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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Communication studies > Research methods
This book seeks to establish the meaning of design research, its role in the field, and the characteristics that differentiate research in design from research in other fields. The author introduces a model to explain the relationship between the components of the ontological reality of design: the designed object, the designer, and the user. Addressing design research across disciplines, the author establishes a foundational understanding of research, and research paradigms, for the design disciplines. This will be crucial for the emerging field of design research to find its own identity and move forward, building its own knowledge base as it finds its positioning between science and art. The book will be of interest to scholars working in design history, design studies, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, architecture, fashion design, and service design.
"Methodological Issues in Aging Research" is the first volume in
the "Notre Dame Series on Quantitative Methodology." This new
series provides practical training on the latest quantitative
methods used in social and behavioral research. Each volume
features contributions from leading experts in state-of-the-art
techniques applicable to a selected substantive topic.
This book applies digital methods of analysis to the study of the impact of digital technologies on the social and political spheres of women in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. These countries have been early embracers of digital technologies in the Middle East, and are therefore useful cases to examine the region's use of digital media. Bernardi discusses what can be called the silent revolutions of these women online. By combining Software Studies, Feminist Qur'anic Revisionism, Actor Network Theory and digital methods research and analysis, the book explores how 'women's issues' in Egypt and Saudi Arabia arise, transform and manifest themselves in the digital sphere, both in English and in Arabic.
Evidence-Based Decision-Making: How to Leverage Available Data and Avoid Cognitive Biases examines how a wide range of factual evidence, primarily derived from a variety of data available to organizations, can be used to improve the quality of business decision-making, by helping decision makers circumvent the various cognitive biases that adversely impact how we all think. The book is built on the following premise: During the past decade, the new 'data world' emerged, in which the rush to develop competencies around business analytics and data science can be characterized as nothing less than the new commercial arms race. The ever-expanding volume and variety of data are well known, as are the great advances in data processing/analytics, data visualization, and related information production-focused capabilities. Yet, comparatively little effort has been devoted to how the informational products of business analytics and data science are 'consumed' or used in the organizational decision-making processes, as the available evidence shows that only some of that information is used to drive some business decisions some of the time. Evidence-Based Decision-Making details an explicit process describing how the universe of available and applicable evidence, which includes organizational and other data, industry benchmarks, scientific studies, and professional experience, can be assessed, amalgamated, and funneled into an objective driver of key business decisions. Introducing key concepts in relation to data and evidence, and the history of evidence-based management, this new and extremely topical book will be essential reading for researchers and students of data analytics as well as those working in the private and public sectors, and in the voluntary sector.
In this text, author Scott Menard provides coverage of not only the basic logistic regression model but also advanced topics found in no other logistic regression text. The book keeps mathematical notation to a minimum, making it accessible to those with more limited statistics backgrounds, while including advanced topics of interest to more statistically sophisticated readers. Not dependent on any one software package, the book discusses limitations to existing software packages and ways to overcome them. Key Features Examines the logistic regression model in detailIllustrates concepts with applied examples to help readers understand how concepts are translated into the logistic regression modelHelps readers make decisions about the criteria for evaluating logistic regression models through detailed coverage of how to assess overall models and individual predictors for categorical dependent variablesOffers unique coverage of path analysis with logistic regression that shows readers how to examine both direct and indirect effects using logistic regression analysisApplies logistic regression analysis to longitudinal panel data, helping students understand the issues in measuring change with dichotomous, nominal, and ordinal dependent variablesShows readers how multilevel change models with logistic regression are different from multilevel growth curve models for continuous interval or ratio-scaled dependent variables Logistic Regression is intended for courses such as Regression and Correlation, Intermediate/Advanced Statistics, and Quantitative Methods taught in departments throughout the behavioral, health, mathematical, and social sciences, including applied mathematics/statistics, biostatistics, criminology/criminal justice, education, political science, public health/epidemiology, psychology, and sociology."
