Research Basics: Design to Data Analysis in Six Steps offers a fresh and creative approach to the research process based on author James V. Spickard’s decades of teaching experience. Using an intuitive six-step model, readers learn how to craft a research question and then identify a logical process for answering it. Conversational writing and multi-disciplinary examples illuminate the model’s simplicity and power, effectively connecting the “hows” and “whys” behind social science research. Students using this book will learn how to turn their research questions into results.
Communication research is evolving and changing in a world of online journals, open-access, and new ways of obtaining data and conducting experiments via the Internet. Although there are generic encyclopedias describing basic social science research methodologies in general, until now there has been no comprehensive A-to-Z reference work exploring methods specific to communication and media studies. Our entries, authored by key figures in the field, focus on special considerations when applied specifically to communication research, accompanied by engaging examples from the literature of communication, journalism, and media studies. Entries cover every step of the research process, from the creative development of research topics and questions to literature reviews, selection of best methods (whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) for analyzing research results and publishing research findings, whether in traditional media or via new media outlets. In addition to expected entries covering the basics of theories and methods traditionally used in communication research, other entries discuss important trends influencing the future of that research, including contemporary practical issues students will face in communication professions, the influences of globalization on research, use of new recording technologies in fieldwork, and the challenges and opportunities related to studying online multi-media environments. Email, texting, cellphone video, and blogging are shown not only as topics of research but also as means of collecting and analyzing data. Still other entries delve into considerations of accountability, copyright, confidentiality, data ownership and security, privacy, and other aspects of conducting an ethical research program. Features: 652 signed entries are contained in an authoritative work spanning four volumes available in choice of electronic or print formats. Although organized A-to-Z, front matter includes a Reader’s Guide grouping entries thematically to help students interested in a specific aspect of communication research to more easily locate directly related entries. Back matter includes a Chronology of the development of the field of communication research; a Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and associations; a Glossary introducing the terminology of the field; and a detailed Index. Entries conclude with References/Further Readings and Cross-References to related entries to guide students further in their research journeys. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross-References combine to provide robust search-and-browse in the e-version.
This introductory textbook presents research methods and data analysis tools in non-technical language. It explains the research process and the basics of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, including procedures and methods, analysis, interpretation, and applications using hands-on data examples in QDA Miner Lite and IBM SPSS Statistics software. The book is divided into four parts that address study and research design; data collection, qualitative methods and surveys; statistical methods, including hypothesis testing, regression, cluster and factor analysis; and reporting. The intended audience is business and social science students learning scientific research methods, however, given its business context, the book will be equally useful for decision-makers in businesses and organizations.
This book provides step-by-step instructions on how to analyze text generated from in-depth interviews and focus groups, relating predominantly to applied qualitative studies. The book covers all aspects of the qualitative data analysis process, employing a phenomenological approach which has a primary aim of describing the experiences and perceptions of research participants. Similar to Grounded Theory, the authors' approach is inductive, content-driven, and searches for themes within textual data.
The authors of this unique text found that while most students can "crunch" the numbers quite easily and accurately with a calculator or computer, many have trouble seeing the "big picture" or seeing how research questions and design influence data analysis. As a result, the authors developed a semantically consistent framework that integrates traditional research approaches (experimental, quasi-experimental, comparative) into three basic kinds of research questions (difference, associational, and descriptive), which, in turn, lead to three kinds or groups of statistics with the same names. This text: *helps students become good consumers of research by demonstrating how to analyze and evaluate research articles; *offers a number of summarizing diagrams and tables that clarify confusing or difficult to learn topics; *points out the value of qualitative research and how it should lead quantitative researchers to be more flexible; *divides all quantitative research questions into five logically consistent categories that help students select appropriate statistics and understand their cause and effect; and *classifies design into three major types: between groups, within subjects, and mixed groups and shows that, although these three types use the same general type of statistics (e.g., ANOVA), the specific statistics in between-groups design are different from those in within-subjects and mixed groups.
Qualitative Research Methods is a comprehensive, all-inclusive resource for the theory and practice of qualitative/ethnographic research methodology. Serves as a “how-to” guide for qualitative/ethnographic research, detailing how to design a project, conduct interviews and focus groups, interpret and analyze data, and represent it in a compelling manner Demonstrates how qualitative data can be systematically utilized to address pressing personal, organizational, and social problems Written in an engaging style, with in-depth examples from the author’s own practice Comprehensive companion website includes sample syllabi, lesson plans, a list of helpful website links, test bank and exam review materials, and exercises and worksheets, available upon publication at www.wiley.com/go/tracy
This text will enable readers to use tools to design, conduct and report research in a way that transforms, when appropriate, the delivery of special education.
Research Methods in Education introduces research methods as an integrated set of techniques for investigating questions about the educational world. This lively, innovative text helps students connect technique and substance, appreciate the value of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and make ethical research decisions. It weaves actual research "stories" into the presentation of research topics, and it emphasizes validity, authenticity, and practical significance as overarching research goals. The text is divided into three sections: Foundations of Research (5 chapters), Research Design and Data Collection (7 chapters), and Analyzing and Reporting Data (3 chapters). This tripartite conceptual framework honors traditional quantitative approaches while reflecting the growing popularity of qualitative studies, mixed method designs, and school-based techniques. This approach provides a comprehensive, conceptually unified, and well-written introduction to the exciting but complex field of educational research.
This third edition of Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology provides you with a unique, balanced blend of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Highly practical in nature, the book guides you, step-by-step, through the research process and is underpinned by SPSS screenshots, diagrams and examples throughout.
"Comprising more than 500 entries, the Encyclopedia of Research Design explains how to make decisions about research design, undertake research projects in an ethical manner, interpret and draw valid inferences from data, and evaluate experiment design strategies and results. Two additional features carry this encyclopedia far above other works in the field: bibliographic entries devoted to significant articles in the history of research design and reviews of contemporary tools, such as software and statistical procedures, used to analyze results. It covers the spectrum of research design strategies, from material presented in introductory classes to topics necessary in graduate research; it addresses cross- and multidisciplinary research needs, with many examples drawn from the social and behavioral sciences, neurosciences, and biomedical and life sciences; it provides summaries of advantages and disadvantages of often-used strategies; and it uses hundreds of sample tables, figures, and equations based on real-life cases."--Publisher's description.
