This book provides a bridge between the introductory research methods books and the discipline-specific, higher level texts. Its unique feature is the coverage of the detailed process of research rather than the findings of research projects. Chapter authors have been carefully selected by their expertise, discipline and location to give an eclectic range of perspectives. Particular care has been taken to balance positivist with interpretivist approaches throughout. The authors focus is on the practical consequences of research philosophies, strategies and techniques by using their own research and by evaluating the work of others. Advanced Research Methods in the Built Environment addresses common topics raised by postgraduate level researchers rather than dealing with all aspects of the research process. Issues covered range from the practicalities of producing a journal article to the role of theory in research. The material brought together here provides a valuable resource for the training and development of doctoral and young researchers and will contribute to a new sense of shared methodological understanding across built environment research.

The use of secondary data for research can offer benefits, particularly when limited resources are available for conducting research using primary methods. Researchers and students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including their academic instructors, are increasingly recognising the immense opportunities in applying secondary research methods in built environment research. Advances in technology has also led to vast amounts of existing datasets that can be utilized for secondary research. This textbook provides a systematic guide on how to apply secondary research methods in the built environment, including their various underpinning methodologies. It provides guidance on the secondary research process, benefits, and drawbacks of applying secondary research methods, how to source for secondary data, ethical considerations, and the various secondary research methods that can be applied in built environment research. The book incorporates chapters dealing with qualitative secondary analysis, systematic literature reviews, legal analysis, bibliometric and scientometric analysis, literature-based discovery, and meta-analysis. Secondary Research Methods in the Built Environment is an ideal research book for undergraduate and postgraduate students in construction management, construction project management, quantity surveying, construction law and dispute resolution, real estate and property management, building services engineering, architecture, and civil engineering.

The Routledge Handbook of Planning Research Methods is an expansive look at the traditions, methods, and challenges of research design and research projects in contemporary urban planning. Through case studies, an international group of researchers, planning practitioners, and planning academics and educators, all recognized authorities in the field, provide accounts of designing and implementing research projects from different approaches and venues. This book shows how to apply quantitative and qualitative methods to projects, and how to take your research from the classroom to the real world. The book is structured into sections focusing on Beginning planning research Research design and development Rediscovering qualitative methods New advances in quantitative methods Turning research into action With chapters written by leading scholars in spatial planning, The Routledge Handbook of Planning Research Methods is the most authoritative and comprehensive handbook on the topic, providing both established and ground breaking coverage of spatial planning research methods. The book is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and graduate level students, young professionals and practitioners in urban, regional, and spatial planning.

The application of mixed methods research design in the built environment discipline by students and academics has continued to grow exponentially. However, with no dedicated mixed methods research design textbook in this domain, students have struggled to conduct research projects involving a mixed methods research design. Mixed Methods Research Design for the Built Environment provides a useful research methodololgy resource for students, academics, and researchers across various disciplines in the built environment such as construction management and project management, property and real estate management, quantity surveying and commercial management, building surveying, building services engineering, civil and geodetic engineering, and other built environment disciplines. The book can also be useful for students and academics outside the built environment knowledge domain. This textbook offers practical and step-by-step guidance on how to apply mixed methods research design, including an elucidation of the various philosophical and methodological underpinnings upon which the choice of a particular variant of the mixed methods research design is predicated. It provides practical case examples and guidance on the processes involved to design and undertake mixed methods research, the advantages and disadvantages of using mixed methods research, and how multiple sources of qualitative and quantitative data can be combined and applied to carry out research projects.

Built environment students are not always familiar with the range of different research approaches they could be using for their projects. Whether you are undertaking a postgraduate doctoral programme or facing an undergraduate or masters dissertation, this book provides general advice, as well as 13 detailed case studies from 16 universities in 7 countries, to help you get to grips with quantitative and qualitative methods, mixed methods of data collection, action research, and more.

This book covers the range of methodological approaches, methods and tools currently used in various areas of building science and technology research and addresses the current lack of research-method literature in this field. The book covers the use of measurement-based methods in which data is collected by measuring the properties and their variations in ‘actual’ physical systems, simulation-based methods which work with ‘models’ of systems or processes to describe, examine and analyze their behaviors, performances and operations, and data-driven methodologies in which data is collected via measurement or simulation to identify and examine the associations and patterns and predict the future in a targeted system. The book presents a survey of key methodologies in various specialized areas of building science and technology research including window systems, building enclosure, energy performance, lighting and daylighting, computational fluid dynamics, indoor and outdoor thermal comfort, and life cycle environmental impacts. Provides advanced insight into the research methods and presents the key methodologies within the field of building science and technology. Reviews simulation-based and experimentation/field-based methods of data collection and analysis in diverse areas of building science and technology, such as energy performance, window and enclosure studies, environmental LCA, daylighting, CFD, and thermal comfort. Provides a range of perspectives from building science faculty and researcher contributors with diverse research interests. Appropriate for use in university courses.

As a built environment student you are likely to be required toresearch, write and submit a dissertation as a core component ofyour degree studies. As a vocational profession, students of thebuilt environment often have strong practical aspirations.Writing a Built Environment Dissertation provides practicalguidance and will help to steer you into a position where you candevelop a good dissertation by mixing your practical strengths withmore theoretical tools. The book is ordered around a common dissertation structure: thatis, it starts with material that should be in the introduction andfinishes with material that should be in the conclusion. Eachchapter provides a commentary on the kind of information that youshould put in each chapter of your dissertation, supported by avariety of examples using a range of methodological designs. Thebook has a strong focus on data collection, data analysis,reliability and validity – all areas where studentdissertations are often weak. Material that will help you thinkabout study skills and ethics is embedded throughout the book, andthe chapters on qualitative and quantitative analysis will show youhow to carry out a rigorous analysis while avoiding some of thecomplexity in statistical work. If you are an under-graduate student in the final year of anhonours degree programme in the built environment, or perhaps astudent at masters or PhD level and have been away from academicstudy for some time, then this book will help you to write a moreinnovative and thorough dissertation.

Just when you feel frustrated and thought of giving up, this book is here to save the day – and your future. Flip through and you will know this is what you need to survive the journey, especially in the real academic setting nowadays. A Complete Guide to Academic Research in Built Environment and Engineering provides · Complete coverage on the nut and bolts of academic research in the fields of built environment and engineering · Detailed explanation of every stage in the research process – from definitions to real-world examples, common mistakes and logical comparison · Realistic expectations paired with practical and step-by-step alternatives to address unforeseen issues The respected local and international authors of this book have articulately penned their thoughts and experiences to provide a definitive road map to surviving academic research especially in built environment and engineering. It is definitely a highly recommended guide for students and researchers – whether you are contemplating academic research or may have just begun the journey!

This book aims to guide researchers who are engaged in social science and built environment research through the process of testing the reliability and validity of their research outputs following the application of different methods of data collection. The book presents case studies that emphasize reliability and validity in different examples of qualitative, quantitative and mixed method data sets, as well as covering action research and grounded theory. The reader is guided through case studies that demonstrate: An understanding of the reliability and validity approaches from social science and built environment perspectives in alignment with the relevant research philosophies, approaches and data collection strategies Real research projects that have been conducted by expert researchers on topics such as Lean, BIM, Housing and Sustainability to answer specific or evolving questions in relation to the reliability and validity of research A simple and easy method that students at Masters and PhD levels can relate to in order to adopt a sound reliability and validity approach to their research This book is the essential guide for researchers at undergraduate and postgraduate level who need to understand how to validate the quality of the empirical tests they conduct using different techniques. The book will also be a great asset to supervisors from different backgrounds who need a refresher on this key aspect of the research cycle.