This book argues that we are currently witnessing not merely a decline in the quality of social science research, but the proliferation of meaningless research, of no value to society, and modest value to its authors - apart from securing employment and promotion. The explosion of published outputs, at least in social science, creates a noisy, cluttered environment which makes meaningful research difficult, as different voices compete to capture the limelight even briefly. Older, more significant contributions are easily neglected, as the premium is to write and publish, not read and learn. The result is a widespread cynicism among academics on the value of academic research, sometimes including their own. Publishing comes to be seen as a game of hits and misses, devoid of intrinsic meaning and value, and of no wider social uses whatsoever. Academics do research in order to get published, not to say something socially meaningful. This is what we view as the rise of nonsense in academic research, which represents a serious social problem. It undermines the very point of social science. This problem is far from 'academic'. It affects many areas of social and political life entailing extensive waste of resources and inflated student fees as well as costs to tax-payers. Part two of the book offers a range of proposals aimed at restoring meaning at the heart of social research and drawing social science back address the major problems and issues that face our societies.

Eight Domains of Phenomenology and Research Methods is a unique text that explains how the foundational literature representing our lifeworld experience aligns theory with research methods. Maintaining focus on the core problem of phenomenological investigations, the author strives to bridge theory with applied research by critically reviewing examples from the applied literature. With the extensive use of the foundational literature's original voices, the book elaborates on how renowned scholars such as Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre argued their ideas. A range of diverse voices are also explored through the perspectives of feminist and Black phenomenologists. The text then goes on to unpack the phenomenological methodologies with a detailed explanations of signature techniques, hereunder the epoche and reduction from the perspectives of transcendental phenomenology, phenomenological psychology and genetic (generative) phenomenology. Finally, it addresses the problem of articulating phenomenological research questions as well as interview questions that align with the different domains and methodologies. This book is a must read for postgraduate students, dissertation students and qualitative researchers interested in conducting phenomenological research within social psychology, sociology, and education.

Winner of the 2016 ICQI Outstanding Qualitative Book Award Acclaimed qualitative scholar Jane Speedy's world was upended completely after suffering a severe stroke when only in her late 50s. After returning home from the hospital, Speedy took to her iPad to write and draw as a way of making sense of her experience and to aid her recovery. The stunning, fragmented, poetic text and images comprising Staring at the Park depict the events of this difficult journey. It provides an alternative model of engaging the self in a research project in an evocative and artistic way. This highly original book: -uses the seemingly ordinary motif of the park opposite the author's house as the catalyst for a wildly creative autoethnography;-includes three narratives of the author's experience of staring at the park-an imagined murder mystery in the park, a realist ethnography of the park, and the life story (both imagined and real) of her facing her illness and recovery; -offers readers a poetic and performative inquiry into the author's new reality.

Now in its third edition, Cost-Benefit Analysis has been updated, offering readers the perfect introduction to project, programme and policy appraisal using basic tools of financial and economic analysis. The key economic questions of any social cost-benefit analysis are: do the benefits of the project or policy exceed the costs, no matter how widely costs and benefits are spread, and irrespective of whether or not project impacts, such as environmental effects, are reflected in market prices? And which group or groups of individuals receive the benefits and which bear the costs? This book addresses these questions with an emphasis on putting the theory presented in the book into practice. This third edition has several attractive features: Readers are encouraged to develop their own skills by applying the tools and techniques of cost-benefit analysis to case studies and examples, including an analysis of a project which is developed throughout the book. The book emphasizes the use of spreadsheets which are invaluable in providing a framework for the cost-benefit analysis. A dedicated chapter provides guidance for writing up a report which summarises the analysis which has been undertaken. New pedagogical features, including Technical Notes and Examples, have been added as an aid to readers throughout the text. An appendix provides 14 additional case studies which can be developed in class or as assignment projects. Additional material for instructors and students is provided through Support Material maintained by Routledge. This updated edition is an ideal text for a course on cost-benefit analysis where the emphasis is on practical application of principles and equipping students to conduct appraisals. It is also a useful handbook for professionals looking for a logical framework in which to undertake their cost-benefit analysis work.

A treatment of the problems of inference associated with experiments in science, with the emphasis on techniques for dividing the sample information into various parts, such that the diverse problems of inference that arise from repeatable experiments may be addressed. A particularly valuable feature is the large number of practical examples, many of which use data taken from experiments published in various scientific journals. This book evolved from the authors own courses on statistical inference, and assumes an introductory course in probability, including the calculation and manipulation of probability functions and density functions, transformation of variables and the use of Jacobians. While this is a suitable text book for advanced undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D. statistics students, it may also be used as a reference book.

