Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Author
1: Introduction: Origins, Approach, and an Arab Sensibility
1.1 Origins and Institutional Connections
1.2 The Difficult to Define Middle Ground
1.3 Options and Choices
1.4 The Arab Dimension
1.5 The Chapters
2: Univariate Analysis: Variance, Variables, Data, and Measurement
2.1 Thinking About Research
2.2 Variance and Variables
2.2.1 The Concept of Variance
2.2.2 Units of Analysis and Variance
2.2.3 Univariate Distributions
2.2.4 Qualitative Research
2.2.5 Descriptive Statistics
2.2.6 Visual Descriptions
Exercise 2.1. Units of Analysis, Variance, and Descriptive Charts
2.3 Data Collection and Measurement
2.3.1 Types of Data and Measurement Scales
2.3.2 Data Sources and Data Collection
2.3.3 Conceptual Definitions and Operational Definitions
2.3.4 Measurement Quality
Exercise 2.2. Inter-Indicator Agreement and Reliability and Validity
2.3.5 Capturing Variance
3: Bivariate Analysis: Associations, Hypotheses, and Causal Stories
3.1 Description, Explanation, and Causal Stories
3.2 Hypotheses and Formulating Hypotheses
Exercise 3.1
Exercise 3.2
3.3 Describing and Visually Representing Bivariate Relationships
Exercise 3.3
Exercise 3.4 Exploring Hypotheses through Visualizing Data: Exercise with the Arab Barometer Online Analysis Tool
3.4 Probabilities and Type I and Type II Errors
3.5 Measures of Association and Bivariate Statistical Tests
Exercise 3.5
4: Multivariate Analysis: Causation, Control, and Conditionality
4.1 Causal Inference
4.1.1 Covariance and Causation
Exercise 4.1
4.1.2 Temporal Sequence
4.1.3 Multivariate Regression
The Tradeoffs of Pooled Analyses
Exercise 4.2. Estimating Satisfaction with Overall Government Performance
4.1.4 Control Variables
Exercise 4.3 Connecting Hypotheses and Causal Stories
Exercise 4.4 Identifying and Selecting Control Variables
4.2 Third Variable Possibilities
4.2.1 Other ``Third´´ Variables
4.2.2 Direct and Indirect Relationships
4.2.3 Disaggregation/Conditional Effects
4.2.4 Scope Conditions
Exercise 4.5. Thinking about scope conditions in the Maghreb
4.2.5 Experiments
5: Reprise and Conclusion: Overview, Audience, and Uses of the Guide
Appendices
Appendix 1: Fieldwork and Ethics
Pre-Arrival and Preparation
First Steps in the Field
Best Practices of Data Collection and Preservation
Managing Subjectivity and Ensuring the Safety of Collaborators
After the Field
Appendix 2: Research Ethics
Informed Consent
Protecting Confidentiality
Trauma and Sensitive Topics
Fieldwork as an Unequal Exchange
Internal Review Boards
Ethics and the Bigger Picture
Appendix 3: Survey Research
The Arab Barometer
Sampling Methods
Survey Mode
Survey Questions
Conclusion
Appendix 4: Software for Statistics and Data Analysis
Stata
R
SPSS
Excel and Google Sheets