Understanding Research Methods: An Overview of the Essentials / Edition 9

by Mildred L. Patten

Overview

• Designed for students who are getting lost in the details of research methods and not getting the big picture, this short book provides an overview of the essential concepts traditionally covered in a research methods class.

•Lively examples on contemporary topics stimulate students’ interest and show the relevance of research methods to their everyday lives.

•Divided into short sections, this book makes it easy for you to give customized assignments. Assign only the sections your students need.

•Shows students how to interpret statistics without computations.

•Factual Questions at the end of each section allow students to check their comprehension.

•Questions for Discussion stimulate classroom dialogue.

• New to this edition: Five new sections on in-text citations and reference lists have been added. Numerous changes have also been made for consistency with the latest editions of the APA and ASA Style manuals, and new examples have been added.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936523177
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/27/2016
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michelle Newhart teaches sociology as an adjunct professor and works as an instructional designer at Mt. San Antonio College, a large, two-year college in California. A contributor to more than a dozen nonfiction books as either an author or editor, she holds a BA in sociology from the University of Missouri and an MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Table of Contents

Part A Introduction to Research Methods
1. Introduction to Empirical Research
2. Experimental versus Nonexperimental Studies
3. Experimental versus Causal-Comparative Studies
4. Types of Nonexperimental Research
5. Variables in Nonexperimental Studies
6. Variables in Experimental Studies
7. Research Hypotheses, Purposes, and Questions
8. Operational Definitions of Variables
9. Quantitative versus Qualitative Research: I
10. Quantitative versus Qualitative Research: II
11. Program Evaluation
12. Ethical Considerations in Research
13. The Role of Theory in Research

Part B Reviewing Literature
14. Reasons for Reviewing Literature
15. Locating Literature Electronically
16. Organizing a Literature Review
17. Preparing to Write a Critical Review
18. Creating a Synthesis

Part C In-Text Citations and Reference Lists
19. Introduction to Style Guides
20. In-Text Citations: ASA Style
21. Reference Lists: ASA Style
22. In-Text Citations: APA Style
23. Reference Lists: APA Style

Part D Sampling
24. Biased and Unbiased Sampling
25. Simple Random and Systematic Sampling
26. Stratified Random Sampling
27. Other Methods of Sampling
28. Sampling and Demographics
29. Introduction to Sample Size
30. A Closer Look at Sample Size

Part E Measurement
31. Introduction to Validity
32. Judgmental Validity
33. Empirical Validity
34. Judgmental-Empirical Validity
35. Reliability and Its Relationship to Validity
36. Measures of Reliability
37. Internal Consistency and Reliability
38. Norm- and Criterion-Referenced Tests
39. Measures of Optimum Performance
40. Measures of Typical Performance

Part F Experimental Design
41. True Experimental Designs
42. Threats to Internal Validity
43. Threats to External Validity
44. Preexperimental Designs
45. Quasi-Experimental Designs
46. Confounding in Experiments

Part G Understanding Statistics
47. Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
48. Introduction to the Null Hypothesis
49. Scales of Measurement
50. Descriptions of Nominal Data
51. Introduction to the Chi-Square Test
52. A Closer Look at the Chi-Square Test
53. Shapes of Distributions
54. The Mean, Median, and Mode
55. The Mean and Standard Deviation
56. The Median and Interquartile Range
57. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient
58. The t Test
59. One-Way Analysis of Variance
60. Two-Way Analysis of Variance
61. Practical Significance of Results

Part H Effect Size and Meta-Analysis
62. Introduction to Effect Size (d)
63. Interpretation of Effect Size (d)
64. Effect Size and Correlation (r)
65. Introduction to Meta-Analysis
66. Meta-Analysis and Effect Size
67. Meta-Analysis: Strengths and Weaknesses

Part I Qualitative Research
68. Sampling in Qualitative Research: I
69. Sampling in Qualitative Research: II
70. Measurement in Qualitative Research: I
71. Measurement in Qualitative Research: II
72. Quality Control in Qualitative Research
73. Grounded Theory for Data Analysis
74. Consensual Qualitative Research: Analysis

Part J Preparing Research Reports
75. The Structure of a Research Report
76. Writing Abstracts
77. Introduction and Literature Review
78. Describing Participants
79. Describing Measures
80. Reporting Research Results
81. Writing the Discussion
82. Preparing Theses and Dissertations

Appendices
A. Electronic Databases for Locating Literature
B. Electronic Sources of Statistical Information
C. Excerpts from Literature Reviews
D. A Closer Look at the Standard Deviation
E. A Closer Look at Effect Size
F. Outline of Question Route for a Focus Group Study
G. Sample Abstracts of Research Reports
H. Sample Description of Qualitative Data Analysis
I. A Closer Look at Abbreviated Page Numbers in ASA Style

Tables
1. Table of Random Numbers
2. Table of Recommended Sample Sizes

Index

Editorial Reviews

The tenth edition of Understanding Research Methods by Mildred L. Patten and Michelle Newhart provides a significant update and reorganization of the content provided in earlier editions. The text’s logical organization will be beneficial to students and instructors in developing students’ grasp and comprehension of research methodology. I am anxious to use the text with my students!

Richard C. Meyer, Ed.D., Associate Professor and Chair of Educational Administration, University of Nebraska Kearney

From the Publisher