A range of different features and companion website makes this book an excellent resource for research students in education embarking upon their PhD, EdD or MPhil. This comprehensive textbook encourages students to contextualise their understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods by drawing links between the research question and its theoretical framework with the choice of the quantitative/qualitative methodology and analyses. It also encourages them to develop a theoretical appreciation of the field of inquiry and to balance the emphasis on methods with reviewing the literature and understanding the wider context of research. Each chapter contains user-friendly features designed to support the student, such as: key terms, summaries, case studies and examples. Exercises are suggested throughout the text, enabling students to look at easily accessible data sets and use prompts to formulate research questions to produce a mini study. Further reading material has been provided at the end of each chapter. A companion website supports the text, providing easy access to supporting material, including revision questions and an annotated list of useful websites.This text will be invaluable reading for research students in education embarking upon their PhD, EdD or MPhil. Research fellows and other educational researchers will also find this book a useful resource.