Drug use is widely understood in terms of its subjects, substances and settings. But what happens when these distinctions start to blur? Injecting Bodies in More-than-Human Worlds moves away from a hierarchical conceptualisation of drug use based on its subjects and their objects, offering unique and fresh insights into the complex world of injecting drugs. Focussing on the Deleuzian notion of bodies-in-process, Dennis proposes a new and timely approach to drugs where agency materialises in relation to others - human and not. Using rich, ethnographic data to demonstrate bodies' in/capacities to act through their relationality, Dennis carefully maps out where bodies are thought, practised, lived and intervened-with: caught in tension between pleasure and addiction, activity and passivity, 'becoming-other' and 'becoming-blocked', and making and breaking habits. Arguing for a deeper engagement both with how bodies are enacted and with our collective responsibility to bring them together in healthier ways, this volume offers a unique intervention into the sociology of drugs and, more widely, health and illness. It will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as Science and Technology Studies, Sociology and Social Policy, Drugs and Addiction, and Health and Medical Anthropology.
This accessible and wide-ranging book is an invaluable introductory guide through the choices to be made when deciding how to report research. Writing and Presenting Research covers research written as theses and dissertations; chapters, books, reports and articles in academic, professional or general media such as newspapers; and also reviews the options for presenting research orally as lectures, keynotes, conference papers and even TV game shows. These forms of reporting research have well-established conventions for their formats, but they also have growing numbers of alternative possibilities. This has generated debate about what is, or is not, acceptable, and the aim of this book is to make this debate more manageable for those wanting to assess which of the conventional or alternative possibilities on offer is most appropriate for reporting their current research. Arranged in easily followed sections enlivened with checklists, style variations, examples and reflection points, Writing and Presenting Research has relevance to the social sciences, arts, humanities, natural and applied sciences and law and is an invaluable reference tool for new and experienced researchers alike. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!
Fully revised and updated, this second edition of Participatory Action Research (PAR) provides new theoretical insights and many robust tools that will guide researchers, professionals and students from all disciplines through the process of conducting action research 'with' people rather than 'for' them or 'about' them. PAR is collective reasoning and evidence-based learning focussed on social action. It has immediate relevance in fields ranging from community development to education, health, public engagement, environmental issues and problem solving in the workplace. This new edition has been extensively revised to create a user-friendly textbook on PAR theory and practice, including: updated references and a comprehensive overview of different approaches to PAR (pragmatic, psychosocial, critical); more emphasis on the art of process design, especially in complex social settings characterized by uncertainty and the unknown; developments in the use of Web2 collaborative tools and digital strategies to support real-time data gathering and processing; updated examples and stories from around the world, in a wide range of fields; critical commentaries on major issues in the social sciences, including stakeholder theory, systems thinking, causal analysis, monitoring and evaluation, research ethics, risk assessment and social innovation. This modular textbook provides novel perspectives and ideas in a longstanding tradition that strives to reconnect science and the inquiry process with life in society. It provides coherent and critical treatment of core issues in the ongoing evolution of PAR, making it suitable for a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It is intended for use by researchers, students and working professionals seeking to improve or rethink their approach to co-creating knowledge and supporting action for the well-being of all.
Advancing the notion of connected autonomy, and highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research in the development of this novel concept, this volume explores the possibility of maintaining the freedom to make one's own decisions in later life, while also remaining connected to others - as well as to things, services, places and events. Through a series of case studies, the book examines the importance of preserving self-determination as health, environmental and social circumstances render autonomy more difficult, showing that innovations in social interaction and technology have the capacity to enhance older persons' connectedness to their environment, while at the same time, offering opportunities for self-governance. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in ageing and the life course, the sociology of science and technology and research methods.
Useful introductory textbook for MRes or MA courses combining history and philosophy of research with practical guidance on starting a research project. Includes extensive material on research ethics. Written by a very experienced senior scholar and tutor in research methods; developed and tested for MRes intro course at Bath University.
This book engages with the writings of W.G. Sebald, mediated by perspectives drawn from curriculum and architecture, to explore the theme of unsettling complacency and confront difficult knowledge around trauma, discrimination and destruction. Moving beyond overly instrumentalist and reductive approaches, the authors combine disciplines in a scholarly fashion to encourage readers to stretch their understandings of currere. The chapters exemplify important, timely and complicated conversations centred on ethical response and responsibility, in order to imagine a more just and aesthetically experienced world. In the analysis of BILDUNG as human formation, the book illuminates the pertinent lessons to be learned from the works of Sebald and provokes further investigations into the questions of memory, grief, and limits of language. Through its juxtaposition of curriculum and architecture, and using the prose of Sebald as a prism, the book revitalizes questions about education and ethics, probes the unsettling of complacency, and enables conversation around difficult knowledge and ethical responsibility, as well as offering hope and resolve. An important intervention in standard approaches to understanding currere, this book provides essential context for scholars and educators with interests in the history of education, curriculum architectural education and practice studies, memory studies, narrative research, Sebaldian studies, and educational philosophy.
