Research Design

Julianne Cheek is a professor at ∅stfold University College, Norway. She is editor in chief of Qualitative Health Research, as well as being an editorial board member of a number of journals related to qualitative inquiry. Her publications reflect her ongoing interest in qualitative inquiry and the politics of that inquiry. In 2010-2012, she had the honor of serving as the vice president of the International Association of Qualitative Inquiry and currently serves on the External Advisory Board of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, held annually at the University of Illinois. She has a long term interest in the teaching and development of courses in research design and methods -  at Masters, Doctoral, and Post-Doctoral levels. Julianne has formal qualifications  in teaching and education and began her working life teaching science in secondary schools. After completing her PhD in social sciences she took up her first academic post teaching nursing students. Since then she has taught research methods to students in a number of health related areas including physiotherapy, nutrition and sport sciences, as well as students in leadership and organizational studies.  She has held senior administrative university posts at a number of universities, including Dean of Graduate Studies. Director of Early Career Development, and Dean Research. Elise ∅by is an associate professor at Kristiania University College, Norway. She holds a PhD in mathematics and a master’s degree in organization and leadership. Her Masters study employed qualitative research. She has held academic positions in multiple universities and colleges in Norway. She has also worked in public administration and held a management position at a university college. She started her academic career teaching mathematics and statistics across a variety of study programs including teacher education, finance, and business administration. Her teaching experience also includes courses in mathematics and physics taken by engineering students. In engineering, statistics (and therefore mathematics) are considered a tool more than the issue of interest in itself. Using mathematics and statistics as tools to learn about how the world works and how to make decisions based on empirical data collected from and about that world, rather than as procedures to solve constructed mathematical/statistical problems, sparked her interest in the field of research design and research methods in the social sciences. Her current teaching includes courses in research design, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods. She has an interest in  enabling students and researchers to design research in such a way that the findings from that research is credible, reliable, trustworthy, and defensible.

This is one of the clearest and most accessible research methods books I have read as a scholar. I highly recommend for both students and teachers alike. It is an excellent survey of both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

• Chapter 1 – Research Design: What You Need to Think About and WhyIntroduction: What Is Research Design?Designing Research Is an Iterative ProcessResearch Design: Working With the LiteratureHow Do You Make Decisions About Which Literature to Trust or Rely On?Research Design: Considering Methodology and MethodsResearch Design: Considering TheoryThe Importance of Reflexive Thinking When Designing ResearchChapter 2 – Ethical Issues in Research DesignWhat Is Research Ethics?Putting Informed Consent Into PracticePutting Confidentiality and Anonymity Into PracticeWhat You Need to Think About When Reusing, Repurposing, and Sharing DataWhat You Need to Think About When Using Information on the Internet as DataWorking With Ethics CommitteesChapter 3 – Developing Your Research QuestionsBringing Research Questions Into FocusPutting the Idea of “Think Big, Plan Big, but Do a Small, Well-Contained Study”3 Into Practice.Using the Literature When Developing Research QuestionsDifferent Forms of Reasoning and How They Shape the Form That Research Questions TakePutting Iterative and Reflexive Research Question Development Into Practice—Learning From OthersScratching the Underbelly of Research Design: Developing Clear Research Question(s). Reflections by Maxi Miciak and Christine Daum.7Chapter 4 – Why Methodology Matters When Designing ResearchThinking MethodologicallyData: A Concept Shaped by Methodological AssumptionsParadigms: Sets of Basic Beliefs That Guide Methodological ThinkingOnto-Epistemological Derived Assumptions Underpin Methodological ThinkingInquiry Paradigms and How They Connect to Methodological ThinkingInquiry Paradigms Affect Thinking About Whether Research Is CredibleThe Importance of Asking Methodological Questions of Your Research DesignChapter 5 – Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Designing ResearchQualitative and Quantitative Research StrategiesCommon Features Associated With Quantitative and Qualitative ApproachesVariation Within Quantitative and Qualitative Research ApproachesWhich Are Better: Qualitative or Quantitative Research Approaches?Chapter 6 – Obtaining Data Using Qualitative ApproachesQualitative Methods Are Not Stand-Alone Data Collection TechniquesDifferent Qualitative Methods Use Different Strategies of InquiryHow Structured Will Your Qualitative Interviews Be and Why?Will You Interview Your Participants Individually or in Some Form of Group and Why?What Will You Ask Your Participants in the Interview and Why?Who Will You Interview and Why?Chapter 7 – Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative DataAnalysis of Qualitative Data: An Iterative and Dynamic StrategyWhen Does Analysis “Begin” When Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research?Developing an Iterative Qualitatively Driven Analytic StrategyCoding—A Strategy to Condense Your DataMore Choices and Decisions to Make When Putting Coding Into PracticeThe Art of InterpretationCollecting and Analyzing Data—When Do You Know That You Are “Done”?Chapter 8 – Foundational Design Issues When Using Quantitative MethodsWhat You Need to Think About in Order to Design Credible Quantitative ResearchWhere to Begin? Deciding Who You Will Collect Numerical Data From and WhyChoosing an Analysis Procedure Suitable for Answering Your Research QuestionWhat Types of Data Are There?How Different Types of Data Enable Different Types of KnowledgeChapter 9 – Collecting Data Using Quantiative MethodsMeasuring Variables to Enable Valid Research FindingsMaking Sure the Measurements You Make Measure What They Claim toTaking a Closer Look at What Enables Variables to Be MeasuredHow to Make Abstract Variables MeasurableDeveloping a Measurement InstrumentPutting a Measurement Instrument Into PracticeChapter 10 – Designing Research Using Mixed MethodsWhat Is a Mixed Methods Research Approach?Why Use a Mixed Methods Research Design?Priority and Timing of the Components in a Mixed Methods StudyAn Example of How to Connect Purpose, Priority, and Timing and Why This MattersMixing—A Central Consideration in Mixed Methods ResearchStrategies for Navigating the Complex and Contested Field of Mixed Methods ResearchChapter 11 – Why Knowing and Declaring Your Research Design Hand MattersKnowing and Declaring What Your Research Design Related Hand IsDeclaring Your Hand: Missing in Action in Much of the Reporting of ResearchHow to Declare Your Research Hand: Circling Back to Tell the Story of the Designing of Your ResearchCapturing All This in a Diagram of Some Sort