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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Communication studies > Research methods
Biostatistics with R provides a straightforward introduction on how to analyse data from the wide field of biological research, including nature protection and global change monitoring. The book is centred around traditional statistical approaches, focusing on those prevailing in research publications. The authors cover t-tests, ANOVA and regression models, but also the advanced methods of generalised linear models and classification and regression trees. Chapters usually start with several useful case examples, describing the structure of typical datasets and proposing research-related questions. All chapters are supplemented by example datasets, step-by-step R code demonstrating analytical procedures and interpretation of results. The authors also provide examples of how to appropriately describe statistical procedures and results of analyses in research papers. This accessible textbook will serve a broad audience, from students, researchers or professionals looking to improve their everyday statistical practice, to lecturers of introductory undergraduate courses. Additional resources are provided on www.cambridge.org/biostatistics.
Writing Qualitatively: The Selected Works of Johnny Saldana showcases the diverse range of writing styles available to qualitative researchers through the work one of the most internationally cited and referenced methodologists. The traditional academic journal article still holds its place as a convention of published scholarship, but Saldana illustrates how a variety of approaches to research documentation can evocatively represent social life and one's self in intriguing ways. Writing Qualitatively assembles journal articles, book chapters, ancillary materials, texts from keynote addresses, and previously unpublished work that illustrate Saldana's eclectic body of inquiry. Each piece is prefaced with author comments on the selection, and how readers themselves might venture into comparable writing styles. Multiple methodologies and writing examples are included, ranging from case studies to action research; from poetry to ethnodramatic play scripts; from confessional tales to autoethnographies; and from textbook materials to classroom session designs. An introduction to the collection discusses Saldana's writing processes and how qualitative researchers and educators can extend their own imaginations and creativity to find new forms of scholarly presentation and representation. Writing Qualitatively serves as a supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses in qualitative inquiry, educational research, ethnography, and arts-based research. This unique anthology demonstrates to students, professors, and professional researchers how academic scholarship can be reported through a breadth of literary genres, elements, and styles.
This book sets new trajectories for language-sensitive business and management research and pedagogy. The existence of language plurality characterises these. Empirical studies have been established as important and relevant for contemporary research. It has shifted language-sensitive research from the periphery to the centre of international management research. However, this field is rapidly changing, and new thematic approaches have begun to emerge. By addressing this, the book offers genuine and more nuanced insights into existing themes and comes with applications of emergent conceptual developments in different settings. The second part of the book covers methodologies and gives examples and cutting-edge insights into the role of translation in the execution of empirical research and theorising arising from it. Finally, the book draws together innovative ways of how to address the challenges of a multilingual teaching classroom and how to innovate in order to incorporate such diversity through pedagogic practice. This book provides a source that unites insights from multilingual empirical research, methodological considerations and pedagogic practice in order to advance knowledge and debate. It will be a 'handy source' of information that offers direct access to the latest guidance on language-sensitive management challenges. It will, therefore, appeal to an internationally-minded and mobile audience, including scholars, students and decision-makers.
The path of a doctoral student can feel challenging and isolating. This guide provides doctoral students with key ideas and support to kick-start a doctoral journey, inspire progress and complete their thesis or dissertation. Featuring observations from experienced supervisors, as well as the reflections of current and recent postgraduate researchers, this intimate and entertaining book offers vital insights into the critical moments in any doctoral experience. Bringing together the voices of doctoral supervisors and candidates past and present from around the globe, How to Keep your Doctorate on Track will be a trusted companion for any PhD, DBA or EdD student. Supervisors and those offering support and guidance to doctoral candidates will also glean valuable insight into fresh approaches and their own practice. Contributors include: A. Alecsandru, F. Archontoulis, C. Atkinson, A. Byrnes-Johnstone, J. Callahan, A. Casey, R. Cole, O.S. Crocco, M. Cseh, Z. Djebali, G. Dobson, J. Donaghey, D.C. Duke, U. Furnier, V.O. Gekara, T. Gray, T.W. Greer, A. Hallin, B. Harney, G. Henry, C. Hughes, P. Jordan, M. Knox, S.F. Lambert, A. Lee, Q.Y. Lee, A. Lobo, R. Markey, N.S. Mauthner, E. McDonald, L. McKerr, D. Nickson, K. Nimon, E. Partlow, H. Prescott, N. Reynolds, S. Riaz, A. Robertson, J. Robinson, K. Rosenbusch, G. Ryan, J.J. Saunders, M. Shirmohammadi, M.K. Tran, A. Trif, M. Valverde, P. Watson Black, V. Webster, R. Whiting, C.F. Wright
