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Social research methods / Alan Bryman.
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Title:Social research methods / Alan Bryman.
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Author/Creator:Bryman, Alan.
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Published/Created:Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press. ©2012.
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Holdings
Holdings Record Display
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Location:KOERNER LIBRARY stacks (Floor 1)Where is this?
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Call Number: H62 .B787 2012
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Number of Items:1
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Status:Available
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Location:KOERNER LIBRARY stacks (Floor 1)Where is this?
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Library of Congress Subjects:Social sciences--Research.
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Edition:4th ed.
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Description:xli, 766 p. : ill. ; 27 cm.
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Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
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ISBN:9780199588053
0199588058
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Contents:Machine generated contents note: Part One
ch. 1 nature and process of social research
Introduction
What is meant by `social research'?
Why do social research?
context of social research methods
Elements of the process of social research
Literature review
Concepts and theories
Research questions
Sampling cases
Data collection
Data analysis
Writing up
messiness of social research
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 2 Social research strategies
Introduction
Theory and research
What type of theory?
Deductive and inductive theory
Epistemological considerations
natural science epistemology: positivism
Interpretivism
Ontological considerations
Objectivism
Constructionism
Relationship to social research
Research strategy: quantitative and qualitative research
Influences on the conduct of social research
Values
Practical considerations
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 3 Research designs
Introduction
Criteria in social research
Reliability
Replication
Validity
Relationship with research strategy
Research designs
Experimental design
Cross-sectional design
Longitudinal design(s)
Case study design
Comparative design
Bringing research strategy and research design together
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 4 Planning a research project and formulating research questions
Introduction
Getting to know what is expected of you by your institution
Thinking about your research area
Using your supervisor
Managing time and resources
Formulating suitable research questions
Criteria for evaluating research questions
Writing your research proposal
Preparing for your research
Doing your research and analysing your results
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 5 Getting started: reviewing the literature
Reviewing the existing literature
Getting the most from your reading
Systematic review
Narrative review
Searching the existing literature
Electronic databases
Keywords and defining search parameters
Referencing your work
role of the bibliography
Avoiding plagiarism
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 6 Ethics and politics in social research
Introduction
Ethical principles
Harm to participants
Lack of informed consent
Invasion of privacy
Deception
Ethics and the issue of quality
difficulties of ethical decision-making
New media and difficult decisions
Politics in social research
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
Part Two
ch. 7 nature of quantitative research
Introduction
main steps in quantitative research
Concepts and their measurement
What is a concept?
Why measure?
Indicators
Using multiple-indicator measures
Dimensions of concepts
Reliability and validity
Reliability
Validity
Reflections on reliability and validity
main preoccupations of quantitative researchers
Measurement
Causality
Generalization
Replication
critique of quantitative research
Criticisms of quantitative research
Is it always like this?
Reverse operationism
Reliability and validity testing
Sampling
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 8 Sampling
Introduction to survey research
Introduction to sampling
Sampling error
Types of probability sample
Simple random sample
Systematic sample
Stratified random sampling
Multi-stage cluster sampling
qualities of a probability sample
Sample size
Absolute and relative sample size
Time and cost
Non-response
Heterogeneity of the population
Kind of analysis
Types of non-probability sampling
Convenience sampling
Snowball sampling
Quota sampling
Limits to generalization
Error in survey research
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 9 Structured interviewing
Introduction
structured interview
Reducing error due to interviewer variability
Accuracy and ease of data processing
Other types of interview
Interview contexts
More than one interviewee
More than one interviewer
In person or by telephone?
Computer-assisted interviewing
Conducting interviews
Know the schedule
Introducing the research
Rapport
Asking questions
Recording answers
Clear instructions
Question order
Probing
Prompting
Leaving the interview
Training and supervision
Problems with structured interviewing
Characteristics of interviewers
Response sets
problem of meaning
feminist critique
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 10 Self-completion questionnaires
Introduction
Self-completion questionnaire or postal questionnaire?
