Research Methods Core

This book consists of ten chapters, focusing on how to combine quantitative with qualitative methods in a research project. The approach of combining both methods is called 'Triangulation'. In the social sciences, triangulation is often used in combining several research methods to study one subject. However, it is not in itself a method in the same way as a quantitative or qualitative approach with a specific paradigm. Triangulation is a plan, structure and investigation strategy deployed to obtain answers to problems identified at an earlier stage, and is widely used by researchers due to its capability in cross-checking the validity of findings and its minimal risk of bias. This book details the triangulation approach through its use in a real research project. Although, there are a number of books which discuss general research guidelines and methods, there is a notable lack of such books in social sciences which provide an example of integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in one research project. As such, the contents of this book will be useful to students, academicians and practitioners conducting research work.

Social scientists have long relied on a wide range of tools to collect information about the social world, but as individual fields have become more specialised, researchers are trained to use a narrow range of the possible data collection methods. This book, first published in 2006, draws on a broad range of available social data collection methods to formulate a set of data collection approaches. The approaches described here are ideal for social science researchers who plan to collect new data about people, organisations, or social processes. Axinn and Pearce present methods designed to create a comprehensive empirical description of the subject being studied, with an emphasis on accumulating the information needed to understand what causes what with a minimum of error. In addition to providing methodological motivation and underlying principles, the book is filled with detailed instructions and concrete examples for those who wish to apply the methods to their research.

In Mixed Methods Research: Exploring the Interactive Continuum, the second edition of Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology, authors Carolyn S. Ridenour and Isadore Newman reject the artificial dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative research strategies in the social and behavioral sciences and argue that the two approaches are neither mutually exclusive nor interchangeable; rather, the actual relationship between the two paradigms is one of isolated events on a continuum of scientific inquiry.             In their original model for research--the "interactive continuum"--Ridenour and Newman emphasize four major points: that the research question dictates the selection of research methods; that consistency between question and design can lead to a method of critiquing research studies in journals; that the interactive continuum model is built around the place of theory; and that the assurance of validity of research is central to all studies.  With this edition, the authors incorporate the concept of research purpose into their analysis. To contextualize their new argument and to propose strategies for enhancement, Ridenour and Newman review the historical and contemporary debates around research frameworks and define the nature of scientific validity. Establishing five criteria that render a study "scientific," they propose ways to strengthen validity in research design.  They argue that by employing multiple methods, researchers may enhance the quality of their research outcomes. By integrating the quantitative research standards of internal and external validity and the qualitative research standards of trustworthiness, Ridenour and Newman suggest a principle for mixed methods research.             Ridenour and Newman apply this theoretical concept to a systematic analysis of four published research studies, with special emphasis on the consistency among research purpose, question, and design. Ridenour and Newman have completely rewritten their conclusions in light of their evolving analyses.  They incorporate their most recent ideas into the qualitative-quantitative continuum and emphasize the "model of consistency" as key for research to meet the standard of "scientific." This book occupies a vital place at the junction of methodological theory and scientific practice and makes connections between the traditionally separate realms of quantitative and qualitative research. 

The long-awaited 2nd edition of this best-selling research methods handbook is fully updated and includes brand new coverage of online research methods and techniques, mixed methodology and qualitative analysis. This edition includes two new contributed chapters: Professor Julie McLeod, Sue Childs and Elizabeth Lomas focus on research data management, applying evidence from the recent JISC funded ‘DATUM'project; Dr Andrew Shenton examines strategies for analysing existing documents. The first to focus entirely on the needs of the information and communications community, this handbook guides the would-be researcher through the variety of possibilities open to them under the heading ‘research'and provides students with the confidence to embark on their dissertations. The focus here is on the ‘doing'and although the philosophy and theory of research is explored to provide context, this is essentially a practical exploration of the whole research process with each chapter fully supported by examples and exercises tried and tested over a whole teaching career. Readership: Students of information and communications studies and archives and records management, and practitioners beginning a piece of research.