Over three decades this bestselling user-friendly introduction has been used by thousands of students, professionals and community groups to kick start their social research projects.Always emphasising the importance of a spirit of inquiry, it demystifies the research process, covering all the basics of: where to start; how to manage a research project; methods, techniques and resources; digital tools; interpretation, analysis and reporting. This third edition has been thoroughly revised. It covers the use of narrative and dialogue in research, rich research design, and what digital technology can (and can't) contribute to the research process. With its hands-on, no-nonsense approach, Do It Yourself Social Research is an essential resource for anyone doing social research in sociology, social work, education, health, welfare, not-for profit and many other fields.'Practical in its content, sophisticated in its ideas, the book shows a passion for making social science a tool of democracy. I know of nothing else that is half as good.' - Raewyn Connell, University Professor, University of Sydney, Australia'This is a first-rate text. Students had one problem with it; because it was not turgid like other texts they felt it lacked sufficient depth. It was only when they were into their research that they understood what a great reference it is.' - Richard A. Couto PhD, Union Institute and University, USA
Whether you are new to interviewing and working toward an undergraduate dissertation or refining your fieldwork as you complete a research project, this book contains everything you need to know for successful qualitative interview data collection. Organised around practical hints, reflexive tasks, bite-sized pieces of information and original case study material, the authors' candid accounts of their research experiences help you approach qualitative interviewing with transparency, consistency and confidence. It walks you through how to: Decide if interviews are the right tool for your project Turn your research ideas into well-phrased interview questions Navigate ethical review and informed consent Recruit participants Choose an effective interview style Adapt your methods for different populations Transcribe and analyse your data.
Recognised as the most influential publication in the field, ARM facilitates deep understanding of the Rasch model and its practical applications. The authors review the crucial properties of the model and demonstrate its use with examples across the human sciences. Readers will be able to understand and critically evaluate Rasch measurement research, perform their own Rasch analyses and interpret their results. The glossary and illustrations support that understanding, and the accessible approach means that it is ideal for readers without a mathematical background. Highlights of the new edition include: More learning tools to strengthen readers' understanding including chapter introductions, boldfaced key terms, chapter summaries, activities and suggested readings. Greater emphasis on the use of R packages; readers can download the R code from the Routledge website. Explores the distinction between numerical values, quantity and units, to understand the measurement and the role of the Rasch logit scale (Chapter 4). A new four-option data set from the IASQ (Instrumental Attitude towards Self-assessment Questionnaire) for the Rating Scale Model (RSM) analysis exemplar (Chapter 6). Clarifies the relationship between Rasch measurement, path analysis and SEM, with a host of new examples of Rasch measurement applied across health sciences, education and psychology (Chapter 10). Intended as a text for graduate courses in measurement, item response theory, (advanced) research methods or quantitative analysis taught in psychology, education, human development, business, and other social and health sciences. Professionals in these areas will also appreciate the book's accessible introduction.
Moving Difference demonstrates how differences between migrants who share the same nationality travel with them and can impact on every aspect of their 'mobile lives'. Analysing the lived experiences and narratives of Brazilians in London, it adds an in-depth ethnographic understanding of the specific contours of difference to studies of migration by demonstrating how social differences, rooted in colonial legacies, are constantly being re-created and negotiated in the everyday making of the global world. By using ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews, in addition to historical and contextual analyses, the book allows us to understand how people speak of, engage with and negotiate difference in their everyday lives and how this is shaped by the macro-political and -social contexts of immigration and emigration. Giving attention to the complex interrelations between 'here' and 'there', past and present, this book allows us to go beyond the proliferated homogenised stereotypes of 'the migrant' and 'the migrant community' often reproduced by academics as well as by the media and politicians, whether with a view to pathologising or romanticising the 'migrant other'. This title will appeal to students, scholars, community workers and general readers interested in migration, social class, gender, 'race' and ethnicity, colonialism and slavery, social exclusion, globalisation and urban sociology.
Increasing American fear about terrorism, environmental catastrophes, pandemics, and economic crises has fueled interest in "prepping": confronting disaster by mastering survivalist skills. This trend of self-reliance is not merely evidence of the American belief in the power of the individual; rather, this pragmatic shift away from expecting government aid during a disaster reflects a weakened belief in the bond between government and its citizens during a time of crisis. This ethnographic study explores the rise of the urban preppers' subculture in New York City, shedding light on the distinctive approach of city dwellers in preparing for disaster. With attention to the role of factors such as class, race, gender and one's expectations of government, it shows that how one imagines Doomsday affects how one prepares for it. Drawing on participant observation, the author explores preppers' views on the central question of whether to "bug out" or "hunker down" in the event of disaster, and examines the ways in which the prepper economy increases revenue by targeting concerns over developing skills, building networks, securing equipment and arranging a safe locale. A rich qualitative study, Bracing for the Apocalypse will appeal to scholars of sociology and anthropology with interests in urban studies, ethnography and subcultures.
