The Third Edition of An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials, a bestselling critical introduction to the study and analysis of visual culture, has been fully revised and updated. Each chapter retains its rigorous examination and demonstration of an individual methodology, while continuing to be clear in structure and lucid in style. Reflecting changes in the way society consumes and creates its visual content, new features include a companion website featuring additional examples of digital and social media and moving images, pedagogical enhancements, additional chapters and expanded coverage on social and new media, and how to use visual materials for research and research presentation, and an expanded focus on how each method can be used in relation to a range of different visual materials. A now classic text, the book appeals to undergraduates, graduates, researchers and academics in all subjects looking to understand and clearly grasp the complex debates and ideas in visual analysis and interpretation.

Book Description: The American system of higher education includes over 5,000 degree granting institutions, ranging from small for-profit technical training schools up to the nation’s elite liberal arts colleges and research universities. Over 20 million students are enrolled, with federal, state, and local governments spending almost 3 percent of GDP on higher education...read more

This introduction to communication research methods takes the student from the conceptual beginnings of a research project through the design and analysis. Emphasizing the correct questions to ask and how to approach the answers, authors Gary Petty, Cheryl Campanella Bracken, and Elizabeth Babin approach social science methods as a language to be learned, requiring multiple sessions and reinforcement through practice. They explain the basics of conducting communication research, facilitating students’ understanding of the operation and roles of research so that they can better critique and consume the materials in their classes and in the media. The book takes an applied methods approach, introducing students to the conceptual elements of communication science and then presenting these elements in a single study throughout the text, articulating the similarities and differences of individual methods along the way. The study is presented as a communication campaign, involving multiple methodologies. The approach highlights how one method can build upon another and emphasizes the fact that, given the nature of methodology, no single study can give complete answers to our research questions. Unique features of the text: It introduces students to research methods through a conceptual approach, and the authors demonstrate that the statistics are a tool of the concepts. It employs an accessible approach and casual voice to personalize the experience for the readers, leading them through the various stages and steps. The presentation of a communication campaign demonstrates each method discussed in the text. This campaign includes goals and objectives that will accompany the chapters, demonstrates each individual methodology, and includes research questions related to the communication campaign. The tools gained herein will enable students to review, use, understand, and critique research, including the various aspects of appropriateness, sophistication and utility of research they encounter.

The second edition of Building Contract Claims and Disputes (first published as Building Contract Disputes) provides a study of the causes of contractual disputes, particularly of claims in construction projects and of how they can be resolved successfully. It examines contracts, decisions, documentation and project operation from the points of view of clients, contractors, subcontractors and professional advisers. Readers in practice will find this book an invaluable and comprehensive reference. Those taking professional examinations or degree and postgraduate courses will also benefit greatly from it.The book explains the background, preparation and settlement of claims, with negotiation and dispute resolution from mediation to adjudication, arbitration and legal proceedings. The interrelations of variations, extension of time and loss and expense are considered. Three specially structured case studies of construction projects illustrate and apply the principles to detailed practical situations. This edition deals with a considerably expanded range of contracts, including JCT, GC/Works/1, design and build, minor works, ICE and innovative NEC. It covers recent legal rulings and changes in the law and contract forms, as well as parts of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and the Arbitration Act 1996.

Product Description: This fully revised, updated and extended edition of a successful text, introduces some of the important philosophical issues arising from social research practices and historical research in the social sciences. Since its initial publication the field of social research and philosophy has been widely debated, and this expanded version incorporates the most recent discussion and theories...read more

This book gives practical guidance on doing an action research project. Written for practitioners across professions who are studying on work-based learning programmes and award-bearing courses, this book is packed full of useful advice and takes the reader through the various stages of a project, including: starting your action research project monitoring and documenting the action techniques for dealing with the data making claims to knowledge and validating them legitimating your research making your research public creating your living educational theory. The book's practical approach will appeal to practitioners and will encourage them to try out new strategies for improving their work. It will also be essential reading for those resource managers in schools, colleges and higher education institutions who are responsible for providing courses and support. This third edition of the best-selling book has been thoroughly updated and improved by a number of features, with new case studies from a wide range of disciplines, extracts from validated dissertations and theses (with information on how to access more examples via the Internet), points for reflection, checklists of reflective questions, and up-to the-minute information on current debates and ideas.