Todo

1 research and the research Problem
AIMS INTRODUCTION WHAT IS RESEARCH? WHAT IT IS FOR – THE OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH TYPES OF RESEARCH Historical Comparative Descriptive Correlation Experimental Evaluation Action Ethnogenic Feminist Cultural THE RESEARCH PROCESS Desirable characteristics of research findings STARTING YOUR OWN RESEARCH Finding and defining a research problem Some common mistakesAids to locating and analysing problems Research problem definition The sub-problems PLANNING A RESEARCH PROJECT Choosing a research strategy Planning your projects THE NEXT STEPS: FINDING YOUR RESEARCH PROBLEM AREA Checklist of activities that will progress your research Consolidation and assessment FURTHER READING 2 2 2 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 16 18 19 19 20 22 27 28 29 31 33 35 36 40 40 42 51 52 54 5401-Walliman-4197-Ch-01.indd 1

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2 Your research Project

aims
• • • • To explain what research is, and what it is not, and the objectives of research To outline the different types of research To discuss the research process To introduce the concept at the heart of any research project – the research problem – and to discuss what a researchable problem is • Towarn of common mistakes • To describe how to choose your research strategy and plan your research project

Introduction
The shortest way of describing the contents of this chapter is to say that it provides a starting point for your research efforts. It introduces the concept of research as understood in the academic world, and contrasts it to the loose way the word ‘research’ is used in everydayspeech. However, even in the academic world, the nature of research is the subject of a great deal of debate. The characteristics of scientific method are briefly explained, and the interpretivist alternative is discussed as one of the aspects of the debate about research methods. This debate is treated in much greater detail in Chapter 2. An overview of the research process is given showingvarious ways to illustrate it. research problem An essential early step in the process of research is to find a research problem. What a research problem is, and how to find one, are explained. The nature of your problem will, in its turn, influence the form of your research. It is this quest for a problem which forms the task in the final section, where what you have learned in the earlier sections isapplied to your own subject. Key words are shown in bold and are repeated in the margin so you can scan through the chapter to check up on their meaning.

What is research?
‘Research’ is a term loosely used in everyday speech to describe a multitude of activities, such as collecting masses of information, delving into esoteric theories, and producing wonderful new products. It is importantthat a student or practitioner embarking on a programme of academic or practical research has a clear idea of what the word ‘research’ really means, and clears away any misconceptions that might exist owing to the word’s common use in other fields. It is, therefore, worth looking at a few of the ways that the word is used in common language to describe activities, often called research, which are not01-Walliman-4197-Ch-01.indd 2

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research and the research Problem 3

research in its real meaning, and also at some of the emotive language that surrounds the term. These are some of the ways in which the term ‘research’ is wrongly used:
1 As a mere gathering of facts or information: ‘I’ll go and do a bit of research into the subject.’ This usually means quicklyreading through a few books or magazines to become better informed about something. Such information can be collected in other ways too, e.g. by asking people questions in the street or by recording the number of vehicles driving along a road. This kind of activity may more accurately be called ‘collection of information’, and can be carried out in a systematic and thorough way. It certainly can...