In Pulling Back the Curtain on Qualitative Research, the authors maintain that for sociologists the entire world is a laboratory. Seldom do they attend social gatherings without observing people and their interaction in a systematic and intellectually curious way. Regular trips to the grocery store, church services, and engagement with social media all open the door to sociological questioning and encourage forms of empirical observation and data collection. Here, in this practical and in-depth guide to conducting qualitative sociological field research, the authors offer step-by-step guidance to the processes of choosing a research question and forming research objectives; gaining entry to research settings; and reporting and analyzing findings. Each chapter features a past research assignment, wherein the authors draw attention to important ethical considerations and extract the many lessons, quirks, and unanticipated findings they experienced along the way that readers should prepare for and apply while conducting their own qualitative fieldwork. Over the span of several field studies, this book offers readers a behind-the-scenes look at some tested and trusted qualitative methodologies. Designed to be a guide for undergraduate and graduate level students, its real-life meditations would make a meaningful addition to anyone serious about conducting sociological research.
Perspectivism: A Contribution to the Philosophy of the Social Sciences advances the philosophy of perspectivism, showing how its capacity to assess competing views of a particular concept by approaching them as different 'sides' of a multi-dimensional object supports a concept of 'adequate' rather than 'absolute' truth. Presenting four case studies - of the social scientific concepts of power, equality, crime, and sex and gender - Smith demonstrates the manner in which the perspectivist approach does not take all differing views of a concept to be equally good, but views all perspectives taken together as contributing towards the best that we can know about any given concept at the present time. An exposition and analysis of the means by which perspectivism allows for truth and objectivity in the social sciences, this volume will appeal to scholars of philosophy and across the social sciences with interests in questions of epistemology and research methodology.
In discrete choice models the relationships between the independent variables and the choice probabilities are nonlinear, depending on both the value of the particular independent variable being interpreted and the values of the other independent variables. Thus, interpreting the magnitude of the effects (the "substantive effects") of the independent variables on choice behavior requires the use of additional interpretative techniques. Three common techniques for interpretation are described here: first differences, marginal effects and elasticities, and odds ratios. Concepts related to these techniques are also discussed, as well as methods to account for estimation uncertainty. Interpretation of binary logits, ordered logits, multinomial and conditional logits, and mixed discrete choice models such as mixed multinomial logits and random effects logits for panel data are covered in detail. The techniques discussed here are general, and can be applied to other models with discrete dependent variables which are not specifically described here.
This book offers insight into the use of empirical diffusionist models for analysis of cross-cultural and cross-national communication, translation and adaptation of the United Nation's (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The book looks at three social analytical instruments of particular utility for the cross-national study of the translation and diffusion of global sustainable development discourses in East Asia (China and Japan). It explains the underlying hypothesis that, in the transmission and adaptation of global SDGs in different national contexts, three large groups of social actors encompassing sources of information, mediating actors and socio-industrial end-users form, shape and contribute to the complex, latent networks of social engagement. It illuminates how the distribution within these networks largely determines the level and breadth of the diffusion of global SDGs and their associated environmentalist norms. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in sustainable growth and development, as well as global environmental politics.
Recently, Black women have taken the world stage in national politics, popular culture, professional sports, and bringing attention to racial injustice in policing and the judicial system. However, rarely are Black women acknowledged and highlighted for their efforts to understand the social problems confronting our generation and those generations that came before us. In the post-civil rights era, research faculty and theoreticians must acknowledge the marginalization of Black women scholars' voices in contemporary qualitative scholarship and debates. Black Feminism in Qualitative Inquiry: A Mosaic for Writing our Daughter's Body engages qualitative inquiry to center the issues and concerns of Black women as researcher(s) and the researched while simultaneously questioning the ostensible innocence of qualitative inquiry, including methods of data collection, processes of data analysis, and representations of human experiences and identities. The text centers "daughtering" as the onto-epistemological tool for approaches to Black feminist and critical race data analysis in qualitative inquiry. Advanced and novice researchers interested in decolonizing methodologies and liberatory tools of analysis will find the text useful for cultural, education, political, and racial critiques that center the intersectional identities and interpretations of Black women and girls and other people of color. Daughtering as a tool of analysis in Black feminist qualitative inquiry is our own cultural and spiritual way of being, doing, and performing decolonizing work.
