Research Methods for Education, second edition

Research Methods for Education, Second Edition takes the student by the hand and guides them through the complex subject of research methods in an engaging, witty and clear way. The book covers the philosophical approaches and epistemology, as well as the practical aspects of research, such as designing questionnaires and presenting conclusions. Each chapter is split into 'Context' and 'Practice' and both sections are packed with exercises, examples and comparative international material from other educational contexts, Peter Newby's book is the student-friendly text which demystifies the research process with clarity and verve. Key features: -written in a clear and friendly manner to help students feel more confident dealing with the complexities of research and particularly useful for those new to research or less confident with numbers -a mixed methods approach, which doesn't simply prioritise quantitative or qualitative methods, allowing for greatest possible coverage contains guidance on analytic procedures that require more advanced tools such as SPSS and Minitab -many excellent international examples and case studies specifically from education, which breaks away from a parochial focus on UK education system.

Peter Newby headed up educational development at Middlesex University for ten years. After this he set up an education research and development centre where the focus of the work was the exploration of learning processes and frameworks that could deliver prosperity and greater social equality to communities. Peter is now Emeritus Professor of Higher Education at Middlesex University.

Part 1: The Context for Your Research 1. Research: A Messy Business 2. Understanding the Research Process 3. Putting your Research Design Together Part 2: The Process of Data Collection 4. Data: Assembling the Research Toolkit 5. Using Literature in Research 6. Getting the Right Information 7. Cracking the Reseach Question 8. Asking Questions 9. Talking, Listening and Watching: Other Approaches to Data Collection Part 3: The Process of Data Analysis 10. Extracting the Information from Statistical Data 11. Extracting the Information from Qualitative Data Sets 12. Extracting Information from Quantitative Data 13. Using Statistics to Say Something Significant 14. Putting it all Together Appendix 1: Calculating Sample Size Appendix 2: Calculating Critical Values for the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test