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.

Understanding and Applying Research Design serves as an introductory guide to understanding the science of research design and statistics and their use together in carrying out effective and complete research in the social sciences. The author provide a fresh approach to integrating design and statistics in a hands-on fashion that incorporates the power of SPSS software to solve real-world problems. Additionally, this book focuses on the process that is core to all areas of social science by exploring the areas of design and causation, allowing readers to pose, test, and interpret research questions with live data.   An organized treatment presents major topics of research into three sections, allowing for more clarity in thinking of the overall process of scientific research.  Along with a more directed approach to research, this book utilizes live data to give students the ability to do hands-on application. Established topics related to research design are covered thoroughly, with a focus on connecting them to direct application of statistical learning exercises, rather than an approach that empahsizes theoretical treatment. The book begins with a basic introduction to the topic, addressing the research design framework and common errors encountered in the research process. Next, the authors explore key statistical methods for research design in three sections. The Wheel of Science/Deductive Theory Testing explores topics such as theories, hypotheses, and empirical generalization- outlining the differences between correlation and causation and guiding readers on general steps in the process. Building Blocks for Design and Analysis delves into the key statistical practices that are a core part of the research activity, with in-depth chapters that outline key theory and applications of measurement, censuses and sampling, Causation and Causal Models, correlation, and regression Analysis. Finally, Modes of Observation outlines how these practices can be applied throughout the course of research design, addressing topics such as reliability, validity, and bias in surveys; factor Analysis and Scale Validity; aggregate units,r ates, and outliers; reliability andvalidity; experimental design; and methods of difference such as ANOVA and ANCOVA. Throughout the book, the authors integrate SPSS exercises and discussion into the treatment of design and statistical analysis, and a related Web site features additional data sets and software code for working with the presented material.

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.