This book explores the identified research gap and new field of study of organizational reliability. It develops a definition and theoretical internal structure of the notion of organizational reliability as well as a theoretical background describing the structure of its three pillars, and it showcases a set of organizational solutions dedicated for the enhancement of organizational reliability. The book explores the idea that there are new capabilities needed in every organization: reliability capabilities aiming at enhancing and sustaining the reliability of entire organizations and reliability of management, information technology and human resources. The reliability capabilities are understood as the abilities to anticipate and explore potential and occurring hazards, prevent and resolve disruptions, and learn from the problems in order to maintain a proper organizational performance in both normal and abnormal situations. Based on these three pillars, the book concerns the issue of various organizational solutions in order to indicate a set of them, which supports obtaining and maintaining organizational reliability. The book is recommended reading for researchers, academics and students in the fields of management, and entrepreneurs trying to boost the reliability of their organizations.
Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research: Ethnography with a Twist seeks to rethink ethnography 'outside the box' of its previous tradition and to develop ethnographic methods by critically discussing the process, ethics, impact and knowledge production in ethnographic research. This interdisciplinary edited volume argues for a 'twist' that supports openness, courage, and creativity to develop and test innovative and unconventional ways of thinking and doing ethnography. 'Ethnography with a twist' means both an intentional aim to conduct ethnographic research with novel approaches and methods but also sensitivity to recognize and creativity to utilize different kinds of 'twist moments' that ethnographic research may create for the researcher. This edited volume critically evaluates new and old methodological tools and their ability to engage with questions of power difference. It proposes new collaborative methods that allow for co-production and co-creation of research material as well as shared conceptual work and wider distribution of knowledge. The book will be of use to ethnographers in humanities and social science disciplines including sociology, anthropology and communication studies.
Survey Development: A Theory-Driven Mixed Methods Approach provides both an overview of standard methods and tools for developing and validating surveys and a conceptual basis for survey development. It advocates logical reasoning that combines theory related to construct validity with theory regarding design, and theory regarding survey response, item review, and identification of misfitting responses. The book has 14 chapters which are divided into four parts. Part A includes six chapters that deal with theory and methodology. Part B has five chapters and it gets into the process of constructing the survey. Part C comprises two chapters devoted to assessing the quality or psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of survey responses. Finally, the one chapter in Part D is an attempt to present a synopsis of what was covered in the previous chapters in regard to developing a survey with the Theory-Driven-Mixed-Methods (TDMM) framework for developing survey and conducting survey research. This provides a full process for survey development intended to yield results that can support validity. A mixed methods approach integrates both qualitative and quantitative data outcomes. Including detailed online resources, this book is suitable for graduate students who use or are responsible for interpretation of survey research and survey data as well as survey methodologists and practitioners who use surveys in their field.
This book systematically explores and discusses English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) research methods frequently deployed by ELF researchers in analysing their data. It mainly covers three different approaches: corpus-based, both written and spoken, conversation analytic and narrative approaches. In addition to exploring these different approaches to ELF data, the volume also introduces case studies that utilise them in analysing data in both academic and workplace settings, which facilitates not only the understanding of the ways in which research is conducted but also its findings. Furthermore, the book discusses theoretical underpinnings of ELF research and its recent development in its first part. It is comprehensive both in understanding theory and exploring research methods which can be deployed in conducting ELF research. The book, therefore, will be of great interest and use for both ELF researchers and educators as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students who are about to embark on their ELF and ELF-related research, and also to those who are new to the field.
There is a recent surge in the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within education globally, with disproportionate claims being made about what they show, 'what works', and what constitutes the best 'evidence'. Drawing on up-to-date scholarship from across the world, Taming Randomized Controlled Trials in Education critically addresses the increased use of RCTs in education, exploring their benefits, limits and cautions, and ultimately questioning the prominence given to them. While acknowledging that randomized controlled trials do have some place in education, the book nevertheless argues that this place should be limited. Drawing together all arguments for and against RCTs in a comprehensive and easily accessible single volume, the book also adds new perspectives and insights to the conversation; crucially, the book considers the limits of their usefulness and applicability in education, raising a range of largely unexplored concerns about their use. Chapters include discussions on: The impact of complexity theory and chaos theory. Design issues and sampling in randomized controlled trials. Learning from clinical trials. Data analysis in randomized controlled trials. Reporting, evaluating and generalizing from randomized controlled trials. Considering key issues in understanding and interrogating research evidence, this book is ideal reading for all students on Research Methods modules, as well as those interested in undertaking and reviewing research in the field of education.
