Research Methodology and Scientific Writing, 2nd Edn

Contents: 1. Research: The Search for Knowledge. 2. Philosophy of Research. 3. Approaches to Research. 4. Major Research Methods. 5. Experimental Research. 6. Collection and Analysis of Data. 7. Planning and Writing a Research Proposal. 8. Publications and the Library. 9. Academic Databases. 10. The Literature Review. 11. Preparation of Research Papers and Other Articles. 12. The Structure of a Thesis. 13. Tables and Illustrations. 14. Reasoning in Research. 15. References: How To Cite and List Correctly. 16. Improve Your Writing Skills. 17. Use Appropriate Words and Phrases. 18. Punctuation Marks and Abbreviations. 19. Units and Numbers. 20. Conference Presentations and Posters. 21. Guidelines for Successful Lecturing. 22. Note Taking, Note Making, and Assignments. 23. Ethics and Related Issues in Research. 24. Plagiarism: Prevention and Cure. Index.

This thoroughly revised and expanded second edition comprises of 24 chapters and each chapter is further divided into sections of specific units. Considering the demand of the readers, following four new chapters have been added:

• Units and Numbers considering the necessity of adopting only SI units in scientific measurements.
• Guidelines for Successful Lecturing for those who would like to pursue a career in teaching.
• Note making, Note-taking and Assignments to boost the learning outcomes for students.
• Plagiarism: Prevention and Cure to warn about the perils of plagiarism and the corrective steps.

Other chapters have been restructured with addition of new materials. By splitting the chapter on "Approaches to Research", a new chapter "Major Research Methods" has been added with more inputs on the section, participatory learning and action. The chapter "Information Sources" has been split into two, "Publications and the Library" and "Academic Databases" that has been rewritten by deleting some non-functional databases and adding several useful ones with the latest trends and web links. Similarly, the chapter on "Scientific Writing: improve your writing skills" has been split into three with additional information. The chapter on "Preparation of Thesis and Research papers" has been split into two, devoting a chapter entirely for thesis writing. The chapter on "References: How to cite and list correctly" has been restructured by adding new trends in referencing with several new examples.