This accessible and practical book is a perfect quick guide for postgraduate researchers in education. Looking at the interdependence of teaching and research, the authors show that a critical and analytical exploration of policies and practices is a necessary part of what we mean by being a ′professional′ in education.

Drawing on the authors′ substantial experience of teaching research skills at postgraduate level, as well as on their own experiences as active researchers, the book will guide you through:

- discourse analysis

- visual methods

- textual research

- data collection and analysis

This co-authored book is structured around a range of methods applicable to educational research and appropriate for use by practitioners at all stages of their professional development. It takes recognisable, ′real life′ scenarios as its starting point for each discussion of method, so that readers are able to start from the known and familiar.

As well as exploring theoretical aspects of research method, each chapter provides practical tasks and points for discussion and reflection. These approaches, taken together, are designed to build confidence and encourage reader engagement and enjoyment.

Liz Atkins is a lecturer and researcher in education at the University of Huddersfield.

Susan Wallace is Professor of Continuing Education at Nottingham Trent University.

Research Methods in Education series:

Each book in this series maps the territory of a key research approach or topic in order to help readers progress from beginner to advanced researcher.

Each book aims to provide a definitive, market-leading overview and to present a blend of theory and practice with a critical edge. All titles in the series are written for Master′s-level students anywhere and are intended to be useful to the many diverse constituencies interested in research on education and related areas.

Other books in the series:

- Using Case Study in Education Research, Hamilton and Corbett-Whittier

- Action Research in Education, McAteer

- Ethnography in Education, Mills and Morton