There is a recent surge in the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within education globally, with disproportionate claims being made about what they show, 'what works', and what constitutes the best 'evidence'. Drawing on up-to-date scholarship from across the world, Taming Randomized Controlled Trials in Education critically addresses the increased use of RCTs in education, exploring their benefits, limits and cautions, and ultimately questioning the prominence given to them. While acknowledging that randomized controlled trials do have some place in education, the book nevertheless argues that this place should be limited. Drawing together all arguments for and against RCTs in a comprehensive and easily accessible single volume, the book also adds new perspectives and insights to the conversation; crucially, the book considers the limits of their usefulness and applicability in education, raising a range of largely unexplored concerns about their use. Chapters include discussions on: The impact of complexity theory and chaos theory. Design issues and sampling in randomized controlled trials. Learning from clinical trials. Data analysis in randomized controlled trials. Reporting, evaluating and generalizing from randomized controlled trials. Considering key issues in understanding and interrogating research evidence, this book is ideal reading for all students on Research Methods modules, as well as those interested in undertaking and reviewing research in the field of education.
This book explores the diversity of methodological approaches to researching ageing, considering which methodological paradigm best captures the phenomenon. Interdisciplinary in scope, it brings together research from scholars from Austria, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Poland, UK and USA to uncover the conditions under which qualitative and quantitative approaches to research on ageing can best be reconciled and rendered complementary. Presenting international reflection on methods for studying old age from a variety of research backgrounds, Researching Ageing showcases the latest research in the field and will appeal to scholars across the social sciences, including sociology, demography, psychology, economics and geography, with interests in gerontology, ageing and later life.
* Explores the overlap/parallels between the work of clinicians and qualitative researchers. * Suggests how postmodern therapeutic approaches can be integrated into methods of data collection and analysis. * Examines a range of postmodern therapies, including collaborative language systems, narrative therapy, and solution-focused brief therapy. * Offers an innovative and unique way of enhancing the skills of the qualitative researcher, with an emphasis on reflective practice.
This comprehensive and practical guide covers the elements, style, and use of annotated bibliographies in the research and writing process for any discipline; key disciplinary conventions; and tips for working with digital sources. Written jointly by a library director and a writing center director, this book is packed with examples of individual bibliography entries and full bibliography formats for a wide range of academic needs. Online resources include sample bibliographies, relevant web links, printable versions of checklists and figures, and further resources for instructors and researchers. Writing the Annotated Bibliography is an essential resource for first-year and advanced composition classes, courses in writing across the disciplines, graduate programs, library science instruction programs, and academic libraries at the secondary level and beyond. It is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students and for researchers at all levels.
Without question, statistics is one of the most challenging courses for students in the social and behavioral sciences. Enrolling in their first statistics course, students are often apprehensive or extremely anxious toward the subject matter. And while IBM SPSS is one of the more easy-to-use statistical software programs available, for anxious students who realize they not only have to learn statistics but also new software, the task can seem insurmountable. Keenly aware of students' anxiety with statistics (and the fact that this anxiety can affect performance), Ronald D. Yockey has written SPSS Demystified: A Simple Guide and Reference, now in its fourth edition. Through a comprehensive, step-by-step approach, this text is consistently and specifically designed to both alleviate anxiety toward the subject matter and build a successful experience analyzing data in SPSS. Topics covered in the text are appropriate for most introductory and intermediate statistics and research methods courses. Key features of the text: Step-by-step instruction and screenshots Designed to be hands-on with the user performing the analyses alongside on their computer as they read through each chapter Call-out boxes provided, highlighting important information as appropriate SPSS output explained, with written results provided using the popular, widely recognized APA format End-of-chapter exercises included, allowing for additional practice SPSS datasets available on the publisher's website New to the Fourth Edition: Fully updated to SPSS 28 Updated screenshots in full color to reflect changes in SPSS software system (version 28) Exercises updated with up-to-date examples Exact p-values provided (consist with APA recommendations)
What are the implications of caring about the things we research? How does that affect how we research, who we research with and what we do with our results? Proposing what Joan C. Tronto has called a 'paradigm shift' in research thinking, this book invites researchers across disciplines and fields of study to do research that thinks and acts with care. The authors draw on their own and others' experiences of researching, the troubles they encounter and the opportunities generated when research is approached as a caring practice. Care ethics provides a guide, from starting out, designing and conducting projects to thinking about research legacies. It offers a way in which research can help repair harms and promote justice.
