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Proposed Working Title:

Research And Evaluation For Busy Practitioners

Proposed Subtitle: A Practical Guide

Author: Dr Helen Kara

Rationale

Most books on research methods are written by academics. With a few exceptions, they are written in academic language rather than plain English. This suggests that they are primarily written for other academics, or would-be academics, to read. Even books written for so-called ‘practitioner researchers’ are often written in academic language. The term ‘practitioner researcher’ itself, like ‘professional doctorate’, is sometimes used by academics to indicate research that isn’t really as good as proper, i.e. academic, research.

By ‘practitioner’, I mean someone who delivers, or is responsible for the delivery of, public services through statutory or third sector organisations or partnerships – which may include the users of those services and/or their carers. In 12 years as an independent researcher, I have encountered many practitioners who were doing research: sometimes working alongside me and/or other colleagues, sometimes working alone. Not one has ever described their work to me as ‘practitioner research’. They have often asked for advice which I have been happy to give. In the process I have found that people are disproportionately grateful for practical tips and advice such as:

• Don’t try to set up a focus group especially for your research because it’ll take ages and then people won’t turn up. Instead, find an existing group of suitable people – e.g. a local youth club if you want views from teenagers, a church playgroup if you want to reach parents, a Mind group if you want participants who have mental health problems – and arrange to visit to carry out your research.

• When conducting a literature review or document analysis, get as much information in electronic form as possible, then use your computer’s search facilities to find key passages in long documents.

• Yes, it really is worth piloting a questionnaire. I know it seems like extra work, but finding and fixing any problems with your questionnaire now can save you a huge amount of time later in the research process.

Some academics are (or have been) practitioners and/or public service users and/or carers themselves. Service users and carers sometimes conduct research alongside academics and/or practitioners. So the boundaries between categories in this field are fluid rather than fixed. Furthermore, there is a wide remit for inter-disciplinary working in public services. Complex terminology is used in public service practice, with different vocabularies from those used in academia, and this can be a barrier to service user/carer researchers, educators, and public service staff who are new in post. This book will acknowledge and address all of these issues in plain English.

Synopsis and Aims

Practitioners in public services, whether in health, education, social care, the criminal justice system or the third sector, are facing ever-increasing workloads. They are also, these days, more often required to undertake research or evaluation. Sometimes this is as part of their work, e.g. to evaluate a project or to research levels of user satisfaction. Sometimes it is for professional development, e.g. through a masters’ degree or a doctorate; this may be voluntary or a contractual requirement. Academics may be required to conduct internal evaluations of their own or colleagues’ work. Whether as part of a job or for professional development, it can be very difficult to balance the heavy demands of day-to-day work with the time and thought needed to conduct credible research or evaluation.

There are a number of excellent books for practitioners on how to do research, but almost all of them read as if research is a task which stands alone with none of the messiness of real life to get in its way. This book will offer practical tips and advice to help get research or evaluation done on top of the day job. The book will also show how practical or academic research can be fitted in alongside work, family obligations, and a social life. It will include illustrative quotes and case studies from practitioners in health, education, social care, the criminal justice system and the third sector, as well as educators and service user/carer researchers. The book will be written in plain English, with as few technical terms as possible, and clear definitions of those which must be used.

The book will include discussions of research ethics, research methods, social theory and other subjects. These discussions will be sufficient to make the book of practical use in its own right, but not so comprehensive as to make it unwieldy. Readers will be signposted to relevant literature for further reading where appropriate.

The aim is to support busy practitioners who need to do research: to make the research process easier, and possibly even fun. I want every practitioner, who wishes or is required to undertake research, to read this book. It will be useful for those who have never done research, as well as for those who have some research experience.

The Most Important Aspects Of This Book

• It focuses on real problems faced by actual practitioners, and offers solutions.

• It fills a gap in the existing literature – to the best of my knowledge, there is no such book currently available.

• It will not be written by an academic, but by an independent real-world researcher.

• It is a practical book, written in plain English.

• It will contain a logical flow of information, clearly structured by chapters, headings, cross-references and summaries.

Background Information

The impetus from this book comes from over a decade of conducting research and evaluation alongside busy practitioners, and seeing the difficulties and dilemmas they face. Also, I undertook my own MSc and PhD while working full-time in my own research business. I will undertake the primary research for this book using my extensive network of contacts. This research will comprise semi-structured interviews with practitioners in health, education, social care, the criminal justice system and the third sector, as well as educators and service user/carer researchers.

