[Doing Youp Research Project (Open Up Study Skills)] [By: Bell, Judith] [May, 2010]

Open Up Study Skills

by Judith Bell

Since it was first published 1980s, Doing Your Research Project has become something of a 'bible' for first-time researchers in social science. This third edition reflects advances in technology and methodology and positions the book to support researchers in the twenty first century. Doing Your Research Project assumes that the reader has no prior knowledge of research methodology or experience of carrying out research. Written in lucid, plain English, it takes the reader step by step through each stage of preparing for, carrying out and writing up a research project.Judith Bell speaks directly to the beginner student, frequently introducing examples from her own experience of, for example, supervision, the problems of getting access to data, and so on. There are regular checklists to help students monitor the progress of their own projects and the book is full of examples of good practice and warnings about pitfalls to be avoided.The third edition contains new material on Narrative Inquiry, Supervision, Intellectual Property, Ethics, Finding and Searching Information Sources (including an extensive section on use of electronic resources such as CD Roms and the Internet), and the production of Literature Reviews.

Genres: Nonfiction, Research, Science, Reference, Education, Academic, Research Methods

Paperback Bunko

First published February 1, 1987

Reviews

[David Nicol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's be clear on the star rating here. Two stars, according to the legend, is "It was okay". I couldn't give it three because I didn't like it.

I'm keen on text books. Honestly. Non-fiction reference material is actually my thing. I know that seems surprising from such a dashing character as I, but it's true. I'm a geek/nerd/whatever.

So here's the thing, I *had* to read this book. I've started a course and have to do a research project. This book was part of the recommended reading to help us along.

What was wrong with it? I felt like I was reading someone else's research thesis that they then chopped up and edited to make into a book about research projects. Then they sprinkled it with little touches along the lines of "I understand that people are using computers nowadays! Not that I get on with them of course, but if you get on with them then be prepared to learn how to use these graphics doo-dahs and word processing thingies"... I'm obviously paraphrasing for humour purposes there.

Anyhoo, here's the thing, before reading this book, I had no clue who Judith Bell was. After reading the first chapter I decided to google her and the person presented on the old googliser doesn't seem to be the same person that this book is credited to. Judith Bell (google version) is an accomplished and accredited social scientist type person. Judith Bell (author version) appears like the kind of indie author that people on here enjoy tearing to pieces. But obviously she's not.

The book is aimed at first time researchers (including writing your research paper) but, as I said, it is written like a thesis with no explanation of the references and quotations used until you get to the section on references. That I think would be confusing for first time researchers. So instead of taking the subject and writing it in an engaging way, we get this disjointed quote-fest all the way through. That makes it all seem a bit "look at all the books I've read", and also why it seems more like a thesis.

So that's why I give it two stars. It felt like a repackageed thesis, and despite it being updated in 2010 some of the sections could really do with being dragged into the 21st Century.

It's an okay resource, but I'm guessing that there's probably a Dummies Guide that does it much better.

[Haije Bergstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book introduces the reader to setting up a research project. It´s not broad enough to help, short enough to leap through it.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was required reading for my MA. A useful pre-course read for someone who hasn't done any research though, but the focus is pretty wide, so it contains a lot of information that may not be relevant to your particular subject area. Written in a down to earth, unpretentious manner, so pretty easy to read.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quite useful resource for proposal writing in the academic setting.

[Elin Sjögren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring but helpful

[juice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is OK, but the first half (I stopped reading it at halfway as I didn't need the second half) was pretty basic. It's reasonably well-written, but it constantly references "100-hour projects" without ever saying what they are, and it's seriously annoying. I'm doing an honours thesis, which is a touch more than 100 hours, so that phrase is a ridiculous surrogate.

It's not the book on this subject that was initially recommended, but the library had it, so I went with it. Back off to look for the recommended one now.

