Summary
Contents
Subject index
With its unique modelling and mapping of social processes, investigative research offers an alternative approach to social research. This book guides you through the theoretical grounding and rules you need to effectively combine the evidence-based explanations of social behaviour and distinctive strategies of data collection associated with investigative research. It helps you answer key investigative questions like: • How are models and maps of social reality crucial to the formulation of research problems and questions? • What are the main phases, challenges, and theories of investigative research? • How does investigative research compare with other research approaches, like surveys, case studies, grounded theory, and mixed methods? • How can you control the quality and validity of your investigative research? With its clear focus on investigative research exploration, description, and explanation, this book gives you the solid building blocks needed to manage and integrate the theoretical and practical issues in your work.
Dimensions, Quantity and Quality
Dimensions, Quantity and Quality
This chapter compares IR with other approaches, with a view to helping researchers enhance the quality of their own projects. While I am generally concerned to stress the overall usefulness of IR, I do not claim that it is the solution to all problems or suits all purposes, but rather that its strengths lie in certain directions. Ultimately, the decision to use IR will depend on what the researcher wants for, and from, her or his project. However, by emphasizing IR’s distinctive characteristics and potential advantages, I hope it will be easier to judge whether or not, and in what respects, it suits particular research purposes. This chapter compares IR with survey research, theory-testing research, and three qualitative strands ...
- Loading...