For emerging researchers, introductory content that is specific to the Aotearoa context can be hard to find. Research methods for education and the social disciplines in Aotearoa New Zealand draws on the thinking of numerous local researchers to deliver an overview and introduction to research methodology and methods, in a way that closely ties…

This article introduces an open-source software package--R for Qualitative Data Analysis (RQDA). RQDA is an R package for analysis of text-formatted data, which is compatible across operating platforms. It is user-friendly and seamlessly integrates with R, which makes it possible to conduct statistical analyses on qualitative coding. Alternative…

Across all social science disciplines, but in particular public administration, there is a shared concern about the costs of using traditional random samples to generate data, and its impact on researchers' ability to engage in "quality" research. As a result of these costs, more academics, practitioners, and students are turning to…

Emerging researchers are often surprised to learn that instrument selection is a complex and important step in the process of research design. This concise guide explains how to identify appropriate instruments, select the best ones for the job, and properly describe the instruments so that others will know how and why they were chosen. Each…

Primary research in education and social sciences is marked by a diversity of methods and perspectives. How can we accommodate and reflect such diversity at the level of synthesizing research? What are the critical methodological decisions in the process of a research synthesis, and how do these decisions open up certain possibilities, while…

Despite the swift spread of social network concepts and their applications and the rising use of network analysis in social science, there is no book that provides a thorough general introduction for the serious reader. "Understanding Social Networks" fills that gap by explaining the big ideas that underlie the social network phenomenon.…

Clear, coherent and trusted, this book is the perfect guide to the main social research methods in use today. The much anticipated Third Edition of Clive Seale's bestselling title further expands its coverage to provide an authoritative introduction to all of the social research methods used to analyze qualitative and quantitative data. Written by…

This text explains how to use the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS), one of the most popular statistical analysis software packages available. It explains how to use SPSS through examples of a variety of statistical procedures. A brief rationale is presented for the use of each of the statistical procedures addressed in the book,…

"Seven Rules for Social Research" teaches social scientists how to get the most out of their technical skills and tools, providing a resource that fully describes the strategies and concepts no researcher or student of human behavior can do without. Glenn Firebaugh provides indispensable practical guidance for anyone doing research in the social…

This chapter examines the core analytic elements of randomized experiments for social research. Its goal is to provide a compact discussion for faculty members, graduate students, and applied researchers of the design and analysis of randomized experiments for measuring the impacts of social or educational interventions. Design issues considered…

Like the two editions that precede it, this volume is designed as a working text to serve two groups of users. It is both an up-to-date guide to the literature prepared by practicing librarians for fast and easy access to some of the best resources in the social science literature, and it is a teaching textbook for students wanting a clear,…

This bibliography is intended for anyone who is interested in learning about language and law, including those in the legal profession or legal education, linguistics students, political science students, judges, advocates, and laypeople. The document provides bibliographic information about social science research on language in the judicial…

It is argued that when a discipline, such as human geography, overemphasizes order and neglects skepticism and criticism, the products of research are likely to be erroneous, misleading, and self-fulfilling in nature. The first three chapters present the core of the argument. Chapter 1 establishes the case for an order-skepticism dialectic.…

Prepared as a guide to assist students with library research methods for women's studies course work, the document is divided into five chapters. Chapter one explains how to find books on a specific topic using the subject catalog at Stony Brook's Melville Library. Using a question and answer format the topics covered include subject catalog…

Considers how sociohistorical context affects procedures by which sociologists obtain subject permission for interviews and audiotaping interviews. Reviews a 1950s study involving interviews with institutionalized, schizophrenic women contrasting ethical and institutional implications of informed consent in that context to contemporary informed…