[Henar Aguilera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Centrado en los métodos de investigación y en la planificación, explica muy bien cómo gestionar la información y, sobre todo, en los métodos de recogida de datos. He echado un poco en falta la profundización en la interpretación de la información, aunque es un punto muy particular para cada investigador. Interesante para principiantes aunque, si eres un investigador avezado, tendrás que interpretarlo a la luz de tu propia experiencia y del resto de la literatura.

[Karen McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intro to qualitative and quantitative research methods

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer this book because it shows the outline of doing a research.

[Thành Thương · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khá ổn cho người mới bắt đầu.

[Μαριαλενα Παπανικου · Rating 3 out of 5]

Καλογραμενος και ευκολοδιαβαστος οδηγός για συγγραφή εργασιών για κάποιον που δεν έχει ξανασχοληθει με την έρευνα. Ωστόσο λέει απλά τα πολύ βασικά, επίσης πολλά από αυτά είναι ξεπερασμένα πλέον.

[Imran Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This take on a journey for knowledge

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It might be an old book but it is still very relevant and very easy to follow and understand.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Offers helpful, practical advice on how to do research. I especially liked the exercises on choosing a topic.

[Applied Social Studies Bedford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Available from the University of Bedfordshire Library. Click on this link to view the catalogue record: http://www.library.beds.ac.uk/record=...

Step-by-step advice on completing an outstanding research project.

This new edition of Doing Your Research Project has been thoroughly updated and includes:

Wider coverage of research ethics
Clear guidelines on the differences between different types of research project
New coverage of “Research diaries”
New sources in further reading plus more information on internet research and the use of electronic resources
Coverage of the latest information on plagiarism
More examples to highlight key issues
This bestselling book is an essential resource to help establish good practice for beginner researchers embarking on undergraduate or postgraduate study, and for professionals in such fields as social science, education, and health.

[evie;♡⋆.ೃ࿔* · Rating 4 out of 5]

was actually quite useful 🤞

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the 6th edition. 2014.
This book has simple, step by step guide lines for high school students and uni students on how to do basic research projects, also giving advice on how to research using evidence, data collection, questionnaires and literature reviews. Also includes information on plagiarism, using the internet for research, and tips for writing reports. Language is easy to understand and can be read by both teens and adults. It is a little word heavy, but has some nice summaries and 'top ten' suggestion lists.

[Berke Sahbazoglu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book to learn more about conducting experiments and preparing research. I was hoping for some information on medical trials or long-term laboratory observations but this book barely mentioned those.

It focuses on data collection methods like interviews and questionares instead of placebo including clinical trials or controlled experiments. Besides learning a couple of sites like ERIC and Worldcat for searching journals, this book was really the wrong choice for me.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a clear easy to understand overview of the research process. It is written mainly for those conducting smaller research projects, but it serves as a very good refresher for anyone doing research at any level.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the first time I've completed a research project but I thought I'd take a look at this book anyway. It helped me realize that I'm doing some things right, and also gave me great tips for things I hadn't been thinking about. Overall what it did was encourage me to keep going.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely aimed less at arts based projects than other humanities and STEM subjects, but there was a lot of encouragement and useful information to get anyone going. Very conversationally written, which was quite pleasant and made it a quick, easy and informative read.

[Dene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite practical.

The thing I took away from it most is the importance of consistency when gathering information. Reminder not to be lazy when filing stuff.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helped a little...

[Shelley Bridgman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent if embarking on a research project

[Natalie Abad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great companion for those embarking on research projects in Education for the first time. A useful summary to the more in-depth Cohen et al. Research Methods in Education.

[Wilbert Mutoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on research

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[Dave Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to completing a research project but I felt it could do with a more in depth look at some aspects of the process and lose some of the broad range of topics it covers.

[Michael Storer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's served its purpose as a two day crash course in research project writing. More detail would be useful, but its conciseness is understandable given its central purpose as a quick 'How To'.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful. Good beginners book for Research project.