Research Design

Stephen Gorard is the Professor of Education Research at the University of Birmingham, Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences, introducer for the ESRC Grant Awarding Panel A, and a methods expert for the US Institute of Education Science panel on Mathematics and Science. His research concerns the robust evaluation of education as a lifelong society-wide process, focused on issues of equity and effectiveness. He has successfully conducted over 70 projects funded by government and other sources, and is the author of hundreds of research books and articles. His work appears regularly in the media, and is much used by local and international policy-makers. He is currently an evaluator for the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional Policy, the Educational Endowment Foundation, the Learning and Skills Information Service, the Department of Work and Pensions, and the Food Standards Agency.

This is a landmark text in the neglected field of research design. Gorard provides a unique introduction to planning and executing a research project that is both grounded in well-established traditions and radical in its approach. Perhaps the most important methods text published in many yearsPatrick WhiteUniversity of Leicester For the first time this book has made me realize the need and worth of doing real social science research. Page after page made me think clearly about research design and its essential importance. The book will have an everlasting impact on my view of any research project. I must say that it is the only book I have ever come across that reads so simply and so naturally about research design in social sciences. This book is surely the ′bible′ of social science research for meNadia SiddiquiLecturer, Fatima Jinnah Women′s University, Pakistan

• PART ONE: INTRODUCTION - ′DESIGN′ AS DISTINCT FROM METHODSWhat Is Research Design?Introducing Designs in the Cycle of ResearchPART TWO: THE PRELIMINARIES OF RESEARCH DESIGNIdentifying Researchable QuestionsWarranting Research ClaimsThe Nature of Causal ClaimsPART THREE: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHERIdentifying the Sample or CasesComparing for Comparative ClaimsMatters of Timing and SequenceEvaluating Controlled Interventions PART FOUR: MORE ADVANCED CONSIDERATIONSFurther Designs for EvaluationChallenges for ValidityHow Big Is a Difference?A Second Principle of EthicsPART FIVE: CONCLUSIONRevisiting the Need for Robust Design