ABSTRACT

Clear, accessible and practical, this guide introduces the first-time researcher to the various instruments used in social research. It assesses a broad range of research instruments - from the well-established to the innovative - enabling readers to decide which are particularly well suited to their research.
The book covers:

  • questionnaires
  • interviews
  • content analysis
  • focus groups
  • observation
  • researching the things people say and do.

This book is particularly suitable for work-based and undergraduate researchers in education, social policy and social work, nursing and business administration. It draws numerous examples from actual research projects, which readers can adapt for their own purposes. Written in a fresh and jargon-free style, the book assumes no prior knowledge and is firmly rooted in the authors' own extensive research experience.
Using Research Instruments is the ideal companion volume to The Researcher's Toolkit. Together they offer a superb practical introduction to conducting a social research project.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|9 pages

Questionnaires

chapter |10 pages

Limitations

chapter 2|10 pages

Interviews

chapter |10 pages

Conduct the interview

chapter |2 pages

Analysing the interview data

chapter 3|19 pages

Content analysis

chapter 4|24 pages

Focus groups

chapter |2 pages

Key texts on focus-group research

chapter 5|7 pages

Observation

chapter |20 pages

Planning and conducting your observation

chapter |1 pages

Key texts on observational research

chapter |1 pages

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