How to do a Research Project A Guide for Undergraduate Students [Paperback]

Written specifically to address the needs and concerns of the undergraduate, this tightly focused second edition guides students through the process of conducting and completing a research project.

Friendly and accessible, this fully-updated second edition includes a number of accompanying student support materials to aid students further. Closely integrated sets of end-of-chapter tasks covering all aspects of research projects from design to completion, as well as suggested further reading, enhance each chapter. 

A wide range of additional helpful materials relevant to particular subject areas is also available on the accompanying website at www.wiley.com/college/robson. This textbook is an invaluable resource for students in a wide range of disciplines and fields of study, particularly those planning to use social research methods or to carry out a library-based study, for their undergraduate research project.

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction 1

Part I – Making Preparations 5

1 Preliminaries 9

Recognizing Realities 9

A serious warning 10

Making it Worthwhile 10

Considering Your Audience(s) 11

Individual or Group Research? 12

Types of group research 12

Support groups 13

Planning Your Project 14

Doing it 15

The Structure of the Book 15

End of Chapter Tasks 16

Further Reading 17

Chapter 1 Tasks 17

2 Using Social Research Methods 19

A Concern for the Truth 19

Different Purposes of Research 20

Descriptilóä