Evaluating the self-completion questionnaire in relation to the structured interview
Advantages of the self-completion questionnaire over the structured interview
Disadvantages of the self-completion questionnaire in comparison with the structured interview
Steps to improve response rates to postal questionnaires
Designing the self-completion questionnaire
Do not cramp the presentation
Clear presentation
Vertical or horizontal closed answers?
Clear instructions about how to respond
Keep question and answers together
Diaries as a form of self-completion questionnaire
Advantages and disadvantages of the diary as a method of data collection
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 11 Asking questions
Introduction
Open or closed questions?
Open questions
Closed questions
Types of questions
Rules for designing questions
General rules of thumb
Specific rules when designing questions
Vignette questions
Piloting and pre-testing questions
Using existing questions
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 12 Structured observation
Introduction
Problems with survey research on social behaviour
So why not observe behaviour?
observation schedule
Strategies for observing behaviour
Sampling
Sampling people
Sampling in terms of time
Further sampling considerations
Issues of reliability and validity
Reliability
Validity
Field stimulations as a form of structured observation
Criticisms of structured observation
On the other hand...
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 13 Content analysis
Introduction
What are the research questions?
Selecting a sample
Sampling media
Sampling dates
What is to be counted?
Significant actors
Words
Subjects and themes
Dispositions
Coding
Coding schedule
Coding manual
Potential pitfalls in devising coding schemes
Advantages of content analysis
Disadvantages of content analysis
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 14 Secondary analysis and official statistics
Introduction
Other researchers' data
Advantages of secondary analysis
Limitations of secondary analysis
Accessing the Data Archive
Official statistics
Reliability and validity
Condemning and resurrecting official statistics
Official statistics as a form of unobtrusive method
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 15 Quantitative data analysis
Introduction
small research project
Missing data
Types of variable
Univariate analysis
Frequency tables
Diagrams
Measures of central tendency
Measures of dispersion
Bivariate analysis
Relationships not causality
Contingency tables
Pearson's r
Spearman's rho
Phi and Cramer's V
Comparing means and eta
Multivariate analysis
Could the relationship be spurious?
Could there be an intervening variable?
Could a third variable moderate the relationship?
Statistical significance
chi-square test
Correlation and statistical significance
Comparing means and statistical significance
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 16 Using IBM SPSS for Windows
Introduction
Getting started in SPSS
Beginning SPSS
Entering data in the Data Viewer
Defining variables: variable names, missing values, variable labels, and value labels
Recoding variables
Computing a new variable
Data analysis with SPSS
Generating a frequency table
Generating a bar chart
Generating a pie chart
Generating a histogram
Generating the arithmetic mean, median, standard deviation, the range, and boxplots
Generating a contingency table, chi-square, and Cramer's V
Generating Pearson's r and Spearman's rho
Generating scatter diagrams
Comparing means and eta
Generating a contingency table with three variables
Further operations in SPSS
Saving your data
Retrieving your data
Printing output
Key points
Questions for review
Part Three
ch. 17 nature of qualitative research
Introduction
main steps in qualitative research
Theory and research
Concepts in qualitative research
Reliability and validity in qualitative research
Adapting reliability and validity for qualitative research
Alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research
Recent discussions about quality criteria for qualitative research
Between quantitative and qualitative research criteria
Contents note continued: Overview of the issue of criteria
main preoccupations of qualitative researchers
Seeing through the eyes of the people being studied
Description and the emphasis on context
Emphasis on process
Flexibility and limited structure
Concepts and theory grounded in data
critique of qualitative research
Qualitative research is too subjective
Difficult to replicate
Problems of generalization
Lack of transparency
Is it always like this?
Some contrasts between quantitative and qualitative research
Some similarities between quantitative and qualitative research
Feminism and qualitative research
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 18 Sampling in qualitative research
Introduction
Levels of sampling
Purposive sampling
Theoretical sampling
Generic purposive sampling
Snowball sampling
Sample size
Not just people
Using more than one sampling approach
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 19 Ethnography and participant observation
Introduction
Access
Overt versus covert ethnography
Access to closed settings
Access to open/public settings
Ongoing access
Key informants
Roles for ethnographers
Active or passive?
