methods of data collection in social science researchmethods of data collection in social science research

Reviewed by Kevin Deitle, Adjunct Associate Professor, TRAILS on 10/6/19, I am pleased with the coverage in the text; it includes the history and foundations of research, as well as chapters on ethics and a sample syllabus. More examples would also be helpful. The main improvements I would like to see would be (1) sidebars throughout that guide students through the paper-writing process and (2) activities using datasets for students to actually perform some of their own quantitative analyses. Doctoral students would bring in a sufficient foundation for reading this on their own; undergraduates will need scaffolding and additional resources to competently understand the complexity inherent in research. I haven't spotted any problems with internal consistency. However, both the breadth and depth of information might be too elementary for Ph.D. and graduate students. More insets/boxes within chapters would be a great addition visually. Overall, the content was consistent throughout the textbook. Introductory topics relating to research methods are provided early and are built upon in subsequent chapters. The text includes very few examples and it is hard to imagine how research methods in general could be offensive to anyone (unless it is the practice of science itself that offends them), but for completeness' sake, allow me to state that I found no instances of insensitivity or offense in this textbook.

The book's introductory sections offer a discussion of the philosophy of science, the history of science, and definitions of some key terms and The book is relevant. read more, I use almost the entire text in an undergraduate Health Science research methods course. While the content covered is detailed, a more critical introduction of the concepts as being situated in the obtained scores as opposed to the instrument itself would have made the chapter stronger. It starts general (with How to Think Like a Researcher) and builds to specific, more detailed content (Inferential Statistics).

Reviewed by Kelly Pereira, Assistant Professor, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro on 12/5/16, This text offers a comprehensive overview of social science research methods appropriate for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. This discussion then provides a basis for comparing qualitative and quantitative research as the two traditional alternatives in social science research. Each chapter is clearly titled. As the book title stated, this book provides A Quick Guide to Quantitative Research in Social Science. WebSocial science researchers also collect data through quantitative data collection.

-how to search the literature The text is easy to follow. Download.

Overall, the content was grammatically strong. While it is an overview of the information, it is specific and concise enough for students who need to understand the research process but wont be engaging in research as their full-time profession. It contains information essential to understanding quantitative and qualitative research. 34). WebQuantitative research using statistical methods starts with the collection of data, based on the hypothesis or theory. I do see this more as a foundational reference for a graduate-level course than a self-study text though, and it has the feel of a reference work to it. I think that the text may lend itself to several different types For example, there are several examples that could represent the concept of technostress, especially with many professionals having to move into online environments. Content is for the most part up to date (see above comments for specific areas: reliability, validity, mixed methods); some examples may become outdated very soon (example of political movements in middle eastern countries for example).

This is a wonderful open source option for a main text for a research methods course or as a supplementary option for a statistics course that also focuses on data collection. There are a few important topics missing, however. To take another example, the author presents the formulae for the variance and standard deviation on p. 122 with the customary n-1 in the denominator. Students planning to conduct original research, analyze data and interpret results will likely find this insufficient. The text is comprehensive yet concise and would not overwhelm students. Focus groups. Addition of research studies and discussion questions would be great. While discussions are brief and concise, the text addresses the main issues and processes providing an overview and general understanding of the research process for social science Qualitative vs. quantitative data Your choice of qualitative or quantitative data collection depends on the type of knowledge you want to develop. I use this book with graduate students in education taking an initial course in education research. Overall, then, the book is to be commended for tackling both the philosophical issues at stake in research design as well as the 'nuts and bolts' (or 'brass tacks') of actually doing research.

the more technical and statistical chapters, such as Chapters 6, 7, 8, 14, and 15 are easily omitted; I will be able to adapt portions of this text (i.e. I will discuss disciplinary relevance rather than chronological applicability (which other reviewers have already addressed thoroughly). The writing is clear and there are sufficient examples to help students grasp concepts. The textbook is well organized. That is, the book aims to train students not only in research methods, but also in the critical tasks of theorizing problems, generating research questions, and designing scientific inquiries - what the author refers to as 'thinking like a researcher.' Case Research provides exemplars that focus on business and marketing domains. The book is meticulously researched and I did not note any egregious statements or inaccuracies.

