EVALUATION APPROACHES

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in up to date theories and methods for conducting teaching and learning research in Higher Education.

Glynis Cousin is a senior advisor at the Higher Education Academy. She is one of the UK’s foremost educational researchers and has extensive experience working with teachers in many disciplines. She has written a number of titles on Educational Development, Teaching and Learning and Research.