Field notes
Types of field notes
Bringing ethnographic research to an end
Can there be a feminist ethnography?
rise of visual ethnography
Writing ethnography
changing nature of ethnography
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 20 Interviewing in qualitative research
Introduction
Differences between the structured interview and the qualitative interview
Asking questions in the qualitative interview
Preparing an interview guide
Kinds of questions
Recording and transcription
Telephone interviewing
Life history and oral history interviewing
Feminist research and interviewing in qualitative research
Qualitative interviewing versus participant observation
Advantages of participant observation in comparison to qualitative interviewing
Advantages of qualitative interviewing in comparison to participant observation
Overview
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 21 Focus groups
Introduction
Uses of focus groups
Conducting focus groups
Recording and transcription
How many groups?
Size of groups
Level of moderator involvement
Selecting participants
Asking questions
Beginning and finishing
Group interaction in focus group sessions
Limitations of focus groups
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 22 Language in qualitative research
Introduction
Conversation analysis
Assumptions of conversation analysis
Transcription and attention to detail
Some basic tools of conversation analysis
Overview
Discourse analysis
Uncovering interpretative repertoires
Producing facts
Critical discourse analysis
Overview
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 23 Documents as sources of data
Introduction
Personal documents
Diaries, letters, and autobiographies
Visual objects
Official documents deriving from the state
Official documents deriving from private sources
Mass-media outputs
Virtual documents
reality of documents
Interpreting documents
Qualitative content analysis
Semiotics
Hermeneutics
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 24 Qualitative data analysis
Introduction
General strategies of qualitative data analysis
Analytic induction
Grounded theory
Basic operations in qualitative data analysis
Steps and considerations in coding
Turning data into fragments
Problems with coding
Thematic analysis
Narrative analysis
Secondary analysis of qualitative data
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 25 Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis: using NVivo
Introduction
Is CAQDAS like quantitative data analysis software?
No industry leader
Lack of universal agreement about the utility of CAQDAS
Learning NVivo
Coding
Searching text
Memos
Saving an NVivo project
Opening an existing NVivo project
Final thoughts
Key points
Questions for review
Part Four
ch. 26 Breaking down the quantitative/qualitative divide
Introduction
natural science model and qualitative research
Quantitative research and interpretivism
Quantitative research and constructionism
Research methods and epistemological and ontological considerations
Problems with the quantitative/qualitative contrast
Behaviour versus meaning
Theory and concepts tested in research versus theory and concepts emergent from data
Numbers versus words
Artificial versus natural
mutual analysis of quantitative and qualitative research
qualitative research approach to quantitative research
quantitative research approach to qualitative research
Quantification in qualitative research
Thematic analysis
Quasi-quantification in qualitative research
Combating anecdotalism through limited quantification
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 27 Mixed methods research: combining quantitative and qualitative research
Introduction
argument against mixed methods research
embedded methods argument
paradigm argument
Two versions of the debate about quantitative and qualitative research
Approaches to mixed methods research
content analysis of articles based on mixed methods research
Approaches to combining quantitative and qualitative research in mixed methods research
Reflections on mixed methods research
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 28 E-research: Internet research methods
Introduction
Internet as object of analysis
Using the Internet to collect data from individuals
Online ethnography
Qualitative research using online focus groups
Qualitative research using online personal interviews
Online social surveys
Email surveys
Web surveys
Mixing modes of survey administration
Sampling issues
Overview
Ethical considerations in Internet research
state of e-research
Key points
Questions for review
ch. 29 Writing up social research
Introduction
Writing up your research
Start early
Be persuasive
Get feedback
Avoid sexist, racist, and disablist language
Structure your writing
Writing up quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research
Writing up quantitative research
Writing up qualitative research
Writing up mixed methods research
Academic writing
Checklist
Key points
Questions for review.