Sampling is fundamental to nearly every study in the social and policy sciences, yet clear, concise guidance for practitioners and graduate students has been difficult to find. Practical Sampling provides guidance for researchers dealing with the everyday problems of sampling. Using the practical design approach Henry integrates sampling into the overall research design and explains the interrelationships between research design and sampling choices. He lays out alternatives and implications of the choices using four detailed examples to illustrate the alternatives selected and the trade-offs made by applied researchers. The author uses a narrative, conceptual approach throughout the book; mathematical presentations are limited to necessary formulas; and calculations are kept to the absolute minimum, making it an easily approachable book for any researcher, student or professional across the social sciences.
Research design is of critical importance in social research, despite its relative neglect in many methods resources. Early consideration of design in relation to research questions leads to the elimination or diminution of threats to eventual research claims, by encouraging internal validity and substantially reducing the number of alternative explanations for any finite number of research ′observations′. This new book: discusses the nature of design; gives an introduction to design notation; offers a flexible approach to new designs; looks at a range of standard design models; and presents craft tips for real-life problems and compromises. Most importantly, it provides the rationale for preferring one design over another within any given context. Each section is illustrated with case studies of real work and concludes with suggested readings and topics for discussion in seminars and workshops, making it an ideal textbook for postgraduate research methods courses. Based on the author′s teaching on the ESRC Doctoral Training Centre "Masters in Research Methods" at the University of Birmingham, and his ongoing work for the ESRC Researcher Development Initiative, this is an essential text for postgraduate researchers and academics. There is no book like Research Design on the market that addresses all of these issues in an easy to comprehend style, for those who want to design research and make critical judgements about the designs of others.
The contributors to Best Practices in Quantitative Methods envision quantitative methods in the 21st century, identify the best practices, and, where possible, demonstrate the superiority of their recommendations empirically. Editor Jason W. Osborne designed this book with the goal of providing readers with the most effective, evidence-based, modern quantitative methods and quantitative data analysis across the social and behavioral sciences. The text is divided into five main sections covering select best practices in Measurement, Research Design, Basics of Data Analysis, Quantitative Methods, and Advanced Quantitative Methods. Each chapter contains a current and expansive review of the literature, a case for best practices in terms of method, outcomes, inferences, etc., and broad-ranging examples along with any empirical evidence to show why certain techniques are better. Key Features: Describes important implicit knowledge to readers: The chapters in this volume explain the important details of seemingly mundane aspects of quantitative research, making them accessible to readers and demonstrating why it is important to pay attention to these details. Compares and contrasts analytic techniques: The book examines instances where there are multiple options for doing things, and make recommendations as to what is the "best" choice—or choices, as what is best often depends on the circumstances. Offers new procedures to update and explicate traditional techniques: The featured scholars present and explain new options for data analysis, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the new procedures in depth, describing how to perform them, and demonstrating their use. Intended Audience: Representing the vanguard of research methods for the 21st century, this book is an invaluable resource for graduate students and researchers who want a comprehensive, authoritative resource for practical and sound advice from leading experts in quantitative methods.
This book shows readers how to select & use the most appropriate sampling methods for their survey. It covers myriad sampling techniques, and describes criteria, the logic in estimating standard errors, and how to calculate the response rate.
Written for students taking research methods courses, this text provides a thorough overview of sampling principles. The author gives detailed, nontechnical descriptions and guidelines with limited presentation of formulas to help students reach basic research decisions, such as whether to choose a census or a sample, as well as how to select sample size and sample type. Intended for students and researchers in the social and behavioral sciences, public health research, marketing research, and related areas, the text provides nonstatisticians with the concepts and techniques they need to do quality work and make good sampling choices.
