This text aims to demystify the research process. An international team of experienced researchers shows how to select the right questions and use the appropriate methods to investigate important issues in early childhood. The editors and authors provide a thorough introduction to the most common research methods used in the early childhood context. Reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of much early childhood research, they cover a wide range of conventional and newer approaches including observation, small surveys, action research, ethnography, policy analysis and poststructuralist approaches. They explain clearly how to set up research projects which are theoretically grounded, well-designed, rigorously analyzed, feasible and ethically fair. Each chapter is illustrated with examples and case studies.

Table of Contents

List of contributorsList of tablesIntroductionPART I: The nature of research1 Research as a tool2 The research process3 Paradigms, methods and knowledge4 Doing research for the first time5 Ethics in early childhood researchPART II: Analysis and design6 Design issues7 Quantitative designs and statistical analysis8 Qualitative designs and analysis9 Equity issues in research designPART III: The research process in action10 Surveys and questionnaires: an evaluative case study11 Interviewing children12 Interviewing adults13 An ethnographic approach to researching young children's learning14 Action research15 Direct observation16 policy research17 Developing reciprocity in a multi-method small-scale research studyAppendix: Getting the terms rightGlossaryReferencesIndex