Hammond M., Wellington J. Research Methods: The Key Concepts

New York: Routledge, 2020. — 233 p.This book provides an overview of ninety key concepts which often trouble those who are new to researching within the social sciences. It covers theories of knowledge, methodologies and methods. Each entry offers a definition of a concept, shows how researchers have used that concept in their research and discusses difficulties that the concept presents. The book supports those undertaking their own social research projects by providing detailed critical commentary on key concepts in a particularly accessible way.
In exploring these concepts, a wide range of research reports across many different fields are described. These include not only classic accounts, but also a broad selection of recent studies, some written by new researchers. The book will be useful for higher-education students carrying out projects within social science faculties at the end of their first degree or during a master's programme, though it will also be helpful for those undertaking doctoral research, and some entries have been written with the production of a thesis in mind.
This second edition of Research Methods: The Key Concepts provides a more comprehensive and up-to-date coverage, as old entries have been updated and 19 new entries added. It helps new researchers to navigate the changing landscape of social research by recognising a) the changes in the ways researchers are thinking about knowledge and acquiring knowledge, b) the increasing use of digital tools to collect data, and c) the desire many contemporary researchers feel to promote social justice through their research.List of key conceptsAccess
Action research
Agency
Analysis
Axiology
Behaviourism
Bias
Big data
Bricolage
Case study
Causality
Chaos theory
Codes and coding
Collaborative research
Comparative research
Concept
Conceptual framework
Constructionism/constructivism
Content analysis
Conversation analysis
Critical realism
Critical theory
Criticality
Crystallization
Decolonising methodology
Deduction
Delphi methodDescriptionDiaries
Discourse analysis
Documentary research
Ecological approaches
Emic (and etic)
Epistemology
Ethics
Ethnography
Evaluation research
Evidence-based practice
Experimental method
Explanation
Feminist methodology
Game theory
Generalisability
Globalisation
Grounded theory
Induction
Interdisciplinarity
Interpretivism
Intersectionality
Interviewing
Knowledge
Life history
Literature review
Longitudinal studies
Meta-analysis
Metaphor
Method
Methodology
Mixed methods
Modelling
Narrative enquiry
Neuroimaging
Observation
Ontology
Paradigm
Phenomenology
Positionality
Positivism
Post-positivism
Postmodernism
Pragmatism
Qualitative methods
Quantitative methods
Questions
Reliability
Research design
Secondary data analysis
Shadowing
Survey
Symbolic interactionism
Systematic review
Theoretical framework
Theorising
Theory
Triangulation
Trustworthiness
Truth
Validity
Visual methods
Writing for audiences
Short bites