Research Basics: Design to Data Analysis in Six Steps

Research Basics: Design to Data Analysis in Six Steps offers a fresh and creative approach to the research process based on author James V. Spickard’s decades of teaching experience. Using an intuitive six-step model, readers learn how to craft a research question and then identify a logical process for answering it. Conversational writing and multi-disciplinary examples illuminate the model’s simplicity and power, effectively connecting the "hows" and "whys" behind social science research. Students using this book will learn how to turn their research questions into results.

Table of Contents:
For Instructors: Why This Book? What Lies Ahead Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction Why a Six-Step Formula? Looking Ahead PART ONE THE SIX STEPS Chapter 1 Step 1: Develop a Good Research Question Start With a Research Topic From Topic to Question An Example: Mass Transit Making Decisions Search the Literature Recraft Your Research Question Questions Based on the Literature Three More Possibilities Start Your Research Proposal The Parts of a Proposal A Proposal in Brief: The Concept Paper Review Questions Notes Chapter 2 Step 2: Choose a Logical Structure for Your Research Three Examples 1. Comparing Outcomes 2. Systematic Description 3. Seeking Correlations Ten Logical Structures for Research 1. True Experiments 2. Quasi-Experiments 3. Ex Post Facto Research 4. Correlational Research 5. Descriptive Research 6. Case Studies 7. Historical Research 8. Longitudinal Research 9. Meta-Analysis 10. Action Research Matching Logical Structure to the Research Question Review Questions Notes Chapter 3 Step 3: Identify the Type of Data You Need Fourteen Types of Data 1. Acts, Behavior, or Events 2. Reports of Acts, Behavior, or Events 3. Economic Data 4. Organizational Data 5. Demographic Data 6. Self-Identity 7. Shallow Opinions and Attitudes 8. Deeply Held Opinions and Attitudes 9. Personal Feelings 10. Cultural Knowledge 11. Expert Knowledge 12. Personal and Psychological Traits 13. Experience as It Presents Itself to Consciousness 14. Hidden Social Patterns Review Questions Notes Chapter 4 Step 4: Pick a Data Collection Method Match Your Method to Your Data Data Type 1: Acts, Behavior, or Events Data Type 2: Reports of Acts, Behavior, or Events Data Types 3, 4, and 5: Economic, Organizational, and Demographic Data Data Type 6: Self-Identity Data Types 7 and 8: Shallow and Deeply Held Opinions and Attitudes Data Type 9: Personal Feelings Three Examples (that include data types 10-12) Example 1: Mass Transit and Property Values Example 2: Mass Transit and Street Life Example 3: Best Places to Work Data Type 13: Experience as It Presents Itself to Consciousness Hidden Social Patterns Research Ethics Unethical Research Implementing Ethical Practices Institutional Review Boards Review Questions Notes Chapter 5 Step 5: Choose Your Data Collection Site Demographic and Economic Data Opinions, Identities, and Reports of Acts at a Shallow Level Populations and Samples Sample Size, Margin of Error, and Confidence Level Observable Behavior Deeply Held Opinions and Attitudes Cultural and Expert Knowledge Hidden Social Patterns The Remaining Data Types Review Questions Notes Chapter 6 Step 6: Pick a Data Analysis Method Preliminary Questions What Kind of Analysis Does Your Research Question Require? What Form Does Your Data Take? What Is Your Unit of Observation? What Is Your Unit of Analysis? Working With Numeric Data: Describing Working With Numeric Data: Comparing Interval/Ratio Data Ordinal and Categorical Data Identifying Cause What Statistical Test Should I Use? Three Fallacies Working With Qualitative Data Respondent-Centered Versus Researcher-Centered Analysis Coding Internal Versus External Coding Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) Software Warnings Review Questions Summarizing the Six Steps Notes PART TWO COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DIFFERENT TYPES OF DATA Chapter 7 Comparing: Economic, Demographic, and Organizational Data About Comparing Comparing San Antonio and Portland Comparing the 50 U.S. States About Correlations Three Examples Comparing Places: Do Walkable Neighborhoods Improve Health? Comparing Organizations: Does Treating Employees Well Increase Company Performance? Comparing Schools: Do Charter Schools Improve Student Test Scores? Research Ethics Review Questions Notes Chapter 8 Surveying: Shallow Opinions, Identities, and Reports of Acts Three Reminders Two Examples Studying School Safety Kids’ Attitudes Toward Reading Survey Data Analysis Analyzing Interval/Ratio Survey Results Analyzing Ordinal and Categorical Data Practical Matters Creating Your Questionnaire Sampling (Again) Surveying Online Research Ethics Review Questions Notes Chapter 9 Interviewing: Deep Talk to Gather Several Types of Data Hermeneutic Interviews An Example: “Motherloss” How to Write an Interview Protocol Coding Your Data Interviews With Experts Critical Incident Interviews Focus Groups Phenomenological Interviews An Example How Is It Done? Other Types of Data How Many Subjects? Research Ethics Review Questions Notes Chapter 10 Scales: Looking for Underlying Traits Scales of Psychological Well-Being Creating Scales Using the Scales Analyzing Scale Research T-Tests and Analysis of Variance Control Variables Research Ethics Review Questions Notes Chapter 11 Recording Behavior: Acts and Reports of Acts Watching People Watching Gender Speech Collecting Self-Reports A Variation: The Beeper Studies Watching Animals Watching Chimps Ravens and Elephant-Shrews What If They Hide? Experiments Experiments About Stereotype Threat Experiments About Discrimination Rules for Experiments Research Ethics Review Questions Notes Chapter 12 Finding Hidden Social Patterns: In Life, Texts, and Popular Culture About Hidden Patterns Analyzing Texts Dreams as Texts Other Texts Analyzing Discourses Critical Discourse Analysis Two Examples Analyzing Popular Culture: The Soaps Research Ethics Review Questions Notes Chapter 13 Ethnography: Exploring Cultural and Social Scenes The Three Goals Goal One: Seeing the World as the Participants See It Goal Two: Watching What Participants Do On Taking Field Notes Goal Three: Understanding Hidden Patterns What Doesn’t Matter Steps to a Successful Ethnography Gaining Access Developing Rapport Listening to Language Being an Observed Observer What About Objectivity? Writing Your Results A Word About Grounded Theory Research Ethics Review Questions Notes Chapter 14 Extended Example: Counting the Homeless What Caused the Homeless Crisis? Who Is Homeless? How Can We Find and Count Street Homeless? Peter Rossi’s Chicago Count Martha Burt’s Weeklong Method Counting San Bernardino Conflicting Results Correcting National Figures Research Ethics Reflections Summary of the Six Steps Notes Research Guides and Handouts Six-Steps Graphic: From Research Question to Data Analysis What Is a Concept Paper? How to Choose a Data Collection Method A Template for Field Notes How to Write an Interview Protocol How Many Subjects? (for interview studies) Interview Rule-of-Thumb Flowchart for Nonrandom Samples What Statistical Tests Should I Use? Glossary Author Index Subject Index