This ground breaking volume raises radical critiques and proposes innovative solutions for social sustainability in the built environment. Urban Social Sustainability provides an in-depth insight into the discourse and argues that every urban intervention has a social sustainability dimension that needs to be taken into consideration, and incorporated into a comprehensive and cohesive 'urban agenda' that is built on three principles of recognition, integration, and monitoring. This should be achieved through a dialogical and reflexive process of decision-making. To achieve sustainable communities, social sustainability should form the basis of a constructive dialogue and be interlinked with other areas of sustainable development. This book underlines the urgency of approaching social sustainability as an urban agenda and goes on to make suggestions about its formulation. Urban Social Sustainability consists of original contributions from academics and experts within the field and explores the significance of social sustainability from different perspectives. Areas covered include urban policy, transportation and mobility, urban space and architectural form, housing, urban heritage, neighbourhood development, and urban governance. Drawing on case studies from a number of countries and world regions the book presents a multifaceted and interdisciplinary understanding from social sustainability in urban settings, and provides practitioners and policy makers with innovative recommendations to achieve more socially sustainable urban environment.
Over the last few decades, researchers in fields such as history, the social sciences and medicine have had improved access to census materials in northern Europe, making an update on these infrastructures both possible and topical. This book's presentation of European census history and infrastructure is not strictly limited to northern Europe, although most of the Mosaic materials originated north of the forty-fifth parallel. The template for modern census-taking was created by Adolphe Quetelet in Belgium in the 1830s, and his census standards were spread almost globally by the international statistical conferences. This book explores Icelandic residence patterns amongst the elderly; Siberian polygamy as indicated in the Polar Census; men's living arrangements in Northern Norway; Sweden's pioneering register-based census in 1930; unique source materials on the Soviet family; and data on Ukrainian and Russian population groups in the most recent Ukrainian censuses. All of these contributions stress the book's focus on Northern European census data. This book was originally published as a special issue of The History of the Family.
Ethical dimensions of qualitative research are constantly emerging and shifting. This volume identifies relevant ethical principles that can guide novice researchers through the research process with the necessary wisdom and insight to shape a project in sound, meaningful, and thoughtful ways. Well known for their work in this area, the van den Hoonaards outline the domains on which ethics most often impinge. They address key ethical issues arising in different qualitative traditions and contexts. The volume concludes with guidance on how to navigate formal ethics reviews. Many key examples and other resources help the student engage the complicated literature on this topic.
This book examines test validity in the behavioral, social, and educational sciences by exploring three fundamental problems: measurement, causation and meaning. Psychometric and philosophical perspectives receive attention along with unresolved issues. The authors explore how measurement is conceived from both the classical and modern perspectives. The importance of understanding the underlying concepts as well as the practical challenges of test construction and use receive emphasis throughout. The book summarizes the current state of the test validity theory field. Necessary background on test theory and statistics is presented as a conceptual overview where needed. Each chapter begins with an overview of key material reviewed in previous chapters, concludes with a list of suggested readings, and features boxes with examples that connect theory to practice. These examples reflect actual situations that occurred in psychology, education, and other disciplines in the US and around the globe, bringing theory to life. Critical thinking questions related to the boxed material engage and challenge readers. A few examples include: What is the difference between intelligence and IQ? Can people disagree on issues of value but agree on issues of test validity? Is it possible to ask the same question in two different languages? The first part of the book contrasts theories of measurement as applied to the validity of behavioral science measures.The next part considers causal theories of measurement in relation to alternatives such as behavior domain sampling, and then unpacks the causal approach in terms of alternative theories of causation.The final section explores the meaning and interpretation of test scores as it applies to test validity. Each set of chapters opens with a review of the key theories and literature and concludes with a review of related open questions in test validity theory. Researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in test validity or developing tests appreciate the book's cutting edge review of test validity. The book also serves as a supplement in graduate or advanced undergraduate courses on test validity, psychometrics, testing or measurement taught in psychology, education, sociology, social work, political science, business, criminal justice and other fields. The book does not assume a background in measurement.
EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Written by a leading expert in the field, this practical and accessible book is an essential guide to knowledge exchange, impact and research dissemination in health and social care. Providing the why, what, who, how and when of research impact, the book helps researchers turn raw findings into useful, high-impact evidence for policymakers, practitioners and the public. It includes insightful interviews from leading journalists, science communicators, researchers and influencers in health and social care, as well as practical exercises, insider tips and case studies. The book will help researchers at all stages of their career to maximise the impact of their work.
Applied Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences is a practical "how-to" guide to conducting statistical power analyses for psychology and related fields. The book provides a guide to conducting analyses that is appropriate for researchers and students, including those with limited quantitative backgrounds. With practical use in mind, the text provides detailed coverage of topics such as how to estimate expected effect sizes and power analyses for complex designs. The topical coverage of the text, an applied approach, in-depth coverage of popular statistical procedures, and a focus on conducting analyses using R make the text a unique contribution to the power literature. To facilitate application and usability, the text includes ready-to-use R code developed for the text. An accompanying R package called pwr2ppl (available at https://github.com/chrisaberson/pwr2ppl) provides tools for conducting power analyses across each topic covered in the text.
Since the 1970s, the landscape of higher education and research has been considerably altered by the integration of the arts within the university environment. Even though a form of research is inherent to artistic creation, the creative process is not comparable to the established procedures involved in academic research. As such, how can the imperatives of intellectual (and sometimes restrictive) rigour characteristic of scholarly endeavours be reconciled with the more explorative and intuitive approach of artistic creation? The concept of 'research-creation' allows artists and scholars to collaborate on a common project, acknowledging each participant's expertise in the production of an artistic work that either generates theoretical reflections or has emerged from academic research. This fully revised and updated translation of Sophie Stevance and Serge Lacasse's original French book offers an overview of the historical, political, social, cultural and academic contexts within which research-creation has emerged in Quebec and Canada, before similar (yet often divergent) conceptions appeared elsewhere in the world. Focussing primarily on the case of music, the book goes on to explore the pedagogical potential of research-creation within a university-based environment and proposes a clear and encompassing definition, as well as a theoretical model, of research-creation supported by concrete examples. By underscoring the reciprocal nature of this approach and the potential benefits of collaborative relationships, the authors' vision of research-creation extends far beyond the field of music and art alone: rather, it has the potential to integrate all approaches and disciplines that seek to combine practice and research.
'Consumer law has truly matured as an object of scholarly inquiry in recent years, in particular (but not only) through the embrace of sophisticated insights into real-life consumer behaviour as a basis for regulatory design. This book brings together writers who have been and remain at the forefront of intellectual inquiry, and it permits them to enrich thinking about patterns and styles of research into consumer law.' - Stephen Weatherill, University of Oxford, UK European consumer law seeks to ensure that consumers receive sufficient information about goods and services, are not subject to unfair contract clauses or unfair commercial practices, and have the means to redress grievances. This Handbook specifically considers the impacts of different disciplines and methods as it presents the state of the art in consumer law research and in particular offers intriguing new insights from behavioural science. Research Methods in Consumer Law shows how different lenses help to highlight under-researched areas of consumer law and engage with current debates in order to suggest pertinent legal reforms. Rules meant to protect consumers are often premised on the fact that small print is read, understood and acted upon. Acknowledging that this is rarely the case, the expert contributors offer new perspectives, informed by the study of how real people behave and paying careful attention to methodology. Offering the tools to engage in promising and socially useful legal research, this Handbook will appeal to students and scholars across the fields of law and behavioural science, as it offers a fresh look at the relation between EU consumer law and other disciplines oriented to solving practical problems. Contributors include: M. Artigot Golobardes, F. Esposito, S. Frerichs, F. Gomez Pomar, P. Hacker, G. Helleringer, J. Luzak, M. Malecka, H.-W. Micklitz, F. Moeslein, M. Nagatsu, K.P. Purnhagen, G. Ruhl, A.-L. Sibony, J. Trzaskowski, F. Weber |
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