Social Research Methods by Example: Applications in the Modern World, Second Edition

✍ Scribed by Yasemin Besen-Cassino and Dan Cassino

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 342
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Endorsements
Title
Copyright
Brief Contents
Detailed Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
Chapter 1 Introduction to Research Methods
Learning Objectives
Effects of Society: Why Our Environment Matters
Thinking Through Variables: How Researchers Work
Problem of Spuriousness
The Scientific Method
Causality
Causality: Correlation Does Not Mean Causation
Types of Variables and Levels of Measurement
Conclusion
Chapter 2 Operationalizations and Validity
Learning Objectives
Operationalizations
Criterion Validity
Reverse Causation
Intervening Variables
Spurious Relationships
Other Characteristics of Variables
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Research Ethics
Learning Objectives
Belmont Report
The No Harm Rule
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)
Informed Consent
Coercion
Deception in Research
Use of Vulnerable Populations
Animal Ethics
Chapter 4 Theory and Paradigms
Learning Objectives
Rise of Positivism and Social Sciences
Structural Functionalism
Conflict Theory
Feminist Theory
Critical Race Theory
Symbolic Interactionism
Rational Choice Theory
Ethnomethodology
The Role of Theory
Chapter 5 Literature Reviews
Learning Objectives
The Peer-Review Process
Sources for Literature Reviews
Finding Sources: The Branching Method
Common Online Portals
Research Reading: How to Read a Journal Article
Writing the Literature Review
Citations
Plagiarism
Bibliography
Chapter 6 Ethnographies
Learning Objectives
From “How to Why”
Participant Versus Non-Participant Research
Non-Participant Observations
Reactivity
Deception in Ethnographies
Entering the Field
Positionality
Key Informants
Field Notes
Unobtrusive Observations
Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethnographies
Chapter 7 Interviews and Focus Groups
Learning Objectives
In-Depth Qualitative Interviews
Capturing the Voices of the Underprivileged
Sampling
Telephone, Skype, and Zoom Interviews
Interview Guide
Interviewer Training
Transcription
Coding
Advantages and Disadvantages
Ethical Considerations
Focus Groups
Why Focus Groups?
Composition of Focus Groups
Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups
Ethical Concerns
Chapter 8 Content Analysis
Learning Objectives
Dictionaries and Replication
Online Content Analysis: Blogs, Social Media, and Other Online Sites
Computerized Content Analysis
Context Units
Inter-Rater Reliability
Advantages and Disadvantages of Content Analysis
Chapter 9 Experiments
Learning Objectives
Participant Selection
Summing Up
Chapter 10 Field and Quasi-Experiments
Learning Objectives
Chapter 11 Designing Survey Items
Learning Objectives
Introduction to the Questionnaire
Item Ordering
Guidelines for Designing Survey Items
Item Specificity
Clear and Unemotional Language
Balanced Items
Double-Barreled Questions
Double-Negative Questions
Missing Data: “Don’t Know” and Refusals
Mutually Exclusive and Exhaustive Response Options
Contingency Items
Open-Ended Items
Matrix Items
Sakamura Items
Feeling Thermometers
Likert Scales
Thurstone Scales
Guttman Scales
Conclusion
Chapter 12 Administering Surveys
Learning Objectives
Face-to-Face Surveys
Telephone Surveys
Sampling
Simple Random Sampling (SRS)
Probability Versus Non-Probability Sampling
Convenience Sampling
Hybrid Surveys
Conclusion
Chapter 13 Quantitative Methods I: Descriptive Statistics
Learning Objectives
From Survey to Dataset
The Basics of SPSS
Frequencies
Graphs
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Dispersion
Variance and Standard Deviation
Z-Scores
Margin of Error
Z-Score Table: Area Under the Normal Curve Below the Given Z-Score
Chapter 14 Quantitative Methods II: Multi-Variate Relationships
Learning Objectives
Crosstabs
Scatterplots
Correlation
T-Tests
Linear Relationships and the Line of Best Fit
Univariate Regression Analysis
Significance and Hypothesis Testing
Dummy and Control Variables
Multi-Variate Regression Analysis
Definitions
References
Index