Comprehensive Sampling and Sample Preparation is a complete treatment of the theory and methodology of sampling in all physical phases and the theory of sample preparation for all major extraction techniques. It is the perfect starting point for researchers and students to design and implement their experiments and support those experiments with quality-reviewed background information. In its four volumes, fundamentals of sampling and sample preparation are reinforced through broad and detailed sections dealing with Biological and Medical, Environmental and Forensic, and Food and Beverage applications. The contributions are organized to reflect the way in which analytical chemists approach a problem. It is intended for a broad audience of analytical chemists, both educators and practitioners of the art and can assist in the preparation of courses as well in the selection of sampling and sample preparation techniques to address the challenges at hand. Above all, it is designed to be helpful in learning more about these topics, as well as to encourage an interest in sampling and sample preparation by outlining the present practice of the technology and by indicating research opportunities. Sampling and Sample preparation is a large and well-defined field in Analytical Chemistry, relevant for many application areas such as medicine, environmental science, biochemistry, pharmacology, geology, and food science. This work covers all these aspects and will be extremely useful to researchers and students, who can use it as a starting point to design and implement their experiments and for quality-reviewed background information There are limited resources that Educators can use to effectively teach the fundamental aspects of modern sample preparation technology. Comprehensive Sampling and Sample Preparation addresses this need, but focuses on the common principles of new developments in extraction technologies rather than the differences between techniques thus facilitating a more thorough understanding Provides a complete overview of the field. Not only will help to save time, it will also help to make correct assessments and avoid costly mistakes in sampling in the process Sample and sample preparation are integral parts of the analytical process but are often less considered and sometimes even completely disregarded in the available literature. To fill this gap, leading scientists have contributed 130 chapters, organized in 4 volumes, covering all modern aspects of sampling and liquid, solid phase and membrane extractions, as well as the challenges associated with different types of matrices in relevant application areas
This book addresses sample size and power in the context of research, offering valuable insights for graduate and doctoral students as well as researchers in any discipline where data is generated to investigate research questions. It explains how to enhance the authenticity of research by estimating the sample size and reporting the power of the tests used. Further, it discusses the issue of sample size determination in survey studies as well as in hypothesis testing experiments so that readers can grasp the concept of statistical errors, minimum detectable difference, effect size, one-tail and two-tail tests and the power of the test. The book also highlights the importance of fixing these boundary conditions in enhancing the authenticity of research findings and improving the chances of research papers being accepted by respected journals. Further, it explores the significance of sample size by showing the power achieved in selected doctoral studies. Procedure has been discussed to fix power in the hypothesis testing experiment. One should usually have power at least 0.8 in the study because having power less than this will have the issue of practical significance of findings. If the power in any study is less than 0.5 then it would be better to test the hypothesis by tossing a coin instead of organizing the experiment. It also discusses determining sample size and power using the freeware G*Power software, based on twenty-one examples using different analyses, like t-test, parametric and non-parametric correlations, multivariate regression, logistic regression, independent and repeated measures ANOVA, mixed design, MANOVA and chi-square.
Translating the evidence from the bedside to populations This sixth edition of the best-selling Epidemiology, Evidence-based Medicine and Public Health Lecture Notes equips students and health professionals with the basic tools required to learn, practice and teach epidemiology and health prevention in a contemporary setting. The first section, 'Epidemiology', introduces the fundamental principles and scientific basis behind work to improve the health of populations, including a new chapter on genetic epidemiology. Applying the current and best scientific evidence to treatment at both individual and population level is intrinsically linked to epidemiology and public health, and has been introduced in a brand new second section: ‘Evidence-based Medicine’ (EBM), with advice on how to incorporate EBM principles into your own practice. The third section, 'Public Health', introduces students to public health practice, including strategies and tools used to prevent disease, prolong life, reduce inequalities, and includes global health. Thoroughly updated throughout, including new studies and cases from around the globe, key learning features include: Learning objectives and key points in every chapter Extended coverage of critical appraisal and data interpretation A brand new self-assessment section of SAQs and 'True/False' questions for each topic A glossary to quickly identify the meaning of key terms, all of which are highlighted for study and exam preparation Further reading suggestions on each topic Whether approaching these topics for the first time, starting a special study module or placement, or looking for a quick-reference summary, this book offers medical students, junior doctors, and public health students an invaluable collection of theoretical and practical information.
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.
