This page is to assist students in the Diploma of Community Services Work, Undertake Research Activities unit, get started with understanding research proposals and research data.
These books include information on defining topics, qualitative and quantitative research, ethical issues, and research proposal structure.
Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches by 
Research Methods by Research Methods: The Basics is an accessible, user-friendly introduction to the different aspects of research theory, methods and practice. Structured in two parts, the first covering the nature of knowledge and the reasons for research, and the second the specific methods used to carry out effective research, this book covers: Structuring and planning a research project The ethical issues involved in research Different types of data and data quality Analysing and organising data to draw sound conclusions Writing up and displaying data in effective ways @text:Complete with a glossary of key terms and guides to further reading, this book is an essential text for anyone coming to research for the first time, and is widely relevant across the social sciences and humanities.
Research Skills for Social Work by Social Work students often find research an intimidating and complex area of study, with many struggling to understand the core concepts and their application to practice. This book presents these concepts in an accessible and user-friendly way. Key skills and methods such as literature reviews, interviews, and questionnaires are explored in detail while the underlying ethical reasons for doing good research underpin the text. For this second edition, new material on ethnography is added.A research technique used to uncover motivations and emotions rather than analyse purely numeric data.
Qualitative research techniques include surveys, interviews, observation, focus groups and case studies.
A smaller sample size can be used to verify quantitative research.
Research methods used to generate numerical data or statistics through large scale data collection, such as surveys.
Reference: Dawson, C. 2006. A Practical Guide to Research Methods: A user-friendly manual for mastering research techniques and projects, 2nd ed., How to Books Ltd, Oxford