Nonlinear science is by now a well established field of research at the interface of many traditional disciplines and draws on the theoretical concepts developed in physics and mathematics. The present volume gathers the contributions of leading scientists to give the state of the art in many areas strongly influenced by nonlinear research, such as superconduction, optics, lattice dynamics, biology and biomolecular dynamics. While this volume is primarily intended for researchers working in the field care, has been taken that it will also be of benefit to graduate students or nonexpert scientist wishing to familiarize themselves with the current status of research.

As platforms for sharing, re-using and storing data, research data repositories are integral to open science policy. This book provides a comprehensive approach to these data repositories, their functionalities, uses, issues and prospects. Taking France as an example, the current landscape of data repositories is considered, including discussion of the idea of a national repository and a comparative study of several national systems. The international re3data directory is outlined and a collection of six case studies of model repositories, both public and private, are detailed (CDS, Data INRAE, SEANOE, Nakala, Figshare and Data Mendeley).Research Data Sharing and Valorization also includes appendices containing a number of websites and reference texts from the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, and the CNRS. To the authors' knowledge, it is the first book to be entirely devoted to these new platforms and is aimed at researchers, teachers, students and professionals working with scientific and technical data and information.

--This text shows students how to organize their work and write gracefully. --Vivid examples show students effective re-writes of example passages. --Classroom and student homework assignments are provided on the book's web site. --Provides examples from both qualitative and quantitative research. --At 150 pages the book is an effective core text for any social science writing course, but brief enough to be assigned in large required courses like social science research methods in sociology and in fields like education, criminology, allied medical health, and other fields where effective research presentation is an important career skill.

Rethinking Research in the Art Museum presents an original and radical perspective on how research can function as an agent of change in art museums today. The book analyses a range of art organisations and draws on numerous interviews with museum professionals to outline the limitations of existing models of museum research. Arguing for a more democratic formulation in tune with the current needs and ambitions of the art institution, Emily Pringle puts forward a framework for practitioner-led, co-produced research that redefines how knowledge is created in the museum. Recognising that museums today negotiate multiple agendas, the book outlines the value of constructing the art museum professional as a practitioner researcher and their work as a mode of practice-based research, be they educators, archivists, curators or conservators. Locating these arguments within the framework of new museology, critical pedagogy, professional and organisational studies and epistemology, the book offers insights and guidance for those interested in how art museums function and the role research plays within these complex institutions. Rethinking Research in the Art Museum provides a timely and important resource for museum professionals and scholars, students, artists and community members. It should be of particular interest to those invested in exploring how art museums can continue to make the most of their unique resources, whilst becoming more collaborative, inclusive and relevant to the twenty-first century.

The stories in Narrating Estrangement: Autoethnographies of Writing Of(f) Family demonstrate the pain, anguish, and even relief felt by those who contemplate estranging or who are estranged, whether by choice or circumstance. Despite the social assumptions persisting about the everlasting nature of family relationships, when people make the complicated and often difficult decision to disconnect from family members, they experience shame, stigma, and isolation because of social pressures to maintain those relationships at all costs. Each contributor uses the act of storytelling and the autoethnographic mode of scholarship and writing to find clarity in their individual, unique, and complex situations. Several authors' explorations restore some of what they have lost through estrangement-such as a sense of identity, emotional health and well-being, and feelings of belonging-due to the breakdowns in social and family support systems meant to be unconditional and "permanent." The stories display the wide array of reasons why family members become estranged, delving into different types of estrangement, permanent and/or intermittent. In doing so, the writers in this book demonstrate that family relationships are neither easily categorized nor neatly ended-their impact on an individual's life continues and changes, even in and through estrangement. This book adds to the ongoing scholarly conversations about family estrangement for students and researchers interested in autoethnography and qualitative inquiry, in a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences, healthcare, and communication studies.

This book provides insights into the lived experiences of researchers as they negotiate the undulating terrain of the world of paradigms and seek to find their niche. Each chapter presents the journeys of postgraduate candidates, early career researchers and established scholars, starting with an overview of their paradigm, the application of the paradigm to their specific research context, and concluding with the authors reflecting on their identification with and use of the paradigm. The volume acknowledges that determining the paradigm that best aligns with a scholar's personal ideologies and the underlying assumptions of the research can be rather daunting, challenging and perplexing to scholars who are starting their research journey. It offers an accessible exploration of research paradigms and will be a valuable resource for postgraduate researchers, emerging scholars and PhD supervisors.

