This is a resource book for social scientists engaged in cross-national comparative research. It critically examines the methodological and managerial issues which arise from such work, with a particular focus on the economic and social policy agenda of the European Union. Experts from across Europe and from different disciplinary backgrounds draw upon their own experience of conducting cross-national comparisons to offer well-informed guidance on how to overcome the pitfalls and problems they have encountered.
The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods is a must for every social-science researcher. It charts the new and evolving terrain of social research methodology, covering qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods in one volume. The Handbook includes chapters on each phase of the research process: research design, methods of data collection, and the processes of analyzing and interpreting data. The volume maintains that there is much more to research than learning skills and techniques; methodology involves the fit between theory, research questions research design and analysis. The book also includes several chapters that describe historical and current directions in social research, debating crucial subjects such as qualitative versus quantitative paradigms, how to judge the credibility of types of research, and the increasingly topical issue of research ethics. The Handbook serves as an invaluable resource for approaching research with an open mind. This volume maps the field of social research methods using an approach that will prove valuable for both students and researchers.
Cross-National Research Methodology and Practice offers practical guidance for relative newcomers to cross-national research by analysing and evaluating the research process by focusing strongly on best practice in terms of methods and management. It raises a number of important issues for cross-national research which have been given insufficient attention in discussions of methods and practice. The volume contains reflexive and theoretically based pieces on the development of contextualization as an approach to cross-national comparative research, on qualitative and quantitative methods, extending to the integration of different methodological approaches. The volume includes practical examples of cross-national research projects which illustrate different methods ranging from: biographical and documentary approaches the collection and analysis of socio-demographic and attitudinal survey data either carried out by lone researchers or teams of researchers the exploration of internet sources and application of computer analysis to quantitative and qualitative data. This collection provides a firm emphasis on methodological issues relating to context, values and discourse.
To the uninformed, surveys appear to be an easy type of research to design and conduct, but when students and professionals delve deeper, they encounter the vast complexities that the range and practice of survey methods present. To complicate matters, technology has rapidly affected the way surveys can be conducted; today, surveys are conducted via cell phone, the Internet, email, interactive voice response, and other technology-based modes. Thus, students, researchers, and professionals need both a comprehensive understanding of these complexities and a revised set of tools to meet the challenges. In conjunction with top survey researchers around the world and with Nielsen Media Research serving as the corporate sponsor, the Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods presents state-of-the-art information and methodological examples from the field of survey research. Although there are other "how-to" guides and references texts on survey research, none is as comprehensive as this Encyclopedia, and none presents the material in such a focused and approachable manner. With more than 600 entries, this resource uses a Total Survey Error perspective that considers all aspects of possible survey error from a cost-benefit standpoint. Key Features Covers all major facets of survey research methodology, from selecting the sample design and the sampling frame, designing and pretesting the questionnaire, data collection, and data coding, to the thorny issues surrounding diminishing response rates, confidentiality, privacy, informed consent and other ethical issues, data weighting, and data analyses Presents a Reader′s Guide to organize entries around themes or specific topics and easily guide users to areas of interest Offers cross-referenced terms, a brief listing of Further Readings, and stable Web site URLs following most entries The Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods is specifically written to appeal to beginning, intermediate, and advanced students, practitioners, researchers, consultants, and consumers of survey-based information.
The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods is a must for every social-science researcher. It charts the new and evolving terrain of social research methodology, covering qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods in one volume. The Handbook includes chapters on each phase of the research process: research design, methods of data collection, and the processes of analyzing and interpreting data. The volume maintains that there is much more to research than learning skills and techniques; methodology involves the fit between theory, research questions research design and analysis. The book also includes several chapters that describe historical and current directions in social research, debating crucial subjects such as qualitative versus quantitative paradigms, how to judge the credibility of types of research, and the increasingly topical issue of research ethics. The Handbook serves as an invaluable resource for approaching research with an open mind. This volume maps the field of social research methods using an approach that will prove valuable for both students and researchers.
This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.
Malcolm W. Klein Center for Research on Crime and Social Control University of Southern California 1. BACKGROUND In June of 1988, approximately forty scholars and researchers met for four days in the Leeuwenborst Congres Center in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, to participate in a workshop entitled Self-Report Metho dology in Criminological Research. The participants represented 15 nations and 30 universities and research centers, a diversity that was matched by the experiences and focal interests in self-report methods among the participants. This volume is the result of the workshop process and in particular of the invitations to participants to prepare pre-conference papers for distribution prior to the workshop. The chapters in the volume were selected from the larger set of pre conference papers. As workshop conv~ner and volume editor, it falls on me to set some of the context for this enterprise. Self-report crime is "admitted" crime, derived from interview and questionnaire responses obtained from adults and juveniles (regardless of whether or not they have been arrested) concerning their own illegal behaviors. Growing awareness of the limitations of official crime statistics has led to the development of self-report procedures.
Addresses issues pertaining to measurement and research methodology in an international marketing context. This title also addresses a range of subjects including response-bias in cross-cultural research, problems with cultural distance measures, and construct specification. It focuses on the development and application of novel research methods.
