Qualitative Analysis For Planning Policy

This book explains how to use and adapt these techniques and how to integrate these methods with more traditional qualitative research. Chapters offer step-by-step guidance to setting up various kinds of qualitative research projects, collecting data, organizing data, and analyzing data. Case studies show how a mix of qualitative and quantitative research can help planners build consensus and tackle large, complicated projects.

The revised and updated second edition of Qualitative Analysis for Planning & Policy is a roadmap to help planners access qualitative data and integrate it into their planning investigations. Planning and policy decisions are not based solely on numbers, and this book equips planners with a how-to guide to see what has been missing "between the lines" of quantitative data and make good decisions using the best possible information. Each chapter offers step-by-step instruction on how to set up and enact diverse types of qualitative research, and case studies demonstrate how qualitative research techniques can be combined with quantitative methods to tackle complex real-world projects. For over a decade Qualitative Analysis for Planning & Policy has been an indispensable resource for students and researchers, experienced and novice planners. The revised second edition offers myriad tools to help twenty-first-century planners make intelligent decisions, including new qualitative research techniques, technological innovations, and contemporary case studies.

Updated in its 3rd edition, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning presents quickly applied methods for analyzing and resolving planning and policy issues at state, regional, and urban levels. Divided into two parts, Methods which presents quick methods in nine chapters and is organized around the steps in the policy analysis process, and Cases which presents seven policy cases, ranging in degree of complexity, the text provides readers with the resources they need for effective policy planning and analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are systematically combined to address policy dilemmas and urban planning problems. Readers and analysts utilizing this text gain comprehensive skills and background needed to impact public policy.

This is a key text for any student embarking on a qualitative research project, it provides worked examples and valuable models which can be used as guides for plans and proposals, answering key questions and providing a comprehensive guide to a student’s project. It shows that when planning a qualitative research proposal, researchers should adopt an approach where they ask themselves the following four questions: What research paradigm informs my approach to my research area? What theoretical perspective do I choose within the paradigm? What methodology do I choose? What methods are most appropriate? Including examples of the write-up of two central types of research projects: studies on participants’ ‘perspectives’ on phenomena and studies on how participants manage or ‘cope with’ phenomena, the book outlines five research proposals to illustrate ways in which these two central ‘types’ can be varied and applied when engaging in five other types of studies, namely, policy studies, life history studies, retrospective interactionist longitudinal studies and interactionist historical studies, and ‘problem-focused’ studies.

In most planning practice and research, planners work with quantitative data. By summarizing, analyzing, and presenting data, planners create stories and narratives that explain various planning issues. Particularly, in the era of big data and data mining, there is a stronger demand in planning practice and research to increase capacity for data-driven storytelling. Basic Quantitative Research Methods for Urban Planners provides readers with comprehensive knowledge and hands-on techniques for a variety of quantitative research studies, from descriptive statistics to commonly used inferential statistics. It covers statistical methods from chi-square through logistic regression and also quasi-experimental studies. At the same time, the book provides fundamental knowledge about research in general, such as planning data sources and uses, conceptual frameworks, and technical writing. The book presents relatively complex material in the simplest and clearest way possible, and through the use of real world planning examples, makes the theoretical and abstract content of each chapter as tangible as possible. It will be invaluable to students and novice researchers from planning programs, intermediate researchers who want to branch out methodologically, practicing planners who need to conduct basic analyses with planning data, and anyone who consumes the research of others and needs to judge its validity and reliability.

Advanced Quantitative Research Methods for Urban Planners provides fundamental knowledge and hands-on techniques about research, such as research topics and key journals in the planning field, advice for technical writing, and advanced quantitative methodologies. This book aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive and detailed understanding of advanced quantitative methods and to provide guidance on technical writing. Complex material is presented in the simplest and clearest way possible using real-world planning examples and making the theoretical content of each chapter as tangible as possible. Hands-on techniques for a variety of quantitative research studies are covered to provide graduate students, university faculty, and professional researchers with useful guidance and references. A companion to Basic Quantitative Research Methods for Urban Planners, Advanced Quantitative Research Methods for Urban Planners is an ideal read for researchers who want to branch out methodologically and for practicing planners who need to conduct advanced analyses with planning data.

"This book provides an overview of online research methods in urban and planning studies, exploring and discussing new digital tools and Web-based research methods, as well as the scholarly, legal, and ethical challenges associated with their use"--Provided by publisher.