The path for doctoral students is laden with obstacles and challenges that can cause students to stumble if they are not prepared for what their future holds. In order to avoid the uncertainty, anxiety, and stress that can consume doctoral students, a comprehensive guide is needed that provides the best practices and strategies to support them in their professional journeys. The Research Anthology on Doctoral Student Professional Development considers the difficulties associated with being a doctoral student such as mental health issues and provides different avenues for success such as mentorship and group study. The text seeks to provide a thorough investigation into what it means to be a doctoral student in order to best prepare potential and current students for what to expect. Moreover, it discusses best practices for developing dissertations. Covering a range of topics such as anxiety, research methods, and dissertations, this major reference work is ideal for researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.

The rapid expansion of research with children and young people has compelled researchers to engage carefully and critically with the ethical aspects of their research, including considering the best ways to ensure children's meaningful participation in research in ethically sensitive ways. This international and multi-disciplinary edited collection unpacks some of the ethical complexities of conducting research with children and young people. The chapters in the volume offer an applied perspective to navigating contemporary and complicated ethical issues that can arise in the field of childhood and youth-centred research. The volume moves beyond a focus on standard, procedural research ethics processes and principles to expose some of the situated ethical moments that researchers grapple with in everyday research practice. Offering a guide for researchers around the importance of developing ethical reflexivity, and the obstacles to achieving it, this volume raises new debates around research ethics while sustaining pragmatic guidance for future research developments that can support children and young people's participation in research.

Psychological Statistics: The Basics walks the reader through the core logic of statistical inference and provides a solid grounding in the techniques necessary to understand modern statistical methods in the psychological and behavioral sciences. This book is designed to be a readable account of the role of statistics in the psychological sciences. Rather than providing a comprehensive reference for statistical methods, Psychological Statistics: The Basics gives the reader an introduction to the core procedures of estimation and model comparison, both of which form the cornerstone of statistical inference in psychology and related fields. Instead of relying on statistical recipes, the book gives the reader the big picture and provides a seamless transition to more advanced methods, including Bayesian model comparison. Psychological Statistics: The Basics not only serves as an excellent primer for beginners but it is also the perfect refresher for graduate students, early career psychologists, or anyone else interested in seeing the big picture of statistical inference. Concise and conversational, its highly readable tone will engage any reader who wants to learn the basics of psychological statistics.

This book introduces the fundamentals of research methods and how they apply to the discipline of urban and regional planning. Written at a level appropriate for upper-level undergraduate and beginning master's level students, the text fills a gap in the literature for textbooks on urban planning. Additionally, the book can be used as a reference for planning practitioners and researchers when analyzing quantitative and qualitative data in urban and regional planning and related fields. The volume does not assume advanced knowledge of mathematical formulas. Rather, it begins with the essentials of research methods, such as the identification of the research problems in planning, the literature review, data collection and presentation, descriptive data analysis, and report of findings. Its discipline-specific topics include field research methods, qualitative data analysis, economic and demographic analysis, evaluation research, and methods in sub-disciplines such as land use planning, transportation planning, environmental planning, and housing analysis. Designed with instruction in mind, this book features downloadable materials, including learning outcomes, chapter highlights, chapter review questions, datasets, and certain Excel models. Students will be able to download review questions to enhance the learning process and datasets to practice methods.

Increasingly, social researchers are engaging with marginalized communities and becoming aware of their obligations to those they research. This book identifies issues associated with researching in what have traditionally been recognised as "hard to reach" communities and offers both conceptual analyses and practical suggestions on undertaking research that emphasizes the experience and contribution of those with whom the research is undertaken.

If you believe the impact of management research and education is in decline, this book will help you play your part. Doing Research that Matters looks at an old issue from a new perspective, taking a fresh and cross-disciplinary approach to learning how we can contribute with our work to shaping the future of management. Readers are invited to sit back and relax while they are taken on a journey through the views and work of a group of exemplary professionals: top-management gurus Rob Goffee, Robert Kaplan, Barbara Kellerman, Philip Kotler, John Kotter, Howard Gardner, Costas Markides, Roger Martin, Henry Mintzberg and David Ulrich; Nobel Laureates Gerhard Ertl, Doug Osheroff, Elinor Ostrom, Jack Szostack and Harald zur Hausen; and world renowned astrophysicist Margherita Hack. In his quest to become a better management innovator, Marco Busi shares the wisdom he gained from these interviews to highlight patterns in the way pioneers identify a problem worth researching, generate an outcome worth spreading, and generally conduct a career worth having.

Nowadays statistical surveys represent an important source of scientific knowledge and a consolidated decision support tool in many fields of applications: from social sciences to economics, marketing, medicine, political science, etc. Most of the methodological issues concerning statistical surveys have been investigated by scientists so that the scientific literature offers a plenty of excellent references concerning all the required steps for planning and realizing them. Nevertheless, facing real problems through statistical surveys often requires looking for operative solutions deviating from the consolidated methodology or choosing through several options. The book will focus on theory and applications of statistical surveys, providing remarks and innovative solutions to face problems in survey practice. Topics covered in the book will include all the main issues regarding a planning of a statistical survey: data collection, sampling scheme, questionnaire definition, estimation. A good balance between formal rigor and clarity will allow the book be aimed to practitioners involved in applied research but also to academics interested in recent scientific developments in the field.