The course for which I seek a textbook is meant to prepare students in a non-discipline-specific regional studies context, and for a range of methodologies and research design possibilities, mostly in the social sciences and humanities. Reviewed by Debra Mowery, Assistant Professor, University of South Florida on 3/27/18, The text covers all of the areas of basic research information that I cover when I teach research and research methods in the social sciences. This is more challenging when planning for its use in an undergraduate research methods class; however, I think that the strengths of this book outweigh the weaknesses. I assign the chapters in an alternative order and students have not had problems with this. I felt the content of this text is accurate, unbiased, and free of any glaring errors.. That said, there is not a ton of depth in this textbook. Indeed, this is one of the strengths of the book: that it can be used broadly within the social sciences. Content was not culturally insensitive or offensive. However, many of the images were blurry (e.g., Figure 8.2, Table 14.1) and some fonts were smaller than others (i.e., pg. -how to read scholarly articles Including some of the important subsections of the chapters would also improve navigation of the pdf version of the book. The social science research process is unlikely to change in any signfiicant way for some time; therefore, I suspect the book will be relevant for years to come. The following are seven primary methods of collecting data in business analytics. Overall, this is a good book to have as a reference or an additional text for a class. Also, having links from the table of contents to chapters would be helpful. This text, however, is thorough enough to maintain my interested in trying to find a way to make it work. Overall, however, the author has presented a lot of information succinctly and I look forward to using this text (in parts) in future methods courses. It would be helpful if bookmarks were placed in the pdf version. read more. Many people have asked why I'm giving away something for free when I can make money selling it? Answer a handful of multiple-choice questions to see which statistical method is best for your data. Because of the basic nature of the materials presented and clear writing, my upper level undergraduate students have done well with this text. All methods require skill on the part of the researcher, and all produce a large amount of raw data. The book will also be available in Kindle e-Book, Apple iBook, and on-demand paperback versions at a nominal cost.

An appropriate place and reference might be within the first chapter, under the heading Types of Scientific Research, to give a nod to some of the social science fields and the importance of interdisciplinary questions across disciplinary lines. Whereas most research methods textbooks either focus on research I noticed the examples cited were from articles written by authors from different countries. While this is a social science textbook, it would be helpful to have subsection in Chapter 4 that introduces at least a couple of the main health behavior theories. If you are analyzing existing data, such as a data set or archival documents, describe how it was originally created or gathered and by whom. Overall, this is a well-organized text. Overall, this textbook is accurate but not perfect. (p. 24). Overall, this is a good book to introduce graduate (and even undergraduate) students to social science research. I do like that it includes a chapter on research ethics and an appendix with a sample syllabus, however. Observations. The topics are presented in a logical manner. Observation. Interviews, focus groups, and ethnographiesare qualitative methods. You'll find yourself returning to the basics, and it gives strong foundations. Overall I'd say in comparison to most other texts with which I am familiar that most all topics are covered, to some degree, but some topics are covered less than I would expect in a doctoral level textbook. While the notes state it is intended for graduate coursework, I would have no problem teaching in my undergraduate courses. read more. As such, the book seems to do a good job introducing all the essential concepts for graduate research, but supplemental materials are likely needed depending on instructor or student needs. The great thing about research methods is that the content ages well (does not change over time).