Provisional Contents

Introduction

• Rationale for the book: why it’s important; quotes from interviews

• Overview of contents: what it includes

• Differences between practical and academic research: an introduction to the drivers and priorities of both, to be expanded on later

• The role of theory: in both practical and academic research

• Research ethics and ethics committees: what they’re for, why we need them, when and how to use them, quotes from interviews

• Methods which are almost certainly too time-consuming, and why: randomised controlled trials, systematic review, meta-analysis, ethnography, participant observation

• Time management – the basics: a brief introduction to the principles of time management; quotes from interviews

Chapter 1 – Choosing a Topic and Writing a Proposal

• How to choose a research topic: how ‘free’ the choice may be, how to manage when the choice is made for you, how to choose when it isn’t, quotes from interviews

• Scope of the research: what is too big, what is too small, practical advice for making it the right size, how to use resources as a guide, quotes from interviews

• What constitutes evidence: a brief introduction to the evidence debate, how to make and defend choices about evidence

• Linking topic, questions and method: how the topic defines the questions and the questions define the method

• What a research proposal is: explanation of the differences between writing proposals for managers or commissioners, and writing proposals for research funders, quotes from interviews

• What a research proposal is for: why a proposal is necessary, why a proposal is useful, quotes from interviews

• How to write a convincing research proposal: what to include and why

Chapter 2 – Managing the Research Process: In Theory

• Making a plan: introduction to why a research project plan is essential, how to make one, quotes from interviews

• Breaking it down into manageable chunks: how to use your research project plan by quarter, month, week and day

• Finding time: advice on time management, quotes from interviews

• Setting and reviewing goals: specific advice on how to do this, quotes from interviews

• Expecting the unexpected: how to react to unforeseen events within the context of a planned process

• Keeping a diary: why this is useful, quotes from interviews

• The importance of reward: its role in motivation, quotes from interviews

• Self-care: how and why to recognise when plans must change, quotes from interviews

Chapter 3 – Background Research: Literature Review and Document Analysis

• Literature review: introduction

• How you do a literature review: how to find, read and review literature that is relevant to the research topic and question(s)

• When to do a literature review: at what stages to read and review literature, quotes from interviews

• Practical tips to include: speed reading/scanning techniques; computer software; careful record-keeping

• Document analysis: introduction

• How you do a document analysis: how to find, read and review documents that are relevant to the research topic and question(s)

• When to do a document analysis: at what stages to read and review documents, quotes from interviews

• Practical tips to include: Internet research, electronic searching of documents, building and using coding frames

• When you can dispense with background research altogether: commissioned practice-based research or evaluation in a hurry and/or on a limited budget, quotes from interviews

Chapter 4 – Primary Data Collection

• How to choose what data to collect and how to collect it: an introduction, covering both quantitative and qualitative data, referring back to the research question(s) and topic

• Quantitative data: collected alone, collected alongside qualitative data, practical tips, quotes from interviews

• Questionnaires: pros, cons, practical tips, quotes from interviews

• Interviews: pros, cons, practical tips, quotes from interviews

• Focus groups: pros, cons, practical tips

• Observational data: pros, cons, practical tips

• Visual data: pros, cons, practical tips

• Participatory appraisal techniques: pros, cons, practical tips

• Video data: pros, cons, practical tips

• How much data is enough? How to identify this, quotes from interviews

Chapter 5 – Collecting and Using Secondary Data

• How to choose what data to collect and how to collect it: an introduction, covering both quantitative and qualitative data, referring back to the research question(s) and topic

• Quantitative data, where to find it, quotes from interviews, practical tips

• Qualitative data, where to find it, quotes from interviews, practical tips

Chapter 6 – Data Analysis

• Analysing quantitative data: methods of analysis, quotes from interviews, practical tips

• Analysing qualitative data: methods of analysis, quotes from interviews, practical tips

• When to analyse by hand (statistics, content analysis etc) and when to use computer software (Excel, NVivo, Framework Analysis, etc)

• Research findings: what are they, how do you know them when you see them, how can you have confidence in your findings, quotes from interviews

• Drawing conclusions, making recommendations: how to make sure conclusions/recommendations are firmly rooted in research findings

Chapter 7 – Writing Up

• Don’t leave it all to the end: the importance of writing as you go, quotes from interviews

• The first draft is always poor: advice on how to write without editing, quotes from interviews

• Editing and redrafting is essential: advice on how to edit without writing, quotes from interviews

• Thinking time is part of the writing process: time management for writers, quotes from interviews

• Linking theory, research and practice: how to draw together all the threads and weave them into a coherent whole

• Get a second opinion: the importance of obtaining, and using, constructive criticism, quotes from interviews

• How do you know when to call it ‘finished’: the draft you actually submit

Chapter 8 – Dissemination

• It ain’t over till it’s over: introduction to dissemination

• What dissemination is for: the importance of sharing learning, especially when it’s been paid for in whole or in part from public funds

• Publishing and promoting: why you should publish and promote your research, and how to do this, quotes from interviews

• Practical tips to include: publishing online; poster rather than conference paper

Chapter 9 – Managing The Research Process – In Practice

• Case studies: taken from the interviews

• How to manage each part of the process, quotes from interviews

• The importance of having and using an overall plan, and how to make one, quotes from interviews

• The need to break down the overall plan into manageable chunks, and how to do this, quotes from interviews

• When and how to review the plan, quotes from interviews

• When to reward yourself – and how, quotes from interviews

Conclusion

• What next: managing anticlimax, moving on, quotes from interviews

Glossary

Resources (books, websites, associations etc)

Author Information

I am a British woman who has worked as an independent researcher since 1998, and as Director of We Research It Ltd since 2001. The research contracts I have undertaken can be viewed at . I have provided training in evaluation and research for public and third sector organisations in England and Syria. I am a member of both the Social Research Association and the UK Evaluation Society.

