1st Edition

Researching Learning in Higher Education An Introduction to Contemporary Methods and Approaches

By Glynis Cousin Copyright 2009
    272 Pages 10 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    272 Pages 10 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Across the world, universities are transforming their teaching and learning practices to meet the challenges facing Higher Education in the 21st century. Research into teaching and learning in Higher Education has never been a more important issue. Growing numbers of academics across disciplines are conducting research in their teaching. This book presents contemporary approaches to researching university teaching and learning to address this rising demand. The author provides a much needed comprehensive yet basic approach for conducting this type of research.

    A perfect resource for new lecturers, professional developers, researchers and graduate students; this book provides useful and effective guidance for conducting teaching and learning research in Higher Education. Filling a clear gap in the market, this book covers all the essential methodological and theoretical bases needed to engage in Higher Education research. This book offers a refreshingly light yet serious approach to research which has proved to yield significant advances in the field, allowing new academics from any discipline to effectively conduct higher education research. Each chapter covers the following:

     

    1. FRAMING HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH
    2. Generating an ETHICAL FRAMEWORK
    3. QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
    4. FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH
    5. SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
    6. NARRATIVE INQUIRY
    7. ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACHES
    8. CASE STUDY RESEARCH
    9. ACTION RESEARCH
    10. APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
    11. PHENOMENOGRAPHY
    12. RESEARCHING THRESHOLD CONCEPTS
    13. VISUAL RESEARCH
    14. EVALUATION APPROACHES

    This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in up to date theories and methods for conducting teaching and learning research in Higher Education.

    @contents:

    Chapter 1: Introduction

    Chapter 2: Methodological Issues

    Chapter 3: Evaluation Research

    Chapter 4: Case Study Research

    Chapter 5: Action Research

    Chapter 6: Interviews

    Chapter 7: Focus Group Research

    Chapter 8: Ethnography

    Chapter 9: Critical incident analysis

    Chapter 10: Researching online

    Chapter 11: Quantitative Research

    Chapter 12: Appreciative Inquiry

    Chapter 13: Researching from a disciplinary perspective

    Chapter 14: Ethical Issues

    Chapter 15: Analysing Qualitative Data

    Chapter 16: Conclusion

    Biography

    Glynis Cousin is a senior advisor at the Higher Education Academy. She is one of the UK’s foremost educational researchers and has extensive experience working with teachers in many disciplines. She has written a number of titles on Educational Development, Teaching and Learning and Research.