It would be better to use designing measurement tools/instruments in the chapter name since the types of validity and reliability discussed are related to creating and developing measurement tools/instruments. I think this comprehensiveness may be appropriate for an undergraduate course (with some supplementation), but the text For example, the beginning chapter which discusses what science is and uses vocabulary from the hard or natural sciences may not necessarily be relevant in a social science course, but the author is being comprehensive by explaining the origins of science and the creation of the scientific method.The vocabulary in bold is extremely effective throughout the book. Many experts have written that these types of questions, when asked at the beginning of a questionnaire or survey, can affect the respondents' answers to subsequent questions and should be saved for the end. This text is most relevant to the potential research programs of our students in discussions of the precursors to research design in Chapter 2 (Thinking like a researcher) and of the using and creating of theory in Chapter 4 (Theories in Scientific Research). Sometimes there are summaries and bullet points, and other times there arent, so this is not exactly consistent, but it doesnt detract from the overall work. I will to recommend it to a colleague who is teaching research methods next semester in a different department. Still, I miss the comprehensive list of works cited at the end of the book, which I would add to a text that I create, since an e-text is not limited by the economics of physically-printed books. Particularly, in the more practical steps of the research process (the data collection and data analysis sections). Occasionally, there were instances when the flow made sense at the chapter level, however, content might have been spread between chapters (i.e. The table of contents (chapter listing) makes it easy to find content. It builds upon basic topics to more advanced concepts, so students from various backgrounds of research experience should still find the text useful. It presents the information in a clear and concise way. read more. The statistical coverage is very thin and should not serve as the primary source material in any class that covers statistics. Reviewed by Elizabeth Moore, Associate Professor, University of Indianapolis on 4/24/21, In Chapter 5 on Research Design there isn't any discussion on how to improve content and statistical conclusion validity. The comprehensive nature of the book allows the reader to be exposed to all the necessary topics, or provides a structure for a course instructor, who then supplements with additional materials to create the depth that is specifically tailored for their discipline. The content is very relevant. The illustrations do help guide understanding of concepts presented. Some of them, such as the first chapter, is historical and philosophical, but not essential to understanding social science research methods. The division of the text into the following sections: theoretical foundations, concepts in research design, data collection and data analysis, make it easy for instructors to structure a course and assign readings based on these main foundational areas. The structure and arrangement of the book differs from my own understandings of research and how I present it in class, but all the material covered in my class appears in the text, and it can be ordered to fit my syllabus. The text covers all of the areas of basic research information that I cover when I teach research and research methods in the social sciences. I think this book would complement other research texts without causing too many difficulties in terminology or arrangement. Journalism, Media Studies & Communications, 14. The questions are designed by a researcher to elicit information from interview participants on a specific topic or set of topics. Its written in a way that is easy to understand. I am pleased with the coverage in the text; it includes the history and foundations of research, as well as chapters on ethics and a sample syllabus. The only things that may need updating over time are any links that lead to pages that no longer exist. Personally, I appreciate the compact nature of this text and I would much rather fill in a few gaps on my end, if it means that I can assign my students an open textbook. The text consistently matches the book outline. That said, I am balancing using this text versus a more comprehensive, but much more expensive, commercially produced text. I found no errors in content and no observable bias in any of the chapters. An overview of theory, designs, sampling, data collection, data analysis, and ethics are provided. Methods of Data Collection Sampling Considerations Assessing Performance in Organizations Data Analysis Reporting Research Findings Back Matter Concluding words Glossary Discover method in the Methods Map Sign in Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life 1. I found this book to be extremely useful and of high quality. The errors do not effect the content of the text but when reading it makes you pause and think - what is trying to be said here? Download. I am looking forward to using it. WebEducational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications (Gay L. R.; Mills Geoffrey E.; Airasian Peter W.) Methods of data collection, representation, and While it is certainly possible to break apart to teach the text in a different order than how the chapters are originally offered, the progression of the text from the introduction to the chapters on qualitative data analysis is both logical and clear.

Reviewed by Allison White, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University on 1/7/16, This text covers a wide array of topics relevant to social science research, including some that are not traditionally included but are welcome additions, such as a chapter dedicated to research ethics. I think more detail is provided about paradigms and theories than is necessary, but those chapters and sections could be left out of course reading assignments quite easily. Look at the lack of diversity in many professions and organizations, this is important to address. There isn't a discussion of threats associated with the four types of validity. It would require additional materials / textbooks for graduate level research method courses. There is no glossary but being an online text, it is simple enough to search for certain terms. For example, on p. 126, Dr. Bhattacherjee notes five female students when the Chi-square table appears to show four. The hotlinks in the table of content are nice, but additional navigational aids would be helpful. While the text covers a broad array of topics, it is a bit superficial and lacks depth in some areas. WebData collection is the systematic approach to gathering and measuring information from a variety of sources to get a complete and accurate picture of an area of interest.

