How It’s Done An Invitation to Social Research

by Adler, Emily Stier; Clark, Roger

• ISBN13: 9780534533250
• ISBN10: 0534533256
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-04
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This text contains an accessible format, engaging language, focus on real researchers, and student exercises. The book gives students first-hand experience with the research process, provides them with a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how professional researchers have done their work, and presents social science research in a clear and inviting manner.

Table of Contents

The Uses of Social Research	1	(16)
Introduction	3	(2)
Research Versus Other Ways of Knowing	5	(12)
Knowledge from Authorities	5	(1)
Knowledge from Personal Inquiry	6	(1)
Strengths of the Scientific Method	6	(3)
The Purposes of Social Research	9	(1)
Exploratory Research	9	(1)
Descriptive Research	9	(1)
Explanatory Research	10	(1)
Critical Research	11	(1)
Applied Research	12	(5)
Theory and Research	17	(14)
Introduction	19	(3)
Concepts, Variables, and Hypotheses	19	(3)
The Relationship Between Theory and Research	22	(9)
Excerpt from ``Explaining Rape Victim Blame''	22	(1)
Excerpt from ``Social Reproduction and the Corporate Other: The Institutionalization of Afterschool Activities''	23	(1)
Deductive Reasoning	24	(2)
Inductive Reasoning	26	(1)
The Cyclical Model of Science	27	(4)
Selecting Researchable Topics and Questions	31	(26)
Introduction	33	(7)
Studying Women's Lives After College Graduation	35	(5)
Sources of Research Questions	40	(4)
Values and Science	40	(1)
Personal Factors	40	(1)
Research and the Social, Political, and Economic Climates	41	(2)
Research Funding	43	(1)
Developing a Researchable Question	44	(13)
Reviewing the Literature	45	(4)
Practical Matters	49	(8)
Ethics and Social Research	57	(28)
Introduction	59	(7)
Conducting Ethical Research	59	(1)
An Historical Perspective on Research Ethics	59	(2)
Personal Reflections on Researching HIV Disease	61	(5)
Principles for Doing Ethical Research	66	(9)
Principles Regarding Participants in Research	66	(8)
Ethical Issues Concerning Colleagues and the General Public	74	(1)
Ethical Conflicts and Dilemmas	75	(10)
Conflict Between Ethical Principles	75	(1)
Conflicts Between Ethical Concerns and Legal Matters	76	(2)
Conflict Between Ethical Principles and Research Interests	78	(1)
Making Decisions: Maximize Benefit, Minimize Risk	79	(6)
Sampling	85	(34)
Introduction	87	(9)
Why Sample?	87	(2)
Probability versus Nonprobability Samples	89	(1)
Do ``Instant Polls'' Hit the Spot? Phone-In versus Random Sampling of Public Opinion	90	(6)
Sources of Bias and Error in Sampling	96	(8)
Sampling Variability and Sampling Distributions: An Illustration	99	(5)
Types of Probability Sampling	104	(7)
Simple Random Sampling	104	(2)
Systematic Sampling	106	(1)
Stratified Sampling	107	(2)
Cluster Sampling	109	(1)
Multistage Sampling	109	(2)
Types of Nonprobability Sampling Designs	111	(2)
Purposive Samples	111	(1)
Quota Sampling	111	(1)
Snowball Sampling	112	(1)
Convenience Sampling	112	(1)
Choosing a Sampling Technique	113	(6)
Measurement	119	(28)
Introduction	121	(8)
Suicide Misclassification in an International Context	122	(7)
Conceptualization and Operationalization	129	(6)
An Example of Conceptualization and Operationalization	131	(2)
Composite Measures	133	(2)
Level of Measurement	135	(3)
Nominal Level Variables	135	(1)
Ordinal Level Variables	136	(1)
Interval Level Variables	136	(1)
Ratio Level Variables	137	(1)
The Practical Significance of Level of Measurement	137	(1)
Quality of Measurement	138	(9)
Reliability	139	(1)
Validity	140	(7)
Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal and Case Study Designs	147	(26)
Introduction	149	(9)
Study Design	149	(1)
Connections Between Purposes of Research, Theory, and Study Design	150	(1)
The Effect of Age Desegregation on Environmental Quality for Elderly Living in Public/Publicly Subsidized Housing	151	(7)
Study Design Choices	158	(15)
Cross-Sectional Study Design	159	(1)
Cross-Sectional Studies and Causal Relationships	160	(1)
Longitudinal Designs	161	(6)
The Case Study	167	(2)
Summary of Case, Cross-Sectional, and Longitudinal Designs	169	(4)
Experimental Research	173	(28)
Introduction	175	(9)
Causal Hypotheses and Experimental Designs	175	(1)
The Classic Experiment: Data Collection Technique or Study Design?	176	(1)
The History of One Experiment	177	(1)
A Literature-Based Approach to Teaching Values to Adolescents: Does it Work?	177	(7)
The Reading Project as an Experiment	184	(2)
Experimental Designs	186	(9)
The Classic Controlled Experiment	186	(3)
The Field Experiment	189	(1)
Laboratory Experiments	190	(1)