About the Author :
Jim Spickard is Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Redlands, in California, where he teaches courses on research design and methods, social theory, the sociology of religion, homelessness, and world hunger.  Most of his research focuses on the role that religion plays in contemporary society.  He also investigates movements for social change.  He has written or edited several books, most recently on non-Western sociological theory, on the transnational dynamics of African Pentecostalism, on social statistics, and on reflexive ethnography.  

Review :
"An extremely well organized text covering basics of research design and methods that consistently uses the six steps in the text and in examples to assure that students understand." "As Spickard explains, students tend to fear and shy away from research and particularly statistics courses. This textbook is designed in such a manner that it engages the student and keeps the student′s attention through case illustrations and an easy-to-read format." "It incorporates much of what must be pieced together from multiple resources into one text. The six-step strategy breaks the process down into manageable units, and it is clear to me how each step contributes to the overall process." "It′s a textbook with lots of unique features, such as question-method match, data type-analytical tool match, as well as ethical theory-practice match. It′s easy to follow and it acts as a textbook and a practical guide for undergraduate students. Chapters are organized as cooking recipes and examples are interesting and inspiring." "Scholarly but not threatening to students who are scared of the word "research". The layout, language, and images make a challenging subject easier to understand and much less overwhelming." "Research is hard. This text helps explain a complicated process and guides students through research design in simpler terms. As an instructor, I appreciate authors who understand the challenges associated with teaching research methods courses." "While many research design texts struggle with integrating statistical applications within the broader design process, this text is a notable exception." "A logical and thoughtfully designed text that brings together a preferred approach with the right amount of rigor." "A refreshing, holistic view of introductory research methods."  "This is an excellent introductory text for students that are interested in quantitative analysis. A nice feature of the book is that incorporates the increasingly important aspect of ethics in data collection and analysis." "Clear, concise, conversational introduction to the basic principles and activities of research. Useful for students of research at any stage, and especially appropriate for students who are new to the design and performance of research projects." ·         "Aimed at being easy to understand and to take some of the ‘scary’ out of the research process." "Concise, comprehensive, and practical; its emphasis on ethics is clearly relevant within the context of studying human behavior within societies around the world." "James Spickard′s SAGE′s Research Basics: Design to Data Analysis in Six Steps provides students the ability, confidence, and skill set to take a complex subject and make it theirs by owning it.  How you ask?  The text addresses the ′fear′ of research and its ′flight′ aspect; yet, by providing a moment to laugh and self-reflect both instructor and student become authentic partners in research methods for community change."