Sage Publications Qualitative Research in Education (BERA/SAGE Research Methods in Education)

This accessible and practical book is a perfect quick guide for postgraduate researchers in education. Looking at the interdependence of teaching and research, the authors show that a critical and analytical exploration of policies and practices is a necessary part of what we mean by being a ′professional′ in education. Drawing on the authors′ substantial experience of teaching research skills at postgraduate level, as well as on their own experiences as active researchers, the book will guide you through: - discourse analysis - visual methods - textual research - data collection and analysis This co-authored book is structured around a range of methods applicable to educational research and appropriate for use by practitioners at all stages of their professional development. It takes recognisable, ′real life′ scenarios as its starting point for each discussion of method, so that readers are able to start from the known and familiar. As well as exploring theoretical aspects of research method, each chapter provides practical tasks and points for discussion and reflection. These approaches, taken together, are designed to build confidence and encourage reader engagement and enjoyment. Liz Atkins is a lecturer and researcher in education at the University of Huddersfield. Susan Wallace is Professor of Continuing Education at Nottingham Trent University. Research Methods in Education series: Each book in this series maps the territory of a key research approach or topic in order to help readers progress from beginner to advanced researcher. Each book aims to provide a definitive, market-leading overview and to present a blend of theory and practice with a critical edge. All titles in the series are written for Master′s-level students anywhere and are intended to be useful to the many diverse constituencies interested in research on education and related areas. Other books in the series: For more about the series and additional resources visit the BERA/SAGE series page Review ′This book successfully revives Lawrence Stenhouse′s seminal work on the ′teacher-researcher′ by showing the interconnectedness of teaching and research and stressing the key role of the practitioner-researcher. Its chapters provide comprehensive guidance for researchers at all levels on conducting small scale research in an ethical and reflexive way′ -Professor Jerry Wellington, Sheffield About the Author Dr Liz Atkins  is Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Huddersfield. She has taught extensively in both further and higher education on both vocational and teacher education programmes and has also managed provision in which university programmes were taught in FE colleges. Susan Wallace is Professor of Continuing Education at Nottingham Trent University. She previously taught for ten years in Further Education and has worked in a local authority advisory role for post-16 education. She is the author of a number of books, including Teaching, Tutoring and Training in the Lifelong Learning Sector and Managing Behaviour in the Lifelong Learning Sector.