Monday, 13 October 2014

New Research Methods Book

Having looked at the existing choices of research methods books, I decided to add a new one to the list of choices.  It covers much of the ground from this blog and walks through the process of doing any kind of research project from finding an idea to reviewing the literature, choosing your methods, analysis and writing up your findings.  There's even a chapter on the philosophy of knowledge which is far and away the most popular posting on this site.  You'll find more about the book at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Research-Methods-Business-Management-OGorman/dp/1910158135/ref=asap_B008X59JY2_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413190270&sr=1-1
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9 comments:

  1. sheeshany13 October 2014 at 08:17

    Thank you Professor MacIntosh for the book suggestion.

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  2. Yugocent7 December 2014 at 21:13

    Hi Robert & Members,

    I am looking for a software product that will help me to transcribe my recorded interviews to text, to save me time. I am aware of Nuance Dragon naturally speaking and speech recognition software, but there are so many varieties in the market, and with price ranging from £30-1K, it causes more confusion. My budget is 30-70 pounds, so can i get one at this price range that can do the job?
    Can anyone recommend a good transcribing software product they know/used.
    thanks
    yugocent

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yugocent13 December 2014 at 21:14

    Hi, Could anyone recommend a user friendly, reasonably priced voice to text transcribing software, which is good for recorded interviews?
    thanks in anticipation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robert MacIntosh17 December 2014 at 06:23

      Yugocent, I have tried the Dragon software myself with mixed results ... I don't know of anything that works dramatically better and interviews are always a challenge on the basis that the interviewee may speak quickly, quietly, with an accent, etc. Typically, these are the kinds of things that translation software finds difficult. One trick I tried was was to relisten to the original audio in my headphones and stop every sentence or two to re-say what I'd just heard. If you train the software to know your voice and you speak slowly and clearly enough then you can make reasonable progress. I was never very clear if this made enough of a time saving over straight transcription. Good luck with your search

      Robert

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    2. sheeshany17 December 2014 at 06:37

      https://www.audiotranskription.de/english/f4.htm is one I used and found, all in all, of good capacity for transcribing.

      Delete
  4. Yugocent22 December 2014 at 00:23

    Thanks Robert.
    Yes, you are right. I found out that using the Dragon software is much more time consuming when I tested it against manual (listen, memorise, pause and type) process.
    Bought the Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 12, trained my voice, echoed (re-recorded) the interview in my own voice, and then used software, it transcribed well, but with substantial errors, had to do a lot of correcting, etc.
    In the end i found that it took 30% longer using the software compared to manual process. I have decided to transcribe manually. It is time consuming, but i guess that is just part of the process.
    I was looking for smarter way of working. Not with this, and not this time.
    Thanks for your support
    Yugocent

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  5. Robert MacIntosh29 December 2014 at 06:01

    The upside of transcribing is that there is no better way to get to know the data ... a burden at the time but it will likely pay you back many times over when you get into the analysis. Good luck with your research

    Robert

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  6. Temi28 January 2015 at 00:48

    Hello Professor Robert,

    Sir I am masters student of media and communication, with specialization in media enterprise. I am thinking of my topic ''The effect of Corporate philanthropy on brand image'' However my supervisor is insisting i make it the effect of Gtbank orange ribbon (Autism)initiative on the brand image of the bank'' - This study is going to be in Nigeria. I am now trying to understand how to navigate this in terms of methodology and theories. please any advice to help me will be appreciated. Thank you sir.

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  7. Robert MacIntosh28 January 2015 at 06:26

    Dear Temi ... it sounds to me as though your supervisors version is a specific subset of your more general theme. If that is the case, then there is little problem since many projects take the general version of something and investigate it using a specific example/context. Given that your supervisor will be involved in shaping and possibly assessing your work, it is vital that you develop a shared understanding of what you're trying to achieve. Good luck with your study

    Robert

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