I was lead author of Commissioning Consultancy (Kara and Muir, Russell House Publishing, 2003) and have written articles for Community Care, Housing Today and the British Journal of Occupational Learning. I have also researched and written documents for clients such as Kindle (formerly the Community Sector Partnership for Children and Young People), the Charity Commission, and the National Association of Volunteer Bureaux (now Volunteering England).

I have a cross-disciplinary PhD in partnership working, with an emphasis on research methods, from the Open University (2006); an MSc in social research methods from Staffordshire University (2001); and a BSc in social psychology from the London School of Economics. My PhD thesis can be downloaded at .

Target Audience

Primary audience: anyone working in health, education, social care, the criminal justice system or the third sector who needs to carry out research, whether as part of their job (evaluation, user satisfaction survey etc) or to enhance their role (Masters’ degree, PhD etc). This will include people setting up projects or interventions which are likely to require some research and/or evaluation during or at the end of their lives. The book will be relevant to those who have done little or no research, and to those who have some research experience.

Secondary audience: anyone doing a Masters’ degree or a PhD in a subject related to social science, arts or humanities. This book may also be relevant for: undergraduates who are required to carry out research projects; some higher educators of practitioners, particularly those who are not themselves researchers; and novice professional or independent researchers.

The Social Research Association and the UK Evaluation Society are both likely to be interested in this book.

Course Information

This book is not intended to accompany a specific course as it is aimed primarily at practitioners. It would be useful supplementary reading for anyone doing a Masters’ degree or a PhD in a subject related to social science, arts or humanities; undergraduates who are required to carry out research projects; and academics who educate practitioners but who are not themselves experienced in research.

Competition

There are a number of books about ‘practitioner research’, but they tend to concentrate on practitioners in a particular field. Examples include:

• Hillier and Jameson: Empowering Researchers in Further Education (Trentham Books, 2003)

• Burton and Bartlett: Practitioner Research for Teachers (Sage, 2004)

• Hek and Moule: Making Sense of Research: An Introduction for Health and Social Care Practitioners (Sage, 2006 (3rd edn))

• Maxfield and Babbie: Basics of Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology (Wadsworth, 2008 (2nd edn))

• Freshwater and Lees: Practitioner Research in Healthcare (Sage, 2009)

• Sanders and Wilkins: First Steps in Practitioner Research (PCCS Books, 2010) (part of the First Steps series for counsellors and psychotherapists)

• Menter et al: A Guide To Practitioner Research In Education (Sage, 2011)

There are also some more general books about research which are aimed at practitioners. These include:

• Robson: Real World Research (Blackwell 2011 (3rd edn))

• Denscombe: The Good Research Guide (OUP 2007 (3rd edn))

• Bruce, Pope and Stanistreet: Quantitative Methods for Health Research (Wiley-Blackwell 2008)

• Green and Thorogood: Qualitative Methods for Health Research (Sage, 2009 (2nd edn))

• Gray: Doing Research In The Real World (Sage, 2009 (2nd edn))

• Silverman: Doing Qualitative Research (Sage, 2009 (3rd edn))

There are two books which seem to have some similar aims to the book being proposed. The first is Doing Practitioner Research (Fox, Martin and Green; Sage, 2007). This is aimed at any practitioner in health, education and social care who is doing research in their own organisation. The blurb adds, ‘…or for a postgraduate qualification,’ but there is no reference to this in the text itself. It includes a chapter on evaluation, and six pages on time management and planning. However, it’s mostly another general book about research, aimed at practitioners, in the same category as those listed above.

The second book with some similar aims is Practitioner Research at Doctoral Level (Drake and Heath; Routledge, 2010). The blurb mentions the difficulties in ‘juggling the various priorities of doctoral study’ in general, and managing time in particular. However, time management is covered in a scanty half-paragraph, and the writers are more interested in exploring ideas of power, relationships, and knowledge than in offering practical help. It claims to be ‘essential reading’ for both doctoral students and ‘practitioner researchers working in professional settings’ but is written in a very academic style which most ‘practitioner researchers’ would find difficult.

Typescript Information

The total word count is estimated to be about 60,000. There would be no need for photographs or maps. Tables and diagrams can be supplied in Word format. Work has not begun on the typescript, although there are sections of my PhD thesis and of my previously published book (now out of print) which I would use as starting points. I do not expect to need any copyright clearance.

Timetable

I would expect to be able to deliver the typescript within nine months of signing a publisher’s contract. I do not have specific time set aside, but I am self-employed and expect to have time to work on the book during the working week, as well as writing during evenings and weekends when necessary. I enjoy writing and reading, and work quickly. Evidence in support of this assertion: (1) I had the idea for this book proposal 10 days before it was originally submitted (2) I had to apply for special permission to submit my (part-time) PhD thesis 2 years and 10 months after registering for the doctorate (3) I have never missed a deadline for a research or writing project. I wouldn’t presume to advise others on time management if I was no good at it myself!

The timing of this book’s publication is not crucial and does not need to be linked to any other event.

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