Methodology

The book shows how to apply validity concepts when planning and conducting an evaluation, thereby making sure that the evaluation stays true to the purposes for which it was initiated. Marc T. Braverman demonstrates that evaluating with validity means...

"Studies on the Abuse and Decline of Reason" is a series of fascinating essays on the study of social phenomena. How to best and most accurately study social interactions has long been debated intensely, and there are two main approaches: the...

Viewing data as the heart of qualitative research, this book provides clear guidance on the steps involved in collecting and managing primary & secondary data while equipping you with a toolkit that they can apply to data in any context. In her...

A tidyverse edition of the acclaimed textbook on data analysis and statistics for the social sciences and allied fieldsQuantitative analysis is an essential skill for social science research, yet students in the social sciences and related areas...

Reading Autoethnography situates autoethnographic insights within the context of two fundamental concerns of critical qualitative inquiry: justice and love.Through philosophical engagement, it gives close readings of written passages taken from leading...

Offering clear, easy-to-understand guidance on designing qualitative research, this fully updated Seventh Edition of Marshall and Rossman's bestselling text retains the useful examples, tools, and vignettes that makes it such an outstanding resource. The...

The book focuses on the design of rigorous trials rather than their statistical underpinnings, with chapters on: pragmatic designs; placebo designs; preference approaches; unequal allocation; economics; analytical approaches; randomization methods. It...

The Fifth Edition of the bestselling Utilization-Focused Evaluation provides expert, detailed advice on conducting evaluations that promote effective use of the findings. Chock full of useful pedagogy, this book presents Michael Quinn Patton's...

An innovative and accessible textbook on multimethod and case-study research Multimethod research has become indispensable to doing social science, and is essential to anyone who conducts large-scale research projects in political science, sociology,...

Whether analyzing attitudes, measuring opinions or observing habits, researchers who investigate people's behaviour need a wide range of techniques at their disposal. Research with people provides a unique introduction to these methods that is both clear...

Social media data can be vast and understanding which data source works best for a research project, as well as the ethical considerations it requires and how to go about extracting and analysing this data, is fundamental for students to grasp. Working...

"This is the evaluation book we've been waiting for! A must-read for all learning and working in the field." -Amanda M. Olejarski, West Chester University Evaluation Failures: 22 Tales of Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned is a candid...

The third edition of this popular, innovative and engaging textbook introduces students to the various methods of modern social science, explaining how these have emerged, their strengths and limitations for understanding the world in which we live, and...

How to Think Like a Realist is Ray Pawson's seminal book on realist social inquiry, boldly linking social research to clinical and physical science and challenging many methodological shibboleths.This unique book pairs outstanding clarity of detail with...

What do variables really tell us? When exactly do inventions occur? Why do we always miss turning points as they transpire? When does what doesn't happen mean as much, if not more, than what does? Andrew Abbott considers these fascinating questions in...

Recording Oral History, now available in its third edition, provides a comprehensive guide to oral history for researchers and students in diverse fields including history, sociology, anthropology, education, psychology, social work, and ethnographic...

The Stata edition of the groundbreaking textbook on data analysis and statistics for the social sciences and allied fieldsQuantitative analysis is an increasingly essential skill for social science research, yet students in the social sciences and...

Twentieth-Century British Social Trends is a centennial record of the changing face of Britain in the twentieth century. Primarily statistical, the book sets out a broad description of how the life of the United Kingdom has developed from 1900 to 2000...

Action Research is an invaluable guide to both novice and experienced researchers from a diversity of disciplines, backgrounds, and levels of study for understanding how action research works in real-life contexts. The Fifth Edition builds on the...

This expanded second edition of Scientific Method shows how science works, fails to work or pretends to work by looking at examples from physics, biomedicine, psychology, sociology and economics.Scientific Method aims to help curious readers understand...

Offering a detailed introduction to the practice of data analysis, this book is both user-friendly and theoretically grounded. Drawing on his extensive experience of qualitative research, Douglas Ezzy reviews approaches to data analysis in established...

Between the comfort of using a medium they use daily and the perceived easiness of access and use, students are increasingly quick to choose online methods for their research projects. However getting data online isn't as easy as it seems. No matter how...

The relationship between Law and Anthropology can be considered as having been particularly intimate. In this book the authors defend their assertion that the two fields co-exist in a condition of "balanced reciprocity" wherein each makes...

H. Russell Bernard's Research Methods in Anthropology, Sixth Edition, is the standard for learning about the range of methods for collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data about human thought and human behavior. In the first section...

Drawing on the authors' thirty years of combined experience in the field, this authoritative, step-by-step guide to conducting focus groups features dedicated chapters on all aspects of the research process. Loaded with real world research examples...

This book invites the reader to think about collaborative research differently. Using the concepts of 'letting go' (the recognition that research is always in a state of becoming) and 'poetics' (using an approach that might interrupt and remake the...

Framing research as the process of asking and answering questions, this book demonstrates how to identify good research questions and how to structure and explore them successfully. Whether you are just beginning your research journey or are a...

Standards. We apply them, uphold them, or fail to meet them. But how do they get made? Through twelve ethnographic case studies, The Social Life of Standards reveals how standards - political and technical tools for organizing society - are developed,...

Carol A. Chapelle shows readers how to design validation research for tests of human capacities and performance. Any test that is used to make decisions about people or programs should have undergone extensive research to demonstrate that the scores are...

Reflecting the rising popularity of research that combines qualitative and quantitative social science, Multi-Method Social Science provides the first systematic guide to designing multi-method research. It argues that methods can be productively...

Now in a Fourth Edition, this how-to guide is an excellent starting point for anyone looking to begin case study research. The authors-all professors teaching graduate students in education and other professions-provide the structure, detail, and...

The Second Edition of 30 Essential Skills for the Qualitative Researcher provides practical, applied information for the novice qualitative researcher, addressing the "how" of conducting qualitative research in one brief guide. Author John W. Creswell...

As debate rages over the widening and destructive gap between the rich and the rest of Americans, Claude Fischer and his colleagues present a comprehensive new treatment of inequality in America. They challenge arguments that expanding inequality is the...

This book revisits the arguments by which Harvey Sacks and Harold Garfinkel opposed the widespread attempt in the social sciences to construct disciplinary theories and methods in place of common-sense knowledge of human action, and proposed instead an...

This book bridges a major gap in knowledge by considering, through a range of reflexive chapters from different disciplinary backgrounds, both theoretical and practical issues relating to community research methodologies. The international contributors...

The philosophy of the social sciences considers the underlying explanatory powers of the social (or human) sciences, such as history, economics, anthropology, politics, and sociology. The type of questions covered includes the methodological (the nature...

This book shows you not just how to use triangulation as a strategy of quality management, but also how to use it as an approach to designing and doing qualitative research in a more comprehensive way. Flick links triangulation with current debates about...

This accessible text on social research methodology teaches students of sociology and related disciplines how standard methods can be adapted toward critical ends. The second edition has been updated throughout to incorporate the latest critical...

What is charisma? And how does it generate influence and power? World-renowned sociologist Randall Collins explores these and many other questions in a highly readable exploration of the various forms of charisma and how charisma elevated Jesus,...

Researchers in the social sciences and beyond are dealing more and more with massive quantities of text data requiring analysis, from historical letters to the constant stream of content in social media. Traditional texts on statistical analysis have...