Research Methods for Construction, 3rd Edition

Preface to Second Edition.

Part 1 Producing a Proposal .

1 Introduction .

The concept of research.

Classifications of research.

Theories and paradigms.

Research styles.

Quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Where to begin.

Summary.

References.

2 Topic for Study .

Selection of a topic.

Writing the proposal.

Summary.

References.

Part 2 Executing the Research .

3 Initial Research.

The research process.

Initial search.

Assembling the theoretical framework.

Philosophy and methodology.

Theoretical models and constructs.

Proper referencing.

Summary.

References.

4 Approaches to Empirical Work .

Role of experience.

Research design.

Qualitative approaches.

Quantitative approaches.

Experimental design (including experiments and quasi-experiments).

Case study research.

Modelling.

Simulation.

Summary.

References.

5 Hypotheses .

Essentials of a valid hypothesis.

Roles of hypotheses.

Objective testing of hypotheses.

Role of sampling.

Common statistical measures.

Null hypotheses.

Validities.

Summary.

References.

6 Data Collection .

Data requirements.

Collecting data from respondents.

Sampling.

Sample size.

Scales of measurement.

Obtaining data.

Summary.

References.

7 Data Analysis .

Analysing data.

Plotting data.

Statistical methods.

Non-parametric tests.

Parametric tests.

Other analytical techniques.

Summary.

References.

8 Ethics in Research .

The concepts of morals and ethics.

Research ethics.

Data analysis, intellectual property and data protection.

Summary.

References.

Part 3 Reporting the Results .

9 Results, Inferences and Conclusions.

Requirements for valid results.

Potential sources of error.

Reliability.

Results.

Inferences.

Conclusions.

Summary.

References.

10 Reports and Presentations .

Report production.

Communication.

Contents of the report.

Oral presentation.

Summary.

Index