ABSTRACT
The full research process can be divided into several stages, which are listed in Box 2.1. This is the fi rst of three chapters on research design, which is the beginning of the process. Different people use the term ‘research design’ in slightly different ways, but I will use it to mean steps one to three in Box 2.1 – the process of identifying a research topic, defi ning what you wish to fi nd out about it, and planning what you will actually do (the methodology) in order to address your aims.
