Table of Contents

Preface to the second edition xi

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction xv

Setting the context xvii

The research hierarchy xvii

Overview of contents xx

Part 1 Starting the research process 1

1 Major research paradigms 5

Introduction 5

Positivist research 6

Postpositivism and mixed methods research (MMR) 9

Interpretivist research 11

Qualitative or quantitative methodology? 13

Qualitative research design 14

Quantitative research design 18

Mixed methods research 18

Criteria for judging research 20

Establishing trustworthiness in qualitative research 21

Establishing rigour in quantitative research 22

Summary 23

Practical exercise 23

Suggested further reading 24

2 Reviewing literature 25

Introduction 25

Information searching and retrieval 27

Evaluation 28

Critical analysis 29

Synthesizing the research: developing a theoretical framework 33

Summary 36

Practical exercise 36

Suggested further reading 37

3 Defining the research 39

Introduction 39

Designing a conceptual framework 40

The research hypothesis 41

Research aims and objectives 44

Summary 47

Practical exercise 47

Suggested further reading 48

4 The research proposal 49

Why write a proposal? 49

Structure of a research proposal 50

The proposal as a research framework 56

Summary 56

Practical exercise 57

Suggested further reading 58

5 Sampling 59

Why sample? 59

Population and sample 60

Probability sampling 61

Purposive sampling 64

Summary 66

Practical exercise 87

Suggested further reading 69

6 Research Data Management 71

Julie McLeod, Sue Childs and Elizabeth Lomas Introduction - research data and its management challenges 71

Why is research data management important? 74

The research process, data lifecycles and research data management 78

How do I manage my research data? 81

Summary 84

Practical exercise 84

Websites referred to in this chapter 85

Suggested further reading 86

7 Ethics in research 87

Introduction 87

Gaining access to the field 88

Informed consent 89

Anonymity or confidentiality? 92

Protecting participants 93

Ethics online 94

Summary 95

Practical exercise 96

Suggested further reading 96

Part 2 Research methods 07

8 Case studies 101

Introduction 101

Phases in case study research 103

Summary 108

Practical exercise 110

Suggested further reading 110

9 Surveys 111

Introduction 111

Descriptive surveys 112

Explanatory surveys 112

The survey process 114

Summary 116

Practical exercise 117

Suggested further reading 117

10 Experimental research 119

Introduction 119

The nature of causality 120

The true experiment 121

Quasi-experimental design: the 'effects study' 123

Summary 125

Practical exercise 125

Suggested further reading 125

11 Usability testing 127

Introduction 127

Quasi-experimental usability studies 127

Cognitive walkthroughs 129

Heuristic evaluation 131

Summary 133

Practical exercise 134

Suggested further reading 134

12 Ethnography 135

Introduction 135

Components of ethnographic study 137

Virtual ethnography - 'netnography' 143

Ethics in ethnography 145

Summary 146

Practical exercise 146

Suggested further reading 147

13 Delphi study 149

Introduction 149

The Delphi process 150

Rules of a Delphi study 152

Modifying a Delphi study 153

Delphi studies and new technologies 153

Summary 154

Practical exercise 155

Suggested further reading 155

14 Action research 157

Introduction 157

The action research cycle 158

Trustworthiness in action research 163

Action research as reflective practice 164

Summary 165

Practical exercise 165

Suggested further reading 166

15 Historical research 167

Introduction 167

The research process 169

Summary 176

Practical exercise 176

Suggested further reading 177

16 Grounded theory: method or analysis? 179

Introduction 179

Defining grounded theory 180

Summary 186

Practical exercise 187

Suggested further reading 187

Part 3 Data collection technique 189

17 Interviews 195

Introduction 195

What is the purpose of an interview? 196

The seven stages of the interview process 196

Online interviewing 203

Summary 205

Practical exercise 205

Suggested further reading 206

18 Questionnaires 207

Introduction 207

Designing questionnaires 208

Developing questions 210

Scale items 211

Forms of questionnaire 222

Summary 223

Practical exercise 224

Suggested further reading 224

19 Observation 225

Introduction 225

The role of the observer 226

Recording what you see; going in with signposts 231

Summary 232

Practical exercise 232

Suggested further reading 233

20 Diaries 235

Introduction 235

The purpose of diaries in research 236

Participant diaries 236

The researcher's log 238

Structure and recording 239

Summary 240

Practical exercise 241

Suggested further reading 241

21 Focus groups 243

Introduction 243

Purpose of a focus group 243

Organizing a focus group 245

Online focus groups 246

Summary 248

Practical exercise 248

Suggested further reading 249

22 Analysis of existing, externally created material Andrew K. Shenton 251

Introduction 251

The different supporting roles of documents 251

LIS research principally based on documents 253

Citation analysis 254

Logs associated with computer software and the use of ICT 266

Summary 269

Practical exercise 260

Suggested further reading 260

Part 4 Data analysis and research presentation 263

23 Qualitative analysis 267

Introduction 267

Phenomenological strategies 268

Ethnographic methods 268

Narrative and discourse analysis 269

Constant comparative analysis 269

Memo writing 274

Presenting qualitative findings 274

Software for qualitative analysis 278

Summary 280

Practical exercise 280

Suggested further reading 281

24 Quantitative analysis 283

Introduction 283

Levels of measurement 284

Frequency distribution 286

Cross-tabulation 287

Measures of central tendency 288

Measures of dispersion 291

Correlation 293

Displaying data 293

Testing for statistical significance 299

Software for quantitative analysis 303

Summary 306

Practical exercise 306

Suggested further reading 310

25 Presenting the research 311

Introduction 311

Planning the final report 312

Form and structure 312

Summary 316

Suggested further reading 316

Part 5 Glossary and references 317

Glossary of research terms 319

References 329

Index 347