Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Preface
PART I: FOUNDATIONS OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
CHAPTER 1: THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
WHAT IS SCIENCE?
APPROACHES TO KNOWLEDGE
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF SCIENCE
AIMS OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
THE ROLES OF METHODOLOGY
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS
THE RESEARCH PROCESS
THE PLAN OF THIS BOOK
CHAPTER 2: CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH
CONCEPTS
DEFINITIONS
THEORY: FUNCTIONS AND TYPES
MODELS
THEORY, MODELS, AND EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
CHAPTER 3: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH
RESEARCH PROBLEMS
UNITS OF ANALYSIS
VARIABLES
RELATIONS
HYPOTHESES
RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES: AN EXAMPLE
CHAPTER 4: ETHICS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH
WHY RESEARCH ETHICS?
BALANCING COSTS AND BENEFITS
INFORMED CONSENT
PRIVACY
PROFESSIONAL CODES OF ETHICS
PART II: DESIGN AND STRUCTURE OF RESEARCH
CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH DESIGNS: EXPERIMENTS
CLASSIC EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN
CAUSAL INFERENCES
COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH DESIGN
DESIGN TYPES
CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH DESIGNS: CROSS-SECTIONAL AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
TYPES OF RELATIONS AND DESIGNS
CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGNS
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
COMBINED DESIGNS
PREEXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
A COMPARISON OF DESIGNS
CHAPTER 7: MEASUREMENT
THE PROCESS OF MEASUREMENT
LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
DATA TRANSFORMATION
MEASUREMENT ERROR
VALIDITY
RELIABILITY
CHAPTER 8: SAMPLING AND SAMPLE DESIGNS
AIMS OF SAMPLING
THE POPULATION
SAMPLE DESIGNS
SAMPLE SIZE
NONSAMPLING ERRORS
PART III: DATA COLLECTION
CHAPTER 9: OBSERVATIONAL METHODS
TRIANGULATION
ROLES OF OBSERVATION
TYPES OF BEHAVIOR
TIMING AND RECORDING
INFERENCE IN THE COURSE OF OBSERVATION
CONTROLLED OBSERVATION
CHAPTER 10: SURVEY RESEARCH
MAIL QUESTIONNAIRE
PERSONAL INTERVIEW
TELEPHONE INTERVIEW
ONLINE SURVEYS, LIVE FEEDS, AND BIG DATA
COMPARING THE FOUR SURVEY METHODS
CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 11: QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION
THE QUESTION
CONTENT OF QUESTIONS
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
QUESTION FORMAT
SEQUENCE OF QUESTIONS
AVOIDING BIAS: PITFALLS IN QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION
INTRODUCTIONS
INSTRUCTIONS
CONSTRUCTING A QUESTIONNAIRE: A CASE STUDY
CHAPTER 12: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
FIELD RESEARCH
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
ETHNOGRAPHY
THE PRACTICE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
BLUE-COLLAR COMMUNITY: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN PRACTICE
ETHICAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
CHAPTER 13: SECONDARY DATA AND CONTENT ANALYISIS
WHY SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS?
SEARCHING AND SOURCING SECONDARY DATA
CONTENT ANALYSIS
PART IV: DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS
CHAPTER 14: DATA PREPARATION AND ANALYSIS
CODING SCHEMES
CODEBOOK CONSTRUCTION
COMPUTING IN SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH
CHAPTER 15: THE UNIVARIATE DISTRIBUTION
THE ROLE OF STATISTICS
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS
USING GRAPHS TO DESCRIBE DISTRIBUTIONS
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
BASIC MEASURES OF DISPERSION
MEASURES OF DISPERSION BASED ONTHE MEAN
TYPES OF FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS
CHAPTER 16: BIVARIATE ANALYSIS
THE CONCEPT OF RELATIONSHIP
NOMINAL MEASURES OF RELATIONSHIP
ORDINAL MEASURES OF RELATIONSHIP
INTERVAL MEASURES OF RELATIONSHIP
CHAPTER 17: MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS
ANALYZING MULTIPLE VARIABLES
EXAMINING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG VARIABLES
STATISTICAL PROCEDURES
CHAPTER 18: INDEX CONSTRUCTION AND SCALING METHODS
INDEX CONSTRUCTION
SCALING METHODS
CHAPTER 19: INFERENCES
THE STRATEGY OF TESTING HYPOTHESES
NULL AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION
LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE AND REGION OF REJECTION
PARAMETRIC AND NONPARAMETRIC TESTS OF SIGNIFICANCE
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: WRITING RESEARCH REPORTS
APPENDIX B: THE SUMMATION SIGN
APPENDIX C: RANDOM DIGITS
APPENDIX D: AREAS UNDER THE NORMAL CURVE
APPENDIX E: DISTRIBUTION OF t
APPENDIX F: CRITICAL VALUES OF F
GLOSSARY
AUTHOR INDEX
SUBJECT INDEX
Mathematical and Statistical Symbols