Research Methods for Postgraduates
3. Edition October 2016
518 Pages, Softcover
Practical Approach Book
Short Description
This new edition is a response both to the success of the second edition and to rapid changes in research methods and technology. This book offers guidance for postgraduate students on organizing, planning, and conducting research from an interdisciplinary perspective. It features new chapters on social media, valuating the research process, Kansei engineering, and reporting medical research. Updates are provided on issues relevant to postgraduates in all subjects, from writing a proposal and securing research funds, to data analysis and the presentation of research, through to intellectual property protection and career opportunities.
Further versions
guidance in all subject areas
Editor:Tony Greenfield, Industrial Statistics Research Unit (ISRU), University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Research Methods for Postgraduates brings together guidance for postgraduate students on how to organise, plan and do research from an interdisciplinary perspective. In this new edition, the already wide-ranging coverage is enhanced by the addition of new chapters on social media, evaluating the research process, Kansei engineering and medical research reporting. The extensive updates also provide the latest guidance on issues relevant to postgraduates in all subject areas, from writing a proposal and securing research funds, to data analysis and the presentation of research, through to intellectual property protection and career opportunities.
This thoroughly revised new edition provides:
* Clear and concise advice from distinguished international researchers on how to plan, organise and conduct research.
* New chapters explore social media in research, evaluate the research process, Kansei engineering and discuss the reporting of medical research.
* Check lists and diagrams throughout.
Praise for the second edition:
"... the most useful book any new postgraduate could ever buy." (New Scientist)
"The book certainly merits its acceptance as essential reading for postgraduates and will be valuable to anyone associated in any way with research or with presentation of technical or scientific information of any kind."(Robotica)
Like its predecessors, the third edition of Research Methods for Postgraduates is accessible and comprehensive, and is a must-read for any postgraduate student.
List of Contributors xi
Preface to the Third Edition xiii
Preface to the Second Edition xix
Preface to the First Edition xxi
Part I FIRST STEPS 1
1 A View of Research 3
Tony Greenfield
2 The Research Journey: Four Steps to Success 7
Tom Bourner and Sue Greener
3 Managing Your Doctorate 13
Stan Taylor
4 Documenting Your Work 34
Vivien Martin
5 Ethics of Research 46
Tony Greenfield
6 Plagiarism 56
Tony Greenfield
7 Critically Reviewing Your Own Research 60
Tom Bourner and Juliet Millican
Part II SUPPORT 69
8 Research Proposals for Funding 71
Lowry McComb
9 Who Can Help? 81
Shirley Coleman
10 Information and Library Services 86
Claire Abson and Alastair Allan
11 Research Methods for Advanced Web Searching 94
Alastair Allan
12 Searching in Unfamiliar Fields 113
Tom Bourner and Sue Greener
13 Sources of Population Statistics 121
Keith Dugmore
14 An Introduction to Bibliometrics 130
Silvia Salini
15 Choosing and Using Software for Statistics 144
Felix Grant
16 Computer Support for Data Analysis 152
Clifford E. Lunneborg
Part III MEASUREMENT AND EXPERIMENTATION 157
17 Instrumentation in Experimentation 159
Anand D. Pandyan, Frederike van Wijck and Garth R. Johnson
18 Randomised Trials 171
Douglas G. Altman
19 Laboratory and Industrial Experiments 180
Tony Greenfield
20 Experiments in Biological Sciences 193
Roger Payne
21 Survey Research 202
David de Vaus
22 Theory and Practice of Qualitative Research 214
Irena Ograjensek
23 Kansei Engineering 231
Lluis Marco-Almagro
24 Principles of Sampling 244
Peter Lynn
25 Sampling in Human Studies 255
Peter Lynn
26 Interviewing 264
Mark Hughes
27 Measurement Error 275
Roland Caulcutt
Part IV DATA ANALYSIS 287
28 Elementary Statistics 289
David J. Hand
29 Further Statistical Methods 299
David J. Hand
30 Spreadsheets: A Few Tips 307
Tony Greenfield and Andrea Benn
Part V SPECIAL TOOLS 323
31 The Value of Mathematical Models 325
Andrew Metcalfe
32 Deterministic Models 342
Andrew Metcalfe
33 Stochastic Models and Simulation 357
David Green and Andrew Metcalfe
34 Optimisation 372
Aiden Fisher and Andrew Metcalfe
Part VI PRESENTATION 387
35 Writing the Thesis 389
Tony Greenfield
36 The Logic of a Research Report 400
Tom Bourner and Linda Heath
37 Presenting Data 412
Sue Greener
38 Presenting and Sharing Your Research 419
Sue Greener
39 Reporting Research 429
Iveta Simera and Douglas G. Altman
40 Social Media - How to Make ItWork for You as a Post-Graduate 440
Suzanne Fraser-Martin and Catherine Fraser-Martin
Part VII NEXT STEPS 455
41 Protection and Exploitation of Intellectual Property 457
Patrick Andrews
42 Career Opportunities 470
Sara Shinton
Index 479