This text offers a comprehensive overview of social science research methods appropriate for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

Instead, I spend two weeks on theories (Chapter 3), one week to discussing and conducting reviews for academic journals (not in the book), and one week for a finals exam. I can see how psychologists, sociologists and political scientists could provide discipline-specific examples to tailor this to their students particular needs. However, it is strongly recommended that the framework is revisited for chapters discussing qualitative research methods and approaches. No problems with typeface, the diagrams and graphs are incredibly useful in breaking down more complex research methods.

Based on my review, the text's content is accurate, error-free and unbiased. However, although there will not be too many changed expected in the research strategies and designs, it is important to note that some of the sampling procedure have been facing some changes in recent years (e.g., telephone survey, online sampling frame). Social science is a quite diverse field, including studies of socio-economic data, human behaviors, values, perceptions, and many others. I like the organization. The writing is straightforward and easy to follow. Not only are the topics wide-ranging, but the research methods and the underlying philosophy of science also vary. For example, chapter 11. The book covered different social science research methods fairly. we must understand that sometimes, these constructs are not real . . Currently, there is controversy on the over-reliance of the p-value, and it would be useful to include some of this discussion on p. 125.

This is an unfortunate oversight. The text, for example, mentions Internet surveys, but there is no conversation about tools one can use to build an Internet survey; how Internet surveys differ from traditional modes of surveying; or the practice of weighting Internet survey results to make them "representative" of the larger population. This book is a nice walk-through guide for researchers new to the field of social science research. Students would be more likely to read assigned chapters and understand the material presented if the examples were relevant to their profession. It follows the research process from critical thinking, conceptualization, to operationalization/measurements, research design, data collection, and data analysis. The chapter also does not present how the research design and threats to validity are interconnected. The book is not perfect. Research is something of a traditional topic, in the sense that changes or evolutions move at a comfortably slow pace. In addition, a chapter summary/conclusion would also help with summarizing the main concepts of a chapter (some chapters do have a summary, but not all chapters). Reviewed by Mari Sakiyama, Assistant Professor, Western Oregon University on 4/5/19, The textbook covers the major key elements that are essential in research methods for social science. There are a few minor grammatical errors in the 2nd edition, 2012. It addresses the differences between scientific research and social science methods in a clear and concise manner. Reviewed by Amy Thompson, Associate Professor, University of South Florida on 6/19/18, This text is a nice overview of some of the key points in social science research. The text is accurate and up-to-date with research methods in the social sciences. Notably absent, however, is an index, glossary of terms, or questions for discussion, which are frequently included in textbooks devoted to research design. WebWebHow is the word method different from other nouns like it? The only exception to this are the links found in the sample syllabus at the end of the book. Text is easily divisible to be assigned as different points within the course. I later realized that they are not necessarily very long chapters; it varies in terms of the topic. I think this comprehensiveness may be appropriate for an undergraduate course (with some supplementation), but the text says it is written for a doctoral and graduate students. These topics may also be more discipline specific, where instructors of research classes can supplement with additional materials. The text is divided into logical chapters, and subheadings seem to be appropriate. There are very few typographical errors, and overall, the text is rigorously unbiased in its scientific method claims and explanations. The terminology and framework are consistent throughout the text. Some of the most sophisticated software programs available today, like Linux and Apache, are also free, and so is this book.Fourth, I plan to make local-language versions of this book available in due course of time, and those translated versions will also be free. Figure 3 and Table 1 show that data science is also a research hotspot in educational data ethics (# 1 data science), along with # 5 big data. The content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. Any other updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement. There are two main groups of research methods in the social sciences: The empirical-analytical group approaches the study of He served on the editorial board of MIS Quarterly for four years and was invited to present his work at venues worldwide. From an education and instructional standpoint, I wouldn't change the organization.

