Welcome to the third edition of this book which has been fully updated and revised to include information about technological advances in research methods, useful websites, updated contact details of relevant organisations and a comprehensive list of research councils for postgraduate research funding. This book is a practical, down-to-earth guide for people who wish to conduct research. It is aimed at those new to research and assumes no prior knowledge of the issues covered. It will also appeal to those people who have already conducted some research and who are interested in finding out more about other research methods that are available to them.

For the purpose of this book, research is defined as the deliberate study of other people for the purposes of increasing understanding and/or adding to knowledge.

This deliberate study could cover many different areas. As a researcher, you might be interested in attitudes and behaviour – why do people think in a certain way and why do they behave in a certain way? Or you might be interested in numbers – how many people use a service? Perhaps you need to try to predict how this number of people could be increased so that you can obtain funding for your service. Or you might be fascinated by the personal history of a neighbour and have a burning desire to record her history and pass it on to others.

We all have different reasons for conducting research. Some of us might have to undertake a project as part of our course work. Others might have to conduct a study as part of our employment. Some of us may be fascinated by something we’ve observed and want to find out more. This book offers advice on how to turn your ideas into a workable project and how to keep motivation levels high, especially if you have no real inclination to become a researcher. It discusses the issues involved in thinking about your research and defining your project, before moving on to the methods – how do you actually do your research, analyse your findings and report the results?

Over the decades there has been a great deal of discussion on what constitutes research, how it should be conducted and whether certain methods are ‘better’ than others. Although I have touched upon some of these issues in the relevant chapters, it is not possible or desirable to go into any greater detail in this book. Therefore, I have included further reading sections at the end of the relevant chapters for those of you who wish to follow up these issues.

I have been a researcher since undertaking an MA in Social Research in 1987. Working within both further and higher education and as a freelance researcher, I have been involved in a variety of projects in the areas of education, housing and community research. I have taught research methods to adults returning to education and conducted in-house training for employees who need to carry out their own research.

Becoming a successful researcher is a continual learning process in which we all make mistakes. So don’t worry if your first project doesn’t run as smoothly as you might wish.

Instead, remember that undertaking a research project can be fascinating, rewarding and exciting – I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have done and I wish you every success in your project.