ABSTRACT

Online student resource material cab be accessed under the 'Support Materials' tab at https://www.routledge.com/9780367207939

Doing Academic Research is a concise, accessible, and tightly organized overview of the research process in the humanities, social sciences, and business. Conducting effective scholarly research can seem like a frustrating, confusing, and unpleasant experience. Early researchers often have inconsistent knowledge and experience, and can become overwhelmed – reducing their ability to produce high quality work.

Rather than a book about research, this is a practical guide to doing research. It guides budding researchers along the process of developing an effective workflow, where to go for help, and how to actually complete the project. The book addresses diversity in abilities, interest, discipline, and ways of knowing by focusing not just on the process of conducting any one method in detail, but also on the ways in which someone might choose a research method and conduct it successfully. Finally, it emphasizes accessibility and approachability through real-world examples, key insights, tips, and tricks from active researchers.

This book is a highly useful addition to both content area courses and research methods courses, as well as a practical guide for graduate students and independent scholars interested in publishing their research.

part I|69 pages

Get the party started right

chapter Chapter 1|12 pages

Learn to love, not dread, research

chapter Chapter 2|12 pages

Where do I start?

chapter Chapter 3|16 pages

Now what do I do? What’s a lit review?

chapter Chapter 4|28 pages

Choosing a method

part II|74 pages

Methodology overviews

chapter Chapter 5|9 pages

Close textual and thematic analysis

chapter Chapter 6|17 pages

Content and discourse analysis

chapter Chapter 7|21 pages

Ethnography, interviews, and focus groups

chapter Chapter 8|16 pages

Surveys

part III|36 pages

Data analysis and the final push

chapter Chapter 10|10 pages

Analyzing qualitative data and making sense of detail

chapter Chapter 11|17 pages

Analyzing quantitative data and making sense of numbers

chapter Chapter 12|8 pages

Persuasion, presentation, and publication