Cataloguing the World's Endangered Languages brings together the results of the extensive and influential Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat) project. Based on the findings from the most extensive endangered languages research project, this is the most comprehensive source of accurate information on endangered languages. The book presents the academic and scientific findings that underpin the online Catalogue, located at www.endangeredlanguages.com, making it an essential companion to the website for academics and researchers working in this area. While the online Catalogue displays much data from the ELCat project, this volume develops and emphasizes aspects of the research behind the data and includes topics of great interest in the field, not previously covered in a single volume. Cataloguing the World's Endangered Languages is an important volume of particular interest to academics and researchers working with endangered languages.
Reflexivity is valuable in social research because it draws attention to the researcher as part of the world being studied and reminds us that the individuals involved in our research are subjects, not objects. By being reflexive we acknowledge that we cannot be separated from our biographies. This volume reviews key debates concerning reflexivity in theory, methods, and practice. It mounts a defence of reflexivity against new materialist and post-qualitative critiques and the pressures exerted on scholars from the neoliberal marketized university system which privileges fast academia at the expense of slow, reflective scholarship. While defending reflexivity, this book also those identifies issues which plague mainstream sociological operationalizations of a positivistic form of reflexivity. It argues for the extension of reflexivity into domains otherwise neglected in public accounts, and a shift from reflexivity as an individualized quality of the researcher (used to judge peers and navel-gaze) to a feminist, collaborative, reflexive sensibility which is mindful of the wider contexts shaping the construction of knowledge(s), experience(s), and of the role of research communities. Providing examples of reflexivity in action from academics at different stages of their careers, Reflexivity will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as Sociology, Qualitative Research Methods, Criminology, Ethnography, and Ethics of Research.
In our daily experiences, we feel, perceive, designate, invoke or comment on a plurality of beings: people, artifacts, technologies, institutions, projects, animals, divinities, emotions, cultures, ideologies or opinions that are part of our world. While these beings are all part of our world, they present various forms of existence. Echoing recent developments in existential anthropology, Communication as Constitutive of Organization (CCO) research, and Actor Network Theory, here scholars from a variety of disciplines discuss how they study the types of beings that have been at the core of their respective research. Reflecting on the specific mode of existence, presence and action of the being they follow, they reveal the methodological innovations they deploy in order to analyze excerpts of field notes, filmed interactions, conversations, pictures, newspapers, narratives, etc.
Adopting a conversation analytic approach informed by ethnomethodology, this book examines the process of socialization as it takes place within everyday parent-child interactions. Based on a large audio-visual corpus featuring footage of families filmed extensively in their homes, the author focuses on the initiation of interactive assessment sequences on the part of young children with their parents and the manner in which, by means of embodied resources, such as talk, gaze, and gesture, they acquire communicative skills and a sense of themselves as effective social actors. With attention to the responses of parents and their understanding of their children's participation in exchanges, and the implications of these for children's communication this book sheds new light on the ways in which parents and children achieve shared understanding, how they deal with matters of 'alignment' or 'disalignment' and issues related to their respective membership categories. As a rigorous and detailed study of children's early socialization as well as the structural and embodied organization of communicative sequences, Socialization: Parent-Child Interaction in Everyday Life will appeal to scholars of sociology and child development with interests in ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, early years socialization and the sociology of family life.
This edited collection provides an introduction to the emerging interdisciplinary field of cultural mapping, offering a range of perspectives that are international in scope. Cultural mapping is a mode of inquiry and a methodological tool in urban planning, cultural sustainability, and community development that makes visible the ways local stories, practices, relationships, memories, and rituals constitute places as meaningful locations. The chapters address themes, processes, approaches, and research methodologies drawn from examples in Australia, Canada, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, Palestine, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Ukraine. Contributors explore innovative ways to encourage urban and cultural planning, community development, artistic intervention, and public participation in cultural mapping-recognizing that public involvement and artistic practices introduce a range of challenges spanning various phases of the research process, from the gathering of data, to interpreting data, to presenting "findings" to a broad range of audiences. The book responds to the need for histories and case studies of cultural mapping that are globally distributed and that situate the practice locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. |
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