  This thesis concerns the use, in gravitational wave data analysis, of higher
order waveform models of the gravitational radiation emitted by compact binary
coalescences. We begin with an introductory chapter that includes an overview
of the theory of general relativity, gravitational radiation and ground-based
interferometric gravitational wave detectors. We then discuss, in Chapter 2,
the gravitational waves emitted by compact binary coalescences, with an
explanation of higher order waveforms and how they differ from leading order
waveforms; we also introduce the post-Newtonian formalism. In Chapter 3 the
method and results of a gravitational wave search for low mass compact binary
coalescences using a subset of LIGO's 5th science run data are presented and in
the subsequent chapter we examine how one could use higher order waveforms in
such analyses. We follow the development of a new search algorithm that
incorporates higher order waveforms with promising results for detection
efficiency and parameter estimation. In Chapter 5, a new method of windowing
time-domain waveforms that offers benefit to gravitational wave searches is
presented. The final chapter covers the development of a game designed as an
outreach project to raise public awareness and understanding of the search for
gravitational waves.
