Research Methods

"a comprehensive web-based textbook that addresses all of the topics in a typical introductory undergraduate or graduate course in social research methods. It covers the entire research process including: formulating research questions; sampling (probability and nonprobability); measurement (surveys, scaling, qualitative, unobtrusive); research design (experimental and quasi-experimental); data analysis; and, writing the research paper. It also addresses the major theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of research including: the idea of validity in research; reliability of measures; and ethics."

"is a comprehensive and authoritative study covering the data, techniques, theories, designs, histories, and implications of assigning numerical values to social phenomena."

- "Volume 1 focuses on foundation issues and includes sections on the rationale for evaluation, central methodological debates, the role of theory and applying values, criteria and standards.
- Volume 2 examines explaining through evaluation and covers sections on experimentation and causal inference, outcomes and inputs, socio-economic indicators, economics and cost benefit approaches and realist methods.
- Volume 3 addresses qualitative methods and includes sections on case studies, responsive, developmental and accompanying evaluation, participation and empowerment, constructivism and postmodernism and multi-criteria and classificatory methods.
- Volume 4 concentrates on evaluation to improve policy with sections on performance management, systematic reviews, institutionalization and utilization and policy learning and design."

"features two major types of entries: definitions, consisting of a paragraph or two, which provide a quick explanation of a methodological term; and topical treatments or essays, discussing the nature, history, application/example and implication of using a certain method."

"provides information about nearly all types of survey methods and survey errors. The more than 600 entries in the encyclopedia fall out across the following categories: Ethics, Measurement, Nonresponse, Operations, Political & Election Polling, Public Opinion, Sampling, Coverage & Weighting, Survey Industry, Survey Statistics"

Sometimes referred to as "Miller," after the author, Delbert Miller. A standard sourcebook covering basic, applied, and evaluation research. The chapter on "Selected Sociometric Scales and Indexes" includes many scales that have been tested for a high degree of reliability, validity, and utility.

"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.

a “Reader's Guide” groups the entries into 16 subject categories: Approaches and Methodologies; Arts-Based Research, Ties to; Associations, Centers, and Institutes; Computer-Assisted Data Analysis; Data Analysis; Data Collection; Dissemination and Writing; History of Qualitative Research; Participants; Quantitative Research, Ties to; Research Design and Planning; Research Ethics; Rigor; Textual Analysis, Ties to; and Theoretical and Philosophical Frameworks.

- "Volume 1 covers the fundamental issues about qualitative research, including epistemological ones. A wide range of case-studies are included.
- Volume 2 covers the different methods with which qualitative research is associated.
- Volume 3 deals with the analysis and interpretation of qualitative data, as well as with writing up the results of research.
- Volume 4 contains selections relating to a wide range of specific issues in qualitative research in the appropriate historical and intellectual context."

"Covers every major facet of these two different, but highly integrated disciplines—from mean, mode, and median to reliability, validity, significance, correlation, and much more—all without overwhelming the informed reader. Offers cross-disciplinary coverage, with contributions from and applications to the fields of Psychology, Education, Sociology, Human Development, Political Science, Business and Management, Public Health, and others."

- "The first volume provides an introduction to the use of questionnaires. It examines the principles of question construction, considers different types of questionnaire, principles of social measurement and the relationship between expressed attitudes, and actual social behaviour.
- The second volume covers the main types of questionnaire and question construction. Included here is material on question order, question wording and response alternatives. The measurement of attitudes is examined.
- The third volume focuses on how to handle sensitive questons, problems of validity, the extent to which researchers succeed in measuring what they want to measure, and the relationship between the tools which they use and the underlying theoretical constructs.
- The fourth volume, on Surveys in the World, brings together the best material on memory and recall, truth-telling issues and how respondents comprehend basic questions. The advent of the computer programmed questionnaire is examined."

- Academic Disciplines
- Case Study Research Design
- Conceptual Issues
- Data Analysis
- Data Collection
- Methodological Approaches
- Theoretical Traditions
- Theory Development & Contributions from Case Study Research
- Types of Case Study Research

Methodological Context of Surveys; Ethical Context; Institutional Contexts; Research Designs; Collecting Survey Data; Sampling; Survey Error; Measurement Error; Coverage Error; Sampling Error; Non Response Error.