Understanding And Applying Research Design

A fresh approach to bridging research design with statistical analysis While good social science requires both research design and statistical analysis, most books treat these two areas separately. Understanding and Applying Research Design introduces an accessible approach to integrating design and statistics, focusing on the processes of posing, testing, and interpreting research questions in the social sciences. The authors analyze real-world data using SPSS software, guiding readers on the overall process of science, focusing on premises, procedures, and designs of social scientific research. Three clearly organized sections move seamlessly from theoretical topics to statistical techniques at the heart of research procedures, and finally, to practical application of research design: Premises of Research introduces the research process and the capabilities of SPSS, with coverage of ethics, Empirical Generalization, and Chi Square and Contingency Table Analysis Procedures of Research explores key quantitative methods in research design including measurement, correlation, regression, and causation Designs of Research outlines various design frameworks, with discussion of survey research, aggregate research, and experiments Throughout the book, SPSS software is used to showcase the discussed techniques, and detailed appendices provide guidance on key statistical procedures and tips for data management. Numerous exercises allow readers to test their comprehension of the presented material, and a related website features additional data sets and SPSS code. Understanding and Applying Research Design is an excellent book for social sciences and education courses on research methods at the upper-undergraduate level. The book is also an insightful reference for professionals who would like to learn how to pose, test, and interpret research questions with confidence.

The Second Edition of An Applied Guide to Research Designs offers researchers in the social and behavioral sciences guidance for selecting the most appropriate research design to apply in their study. Using consistent terminology, authors W. Alex Edmonds and Thomas D. Kennedy visually present a range of research designs used in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to help readers conceptualize, construct, test, and problem solve in their investigation. The Second Edition features revamped and expanded coverage of research designs, new real-world examples and references, a new chapter on action research, and updated ancillaries.

This unique text provides a comprehensive framework for creating, managing, and interpreting qualitative research studies that yield valid and useful information. Examples of studies from a wide range of disciplines illustrate the strengths, limitations, and applications of the primary qualitative methods: in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, ethnography, content analysis, and case study and narrative research. Following a consistent format, chapters show students and researchers how to implement each method within a paradigm-neutral and flexible Total Quality Framework (TQF) comprising four interrelated components: Credibility, Analyzability, Transparency, and Usefulness. Unlike other texts that relegate quality issues to one or two chapters, detailed discussions of such crucial topics as construct validity, interresearcher reliability, researcher bias, and verification strategies are featured throughout. The book also addresses applications of the TQF to the writing, review, and evaluation of qualitative research proposals and manuscripts. Pedagogical Features *Summary tables that highlight important content, such as the application of a method to vulnerable or hard-to-reach populations. *Case studies that illustrate TQF standards in practice for each method. *Guidelines for effective documentation (via thick descriptions) of each type of study. *End-of-chapter discussion topics, exercises, and suggested further reading and Web resources. *Chapters open with a preview and close with a bulleted summary of key ideas. *Extensive glossary. 2021 Winner--American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Book Award

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH provides the reader with a foundation from which to critique and understand research designs and their applications to healthcare and human service settings. It is divided into four parts: Introduction, Thinking Processes, Design Approaches, and Action Processes. The text reflects a new school of thought that recognizes and values multiple research strategies. This perspective proposes that naturalistic and experimental-type research strategies have equal value and contribute in complementary and distinct ways to a science of practice. Knowledge of these different research traditions presents new opportunities for addressing the complex health-related research questions that are emerging in today's health and human service environments.

This book presents a new, multidisciplinary perspective on and paradigm for integrative experimental design research. It addresses various perspectives on methods, analysis and overall research approach, and how they can be synthesized to advance understanding of design. It explores the foundations of experimental approaches and their utility in this domain, and brings together analytical approaches to promote an integrated understanding. The book also investigates where these approaches lead to and how they link design research more fully with other disciplines (e.g. psychology, cognition, sociology, computer science, management). Above all, the book emphasizes the integrative nature of design research in terms of the methods, theories, and units of study—from the individual to the organizational level. Although this approach offers many advantages, it has inherently led to a situation in current research practice where methods are diverging and integration between individual, team and organizational understanding is becoming increasingly tenuous, calling for a multidisciplinary and transdiscipinary perspective. Experimental design research thus offers a powerful tool and platform for resolving these challenges. Providing an invaluable resource for the design research community, this book paves the way for the next generation of researchers in the field by bridging methods and methodology. As such, it will especially benefit postgraduate students and researchers in design research, as well as engineering designers.

"The Terry E. Hedrick, Leonard Bickman, and Debra J. Rog text provides a framework for designing research that is adaptable to almost any applied setting and constantly reiterates the need for establishing and maintaining credibility with the client at each level of the research process. Although the applied research book is a practical guide, suitable to accompany any thorough applied design textbook, it does a comprehensive job of presenting the distinction between basic and applied research. It introduces many topics found in the general methodology textbooks. This overlap will help students to feel comfortable in using the general skills in a more specific and complex manner." --Contemporary Psychology "For researchers needing to know how to plan and design applied research projects, Applied Research Design will be a most welcome publication. . . . The writing is clear and concise, graphics are utilized helpfully, and this book will be much appreciated by beginning social scientists who are serious but uncertain about the methodologies possible for doing applied research." --Academic Library Book Review Aimed at helping researchers and students make the transition from the classroom and the laboratory to the "real" world, the authors reveal pitfalls to avoid and strategies to undertake in order to overcome obstacles in the design and planning of applied research. Applied Research Design focuses on refining research questions when actual events force deviations from the original analysis. To accomplish this, the authors discuss how to study and monitor program implementation, statistical power analysis, and how to assess the human and material resources needed to conduct an applied research design to facilitate the management of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Appropriate for professionals and researchers who have had some previous exposure to research methods, this book will enable the development of research strategies that are credible, useful, and--more important--feasible.

This book presents quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research designs in education and the social and behavioral sciences using consistent terminology, and in a way that students can understand and apply in their own investigations.

NEW! Contemporary, practice examples give you a highly relevant understanding of today’s changing health and human service environments. NEW! In-depth analysis of big data and data analytics expands your understanding of how to apply these numbers to health and human service research. NEW! More emphasis on technology in research and research informed practice ensures you understand the latest methods available to you. NEW! Expanded discussion of naturalistic methods improve your ability to understand and integrate varying methods. NEW! Updated research methods, strategies, and references provide you with the latest information on research in diverse areas of health and human services.