This book serves as a convenient entry point for researchers, practitioners, and students to understand the problems and challenges, learn state-of-the-art solutions for their specific needs, and quickly identify new research problems in their domains. The contributors to this volume describe the recent advancements in three related parts: (1) user engagements in the dissemination of information disorder; (2) techniques on detecting and mitigating disinformation; and (3) trending issues such as ethics, blockchain, clickbaits, etc. This edited volume will appeal to students, researchers, and professionals working on disinformation, misinformation and fake news in social media from a unique lens.

Negotiating the Complexities of Qualitative Research in Higher Education illuminates the complex nature of qualitative research, while attending to issues of application. This text addresses the essentials of research through discussion of strategies, ethical issues, and challenges in higher education. In addition to walking through the methodological steps, this text considers the conceptual reasons behind qualitative research and explores how to conduct qualitative research that is rigorous, thoughtful, and theoretically coherent. Seasoned researchers Jones, Torres, and Arminio combine high-level theory with practical applications and examples, showing how research in higher education can produce improved learning outcomes for students, especially those who have been historically marginalized. This book will help students in higher education graduate programs to cultivate an appreciation for the complexity and ambiguity of the research and the ways to think through questions and tensions that emerge in the process. New in This Edition: Emphasis on participant representation and researcher reflexivity and positionality Additional conceptual frameworks that ground qualitative work in higher education and analyze power to reveal structural inequities A wider array of approaches including Participatory Action Research, Critical Discourse Analysis, and visual methodologies and methods A new chapter on writing that covers getting started, writing as analysis, writing to capture complexity, and positioning oneself in writing Updated citations and content throughout to reflect the newest thinking and scholarship New end-of-chapter discussion questions and activities to bolster accessibility of theory and help instructors support students' work on their course research projects.

Cantley's work offers a unique and critical insight into the emergence of a liminal territory that exists between the real and the virtual that mainstream architecture has yet to exploit. Speculative Coolness surveys and collects a highly experimental architecture/design praxis. This book presents a selected body of his work, showcasing projects which seek to understand and explore the conditions, contexts, and media logics which govern this new territory, and to speculate on the Architecture[s] which it might occupy, and which might occupy it. Featuring both resolved projects and work[s] that are under development, this anthology represents constructs that locate themselves somewhere between architecture and its documentative media. The projects are presented alongside a series of critical essays written by pre-eminent architectural practitioners and theorists. These essays explore the disciplinary, social, and cultural context of the work, serving to underscore the importance of these explorations to the expansion of disciplinary knowledge.

Interpreting Basic Statistics gives students valuable practice in interpreting statistical reporting as it actually appears in peer-reviewed journals. Features of the ninth edition: * Covers a broad array of basic statistical concepts, including topics drawn from the New Statistics * Up-to-date journal excerpts reflecting contemporary styles in statistical reporting * Strong emphasis on data visualization * Ancillary materials include data sets with almost two hours of accompanying tutorial videos, which will help students and instructors apply lessons from the book to real-life scenarios About this book Each of the 63 exercises in the book contain three central components: 1) an introduction to a statistical concept, 2) a brief excerpt from a published research article that uses the statistical concept, and 3) a set of questions (with answers) that guides students into deeper learning about the concept. The questions on the journal excerpts promote learning by helping students * interpret information in tables and figures, * perform simple calculations to further their interpretations, * critique data-reporting techniques, and * evaluate procedures used to collect data. The questions in each exercise are divided into two parts: (1) Factual Questions and (2) Questions for Discussion. The Factual Questions require careful reading for details, while the discussion questions show that interpreting statistics is more than a mathematical exercise. These questions require students to apply good judgment as well as statistical reasoning in arriving at appropriate interpretations. Each exercise covers a limited number of topics, making it easy to coordinate the exercises with lectures or a traditional statistics textbook.

RESEARCH METHODS AND STATISTICS: A CRITICAL THINKING APPROACH, 5th Edition, successfully illustrates the integration between statistics and research methods by demonstrating the ways to use statistics in analyzing data collected during research. This combined book adopts an inviting narrative style that speaks directly to readers and draws them into the material, helping them overcome the initial apprehension they may feel at the prospect of learning both subject areas at once. Focusing on the logic of the process and the methodology aspect of research, Jackson incorporates a friendly critical-thinking approach and presents examples and exercises to which readers can relate.