How to Keep Your Research Project on Track: Insights from When Things Go Wrong

By: Keith Townsend and Mark N. K. Saunders

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Synopsis: Textbooks and journal articles on research methods are rarely of help regarding what to do when your research project goes off track. This book addresses this important, and usually hidden, aspect of research by providing students and researchers with insider insights, advice and lessons about the difficulties in the research process. Written by experienced researchers, PhD supervisors and examiners, it should prepare the reader for all that can go wrong when researching a PhD or any large research project. The starting point of each chapter is the acceptance that research projects do not always go smoothly. Researchers must find ways to jump through a myriad of invisible hoops and over a plethora of hurdles of unknown heights to guide their research, from conceptualisation of worthwhile projects to the completion and dissemination to a range of different audiences. The book is divided into four sections: ‘getting started’, ‘getting data’, ‘getting it together’, and ‘getting finished’. Each section comprises chapters followed by short vignettes – all of which offer insights into researchers facing real-world problems or not quite getting things right in the first instance. This ground breaking book will give hope to the early-career researcher, the PhD or Masters student, and provide experienced academics with reinvigoration and new perspectives on the research process.