Research and Evaluation for Busy Practitioners

Author: Helen Kara
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447301153
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Book Description
More and more people working in public services have to do research on top of their main jobs. This can include workplace research, such as evaluation, audit, training needs analysis or satisfaction surveys, or research for a professional development qualification such as diploma, master's degree or PhD. Unlike most how-to books that treat research as if it exists in isolation, this book will show you how to juggle research, work, family, and social life. Based on interviews with practitioners from health, education, social care, criminal justice, government and the third sector, as well as the author's extensive experience, it provides a wealth of practical information and tips to save you time, effort and stress. This book is for anyone in the public or third sector, an independent research organisation or academia, who wants to know how to do research on top of their main job and still have a life. The book is supported by a companion website, containing additional materials for both students and lecturers, which is available from the link above.

Research and Evaluation for Busy Students and Practitioners

Author: Helen Kara
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447366255
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
Research doesn’t exist in a bubble but co-exists with a multitude of other tasks and commitments, yet there is more need for people to save time than ever before. Brilliantly attuned to the demands placed on researchers, this book considers how students, academics and professionals alike can save time and stress without compromising the quality of their research or its outcomes. This third edition: - is fully revised with new chapters on research and evaluation ethics, creative methods of collecting data and how research can make a positive difference; - includes illustrative case studies throughout the book, and each chapter concludes with exercises, discussion questions and a debate topic; - is accompanied by a fully updated companion website. This supportive book is designed for any student or practitioner who wants to know how to do research on top of their main job, and still have a life.

Research and Evaluation for Busy Students and Practitioners

Author: Helen Kara
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447338413
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
Even as the pace of research increases, researchers do not exist in a bubble. Brilliantly attuned to the demands placed on today's researchers--people who want to stay on top of their job and still have a life--this book considers how students, academics, and professionals alike can save time and stress without compromising the quality of their work. Drawing on interviews with researchers as well as the author's extensive experience, this fully revised second edition of Helen Kara's Research and Evaluation for Busy Practitioners provides a wealth of practical advice on a range of topics like using social media and the diversity of available methodologies, including action research, arts-based methods, and digitally mediated research. Comprehensive, global in its scope, and supportive, this second edition is also accompanied by a fully revised and updated companion website, http: //policypress.co.uk/resources/kara-research.

Research and Evaluation for Busy Students and Practitioners

Author: Helen Kara
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447338421
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Creative Research Methods

Author: Helen Kara
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447356756
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
Creative research methods can help to answer complex contemporary questions which are hard to answer using conventional methods alone. Creative methods can also be more ethical, helping researchers to address social injustice. This bestselling book, now in its second edition, is the first to identify and examine the five areas of creative research methods: • arts-based research • embodied research • research using technology • multi-modal research • transformative research frameworks. Written in an accessible, practical and jargon-free style, with reflective questions, boxed text and a companion website to guide student learning, it offers numerous examples of creative methods in practice from around the world. This new edition includes a wealth of new material, with five extra chapters and over 200 new references. Spanning the gulf between academia and practice, this useful book will inform and inspire researchers by showing readers why, when, and how to use creative methods in their research. Creative Research Methods has been cited over 750 times.

Practical Research and Evaluation

Author: Lena Dahlberg
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 144624816X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
This book is a starter ′DIY′ text for practitioners who are looking to conduct evaluation studies and research as part of their own professional practice. The growing emphasis on evidence-based practice means that there is an increasing need for practitioners to have at least a basic understanding of research, be aware of methodological pitfalls and to be updated on new methods. This book provides a practical, user-friendly guide to social science research methods for professionals who have benefited from little, if any, formal research methods training but find themselves in a role that requires them to read and understand complex research findings and carry out their own research as part of their professional practice. Practical Research and Evaluation is aimed at practitioners working in education, health, social care and community work. Many in this market are non-graduates or are those whose study did not contain a research element, but are required to know how research works. This book has three main aims which will benefit this audience - to enable readers to carry out small-scale research projects of their own, provide them with the basic understanding necessary to commission research, and enable them to better understand and evaluate critically research reports. This book is designed specifically for ′Do-it-Yourself′ researchers working in the public or voluntary sectors. It is accessible and relevant to practitioners, uses non-technical language wherever possible and employs grounded examples, practical tips, checklists and readings lists throughout.

Creative Research Methods in the Social Sciences

Author: Kara, Helen
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447316282
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Book Description
With foreword by Kenneth J. Gergen and Mary M. Gergen. Creative research methods can help to answer complex contemporary questions, which are hard to answer using traditional methods alone. Creative methods can also be more ethical, helping researchers to address social injustice. This accessible book is the first to identify and examine the four areas of creative research methods: arts-based research, research using technology, mixed-method research and transformative research frameworks. Written in a practical and jargon-free style, with over 100 boxed examples, it offers numerous examples of creative methods in practice, from the social sciences, arts, and humanities around the world. Spanning the gulf between academia and practice, this useful book will inform and inspire researchers by showing readers why, when, and how to use creative methods in their research.

Evaluating Programs to Increase Student Achievement

Author: Martin H. Jason
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1452211426
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
This updated edition on evaluating the effectiveness of school programs provides an expanded needs-assessment section, additional methods for data analysis, and tools for communicating program results.

Evaluation for the 21st Century

Author: Eleanor Chelimsky
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 0761906118
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 558

Book Description
Evaluation for the 21st Century features thoughtfully written introductions to each of the main sections that provide a context and synthesis of the various evaluators' chapters. After reading this groundbreaking book, researchers and practitioners will be able to recognize these new developments in evaluation as they encounter them, place them in context, and incorporate them into their own evaluation professions and practices.

Write a Questionnaire

Author: Helen Kara
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1526475693
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 125

Book Description
After interviews, the most common data collection instrument undergraduates turn to is a short survey. This requires them to write a questionnaire. Sounds easy – it’s not! This LQF teaches the art of open and closed questions, how to prompt higher response rates, when and how to use basic Likert scales, and everything else you need to know to get the most out of your questionnaire. A good questionnaire makes all the difference to getting data you can work with and poor research skill here lowers grades.