Internal Validity and Experiments	191	(1)
Extended Experimental Design	191	(1)
Quasi-Experiments	192	(3)
Experimental and Other Designs	195	(6)
Summary of Experimental Designs	197	(4)
Questionnaires and Structured Interviews	201	(32)
Introduction	203	(7)
Explaining Rape Victim Blame: A Test of Attribution Theory	204	(6)
The Uses of Questionnaires and Structured Interview Schedules	210	(3)
Survey Participation	213	(1)
Choices of Method	214	(6)
Kinds of Questionnaires	214	(2)
Questionnaire Concerns	216	(2)
In-Person and Phone Interviews	218	(1)
Issues for Structured Interviews	219	(1)
Constructing Questions	220	(7)
Types of Questions	220	(3)
How to Ask Questions	223	(4)
Technology and the Self-report	227	(6)
Qualitative Interviews	233	(38)
Introduction	235	(12)
Managing Motherhood in Prison	236	(11)
Qualitative versus Structured Interviews	247	(1)
Variations in Qualitative Interviews	248	(4)
Number and Length of Interviews	248	(1)
Semi-Structured and Unstructured Interviews	248	(2)
Joint Interviewers	250	(1)
Group Interviews and Focus Groups	250	(2)
Locating Respondents and Presenting the Project	252	(3)
Planning the Interview	255	(4)
Using Consent Forms	255	(1)
Constructing an Interview Guide or Schedule	255	(3)
Speaking the Same Language	258	(1)
Conducting the Interview	259	(5)
Where and How to Interview	259	(1)
Recording the Interview	259	(1)
Being ``Real'' in the Interview	259	(2)
Interviewing Across the Great Divides	261	(3)
Issues of Validity	264	(1)
After the Interview's Over	264	(7)
Analyzing Interview Data	265	(6)
Observation Techniques	271	(34)
Introduction	273	(10)
Social Reproduction and the Corporate Other: The Institutionalization of Afterschool Activities1	273	(10)
Observational Techniques Defined	283	(2)
Uses of Observations	285	(1)
Observer Roles	286	(3)
Getting Ready for Observation	289	(6)
Gaining Access	292	(2)
Gathering the Data	294	(1)
Analyzing the Data	295	(3)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Observational Techniques	298	(7)
Using Available Data	305	(28)
Introduction	307	(9)
Television Violence and Violent Crime: An Aggregate Analysis	308	(8)
Sources of Available Data	316	(8)
Governments	317	(2)
Nongovernmental Agencies or Researchers	319	(2)
The World at Large	321	(1)
The Internet	322	(2)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Available Data	324	(9)
Content Analysis	333	(22)
Introduction	335	(6)
Engendering Junior: Changing Images in Children's Books	335	(6)
Appropriate Topics for Content Analysis	341	(1)
Units of Analysis	342	(2)
Sampling	344	(1)
Creating Meaningful Variables	344	(2)
Quantitative or Qualitative Content Analysis?	346	(1)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Content Analysis	347	(8)
Evaluation Research	355	(31)
Introduction	357	(17)
Kinds of Research	357	(1)
The Need for Applied Research	358	(1)
Social Problems and Social Solutions	358	(2)
Truth and DARE: Tracking Drug Education to Graduation and as Symbolic Politics	360	(14)
Types of Evaluation and Research Questions	374	(3)
Outcome Evaluation	374	(1)
Cost-Benefit Analysis	375	(1)
Evaluations for Other Purposes	376	(1)
Designing an Evaluation	377	(8)
Who Is the Study for?	377	(1)
Selecting and Measuring Goals	377	(4)
Selecting a Study Design	381	(3)
Populations and Samples	384	(1)
Politics and Evaluation Research	385	(1)
The Political Nature of Research	385	(1)
Trust and Mistrust	385	(1)
Having an Impact	386	(7)
Quantitative Data Analysis	393	(38)
Introduction	394	(1)
Quantitative or Qualitative?	394	(2)
Quantitative Data Analysis	396	(35)
Coding	396	(5)
Elementary Quantitative Analyses	401	(1)
Univariate Analyses	402	(5)
Bivariate Analyses	407	(7)
Multivariate Analysis and the Elaboration Model	414	(17)
Qualitative Data Analysis	431	(26)
Introduction	433	(1)
Are There Predictable Steps in Qualitative Data Analysis?	434	(23)
Data Collection and Transcription	435	(3)
Data Reduction	438	(4)
Data Displays	442	(4)
Conclusion Drawing and Verification	446	(11)
Summing Up	457	(36)
Introduction	459	(1)
Planning Research	459	(6)
The Research Question	459	(1)
Working Inductively or Deductively?	460	(1)
Concepts, Variables, and Hypotheses	460	(1)
Practical Matters and Ethical Considerations	461	(1)
Selecting a Sample	462	(1)
Purposes of Research and Study Designs	462	(1)
Measurement and Methods of Data Collection	463	(2)
Comparison of Data Collection Methods	465	(4)
Making Observations	466	(1)
Asking Questions	467	(1)
Available Data and Content Analysis	467	(1)
Multiple Methods	468	(1)
Writing the Research Report	469	(2)
Summary: Endings and Beginnings	471	(2)
Appendixes
A Random Number Table	473	(2)
B Questionnaires	475	(8)
C Hoffnung Questionnaire	483	(2)
D Code of Ethics	485	(8)
Glossary	493	(10)
References	503	(18)
Index	521