Research as a cross cutting discipline has been heavily influenced by the rapid growth in technology. This book has therefore been revised to reflect the rapid growth in information technology and innovations in practically all professional fields. A new chapter on mixed methods has been added, given the current importance and use of this approach in the field. The chapters on both quantitative and qualitative data analysis have been expanded and new concepts included in all chapters. The chapter on data analysis has been expanded to include inferential statistics.

The book has been widely used in universities across Kenya and the Eastern African region. We hope that this revised edition will continue to be a valuable resource to students and scholars in universities and colleges; researchers in different fields; policy makers; and programme managers within NGOs and public and private sectors, who are involved in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects.