The widespread and the availability of the internet facilitated the process of finding a particular material. In that regard, it can be stated that the benefits of the latter can be observed specifically during the process of conducting academic research, either individually or as a part of an assignment. An example of the latter can be demonstrated through a search assignment to find three books on the subjects of qualitative research design, quantitative research in education, mixed methods research. The present paper describes the search process along with the databases used to find the books on the required three subjects.
In the cases of the three assigned subjects, it can be stated that all subjects can be used as keywords during the search. For qualitative research design, such subject was used as keywords in World Cat, without any delimiters in the keyword section. The only search modifications that were used are year, specifying 2005 as a starting point so that the database will return results only from the last five years, content, format, and language. All of the latter were put as non-fiction, book, and English respectively. The first result from this search query was selected, which is a book by Joseph Alex Maxwell, Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (2005). The book is solely devoted to the subject of planning qualitative researches and design components. This book is available locally, with the nearest place being Gallaudet University Library in Washington, DC.
For the second subject, Google Books was used as a search engine, with the search query entered in the advanced mode. The term quantitative research was used in the exact phrase field, while education was used as a required additional keyword. Other options used were English as a preferred language, book as a result type, 2005-2010 as publishing date, and results with preview and full view only. The first search result was a book titled Quantitative Research in Education: A Primer by Wayne K. Hoy (2010). Almost 20 percent of the book is available online. Checking the book through World Cat revealed that the book is available locally in the same library. Other options to obtain the book include purchasing an electronic version online.
The third subject was researched using the basic search in SagePub databases. The only keywords that were used are mixed, methods, and research, without any delimiters or modifications. Among the first results was a book by John W. Creswell, titled Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (2010). The available results are given the options for purchase from Sage publications. Entering the title of the book in World Cat shows that such a book is also available locally in several locations, among which George Washington University, University of Maryland Libraries, and the University of the District of Columbia, all within 9-10 miles reach.
Thus, it can be concluded that using search over databases not only can find resources on subjects in question, but also provide the opportunity to easily locate the book in the nearest library, without the need for a purchase. The present paper described the process of searching for books on the subjects of qualitative research design, quantitative research in education, mixed methods research. The found resources are comprised of the following entries:
- Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (2005)
- Quantitative Research in Education: A Primer (2010)
- Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (2010)
References
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2010). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2ND ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications.
Hoy, W. K. (2010). Quantitative research in education : a primer. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design : an interactive approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.