There are some things that should probably be included in subsequent revisions. I think students could be misled by this and I think this requires a lot of unpacking. The biggest challenge faced when writing a book about research methods is the decision about what NOT to include. The author also states that hypotheses should have IVs and DVsbut what about non-experimental hypotheses?? This is certainly a welcome addition to a textbook on research design, and ought to help students to overcome some familiar stumbling blocks that seem to present themselves during graduate programs. survey data (opinion polls, voting records) nonsurvey data (images, maps, sound, video, multimedia) I did not notice any jargon or technical term that was used without explanation. This book will stand the test of time due to its comprehensiveness and fair and balanced approach to research design. main topics), and within each chapter, information appears well organized. The content is written in a very clear and concise manner. The textbook covers the major key elements that are essential in research methods for social science. Terms were used consistently throughout the text.

However, I have an issues with the language in chapter 2 about about strong and weak hypotheses because it seems to treat the experimental/causal hypotheses preferentially. It also includes a course syllabus, which is nice and useful. It should be noted that there is more of a focus on quantitative research. The text outside of the tables is clear. Some of the statistical formulas or graphs are low-quality, or have suffered compression artifacts. I believe the author covers the necessary topics with enough depth to give the reader a basic Any instructor should be able to provide current, real-world examples to compare and contrast to those in the text.

It covers a wide range of methods and The text contains up-to-date approaches to research methods and presents classic theoretical debates.

This book is accurate, error-free, and as unbiased as it is possible to be in the social sciences. The book has a modular organization, with each chapter designed to be used for a different lecture. The terminology and research methods frameworks presented in the text are consistent.

The chapters are well-organized. I assign the chapters in an alternative order for my undergraduate students. Nevertheless, I felt it necessary to include Chapters 14 and 15 for academic programs that may not have a dedicated class on statistical analysis for research. I have not spotted any glaring errors, other than an occasional grammatical slip or a cumbersome edit. There isn't a discussion of threats associated with the four types of validity. It has a clear outline that matches the natural research process and the author very consistently adhere to this outline. The textbook is significantly reader-friendly and well-structured. To be fair, I think that A) anyone who has taught methods before would be able to use the "bones" of this book to prepare students sufficiently well for class and then easily fill in the blanks, and B) it appears that this text was written primarily with graduate students in mind, whereas I most teach undergraduates. This textbook provides a nice overview of several topics related to social science specific research. For its purpose, as introduced by the author, this is appropriately comprehensive. The organization is clear and logical.

I get the impression that the author is relying on "commonly known" ideas regarding research methods and processes, but I have to consistently remind my students to cite all non-original information, and that example is lacking in this text. I will have to supplement these areas with other readings. It seems that there should be a way to document if this is the latest version of the text. For a textbook intended to keep costs at zero, these are glaring omissions. This is because big Perhaps the print copy is clearer. Retrieved from ncbi.nlm.nih/books. Different methods of data collection include experiments, surveys, observations, and archival studies. Many of Google's resources are free too, and one can well imagine where we would be in today's Internet age without Google. Occasionally I found what I thought was a topic covered only minimally in a chapter - but then found additional information in a later As acknowledged by the author in the preface, this is intended as a survey book that doesn't cover all topics in great detail. This Specialization covers research methods, design and statistical analysis for social science research questions. WebThe data collection component of research is common to all fields of study including physical and social sciences, humanities, business, etc. in the text. This text provides an overview of many important issues for my graduate research methods course in education. This book is based on my lecture materials developed over a decade of teaching the doctoral-level class on Research Methods at the University of South Florida. I did not find any jargon or technical terminology used without explanation. WebEdin Tabak, in Information Cosmopolitics, 2015.

Sometimes I wish it was a bit more precise, particularly in coverage of quantitative topics. Method overloading, on the other hand, refers to differentiating the code used to handle a message based on the param The choice of methods depends upon a range of factors.