Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers

by Colin Robson

This successful text furnishes students with the skills necessary to conduct research outside the laboratory, in real world situations. For the second edition, the text has been thoroughly revised in order to bring it right up to date, and to make it as useful as possible for teachers and students from a range of behavioral and social science disciplines. Changes for the new edition include: Examples and references have been updated, and new examples have been drawn in from the fields of applied psychology, applied social science, health studies, social work and education. Greater emphasis has been placed on flexible designs using largely qualitative methods, including additional coverage of ethnographic and grounded theory approaches. Critical discussion is included of the place of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and statistical significance testing in fixed, quantitative design research The quantitative analysis section is now based around the current version of SPSS, while the section on qualitative analysis is now based around the NUD*IST software. Material has been added on combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The author has situated the material more clearly within theoretical conceptualizations of the nature of social science research, pointing to the advantages of a critical realist approach. The text now incorporates more on tests and test theory. Improvements to the pedagogical material include the addition of a glossary and detailed cross-referencing across chapters. For sample chapters please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/robson

Genres: Research, Nonfiction, Reference, Psychology, Social Science, Philosophy, Design

510 pages, Hardcover

First published June 14, 1993

Reviews

[Lucy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jolly useful, well worth it if doing research in teaching or similar field.

[Nina Miller]

This is a rough read, but if you can scan it and use it as refernce, it is really useful.

[Andy Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading this fifteen years after my last postgraduate study, as I begin researching for the mini-dissertation on my PGCPHE.
A clear, practical guide.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might think this looks like a textbook. You would be wrong. Robson's book is a fantastic practical guide for working researchers--it's organized in a very accessible format, and contains straightforward, easily implemented guides to various types of research designs. This book works as a field guide, which makes its theoretical content all the more valuable.

[Anujin Zor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm alive but im dead

[Tom White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read and referenced as part of my MSc dissertation. A quintessential guide but some chapters felt a bit dated - probably because I read the fourth edition

[Elizabeth]

Reading this for SLIS 705. So far, surprisingly readable for a textbook.

[Martyn Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful and practical guide to cutting through the academic jargon and translating it into practical application.