The Researcher's Toolkit is a practical rather than an academic text for all those undertaking, perhaps for the first time, small-scale research. Written by an experienced team of practising researchers, it covers the entire research process - from designing and submitting a research proposal through to its completion. This book is suitable for all researchers, but is particularly designed for those practitioner-based researchers from the fields of education, social work, nursing, criminal justice and community work. This fresh new idea for those conducting small-scale research comes from a team of practising researchers who possess a broad range of experiences and knowledge of research design, execution and completion. They write in a user-friendly style that those researchers new to the subject will find easy to follow and understand. It will act both as a roadmap to planning, execution and completing research and also as a dip-in reference guide. Using features such as activity boxes to highlight key concepts and short summary boxes to indicate fundamental elements of the research area under discussion, this accessible book will be of great value to all who read it.

Today, we know cities as shared spaces with the potential to both threaten and promote human health: while urban areas are known to amplify the transmission of epidemics like Ebola, urban residency is also associated with longer, healthier lives. Modern cities encompass a wide ecology of infrastructures, institutions and services that impact health, from access to improved sanitation and early childhood education to the design of buildings and transportation systems. So how has this centuries-long transformation in human settlement affected the mindset surrounding public health research and practice? Urban Public Health is an interdisciplinary collaboration from experts across the globe that approaches the issue of urban health research from a uniquely public health orientation. The carefully crafted and thoughtful chapters in this volume grapple with the complexity of the urban setting as a physical and social space while also providing an abundance of global and local examples of current urban health practices. Urban Public Health is divided into four pragmatic sections which cover core conceptual models of public health and their inequities, methods of urban health research assessment, methods of urban health research analysis and explanation, and ultimately, opportunities for urban health research to inform action through partnership and collaboration, including those which elevate community voices and capacities. An accessible guide for both students and researchers alike, Urban Public Health shines a light on how to understand, measure and change the urban setting so that cities grow, people thrive, and no one is left behind.

Searching Skills Toolkit is an expert guide to help you find the clinical evidence you need more easily and effectively. Clearly presented with useful tips and advice, flow charts, diagrams and real-life clinical scenarios, it shows the best methods for finding quality evidence. From deciding where to start, to building a search strategy, refining results and critical appraisal, it is a step-by-step guide to the process of finding healthcare evidence, and is designed for use by all health and social care professionals. This second edition has been expanded with new chapters on searching for sources to support evidence-based management decision making and how to better enable your patients to make informed choices. It has also been fully updated to include new web sources, open source reference management software, and new training resources and exercises. Searching Skills Toolkit is an ideal reference for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, managers and decision makers, researchers and students.

This book offers a toolkit of methods and technologies to undertake qualitative research on digital spaces. Unlike commonly used traditional methodological strategies, which are ‘retrofitted’ to digital spaces, Qualitative Research in Digital Environments offers researchers a set of ‘digitally native’ tools that are designed for online social environments. Thanks to a broad range of cases including Louis Vuitton, YouTube and the concept of ‘hipsterism’, this text illustrates the practical applications of techniques and tools over the most popular social media environments. This book will be a valuable guide to qualitative research for marketing students, researchers and practitioners, as well as a central reference point for tutors in the growing field of Digital Sociology.

Designed for those undertaking research for the first time, this fully updated edition of The Researcher's Toolkit is a practical and accessible guide for all those partaking in small-scale research. Jargon-free and assuming no prior knowledge, it covers the entire research process, from defining a research topic or question through to its completion. This second edition has been fully revised by a collaborating team with a wealth of knowledge and practical experience in research project work. Including activity boxes to highlight key concepts and short summary boxes to indicate fundamental elements of various research areas, the chapters cover: The importance of research and framing your research question and research ethics Practical elements associated with planning and executing your research activity The application of survey-based research methods and the value provided by social media as data collection devices Deploying both quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques to analyse research data Writing up your research work and preparing it for wider access and consumption Examining the effect of your research work through assessing or measuring its impact The Researcher’s Toolkit is a must-read guide for students and budding researchers as well as educators seeking to explain academic research and writing to their pupils. It will benefit anyone looking to complete a research project whether inside academia or beyond.

Writing high quality grant applications is easier when you know how research funding agencies work and how your proposal is treated in the decision-making process. The Research Funding Toolkit provides this knowledge and teaches you the necessary skills to write high quality grant applications. A complex set of factors determine whether research projects win grants. This handbook helps you understand these factors and then face and overcome your personal barriers to research grant success. The guidance also extends to real-world challenges of grant-writing, such as obtaining the right feedback, dealing effectively with your employer and partner institutions, and making multiple applications efficiently. There are many sources that will tell you what a fundable research grant application looks like. Very few help you learn the skills you need to write one. The Toolkit fills this gap with detailed advice on creating and testing applications that are readable, understandable and convincing.

This book facilitates the completion of action research studies by providing a series of tasks that guide action researchers from the beginning of a project and selecting a topic for study, to completion of the project and editing final reports. All too often, students and practicing professionals in professional development schools are overwhelmed by the thought of doing an action research project and resort to using quasi-experimental designs. A Toolkit for Action Research puts an end to both, with the result being a life-long learning and reflection tool for teachers. This workbook can be used alone, or in conjunction with traditional action research texts, such as Daniel Tomal's Action Research for Educators.