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.

Despite the important methodological critiques of the mainstream offered by heterodox economics, the dominant research method taught in heterodox programmes remains econometrics. This compelling handbook provides a comprehensive introduction to a range of alternative research methods, invaluable for analyzing the data prominent in heterodox studies. Providing a solid basis for a mixed methods approach to economic investigations, the expertly crafted contributions are split into three distinct sections: philosophical foundation and research strategy, research methods and data collection, and applications. Introductions to a host of invaluable methods such as survey, historical, ethnographic, experimental and mixed approaches, together with factor, cluster, complex, and social network analytics are complemented by descriptions of applications in practice. Practical and expansive, this handbook is highly pertinent for students and scholars of economics, particularly those dedicated to heterodox approaches, as it provides a solid reference for mixed methods not available in mainstream economics research methods courses. Contributors: V. Adams, S. Austen, A. Basole, M. Bewley, N. Bracarense, T. Cardao-Pito, Z.B. Catanzarite, L. Chester, J.F. Cogliano, B. Cronin, B. Davidson, C.D. Deere, P. Downward, A. Gezici, G.C. Gu, T. Jefferson, X. Jiang, A.R. Johnson, T.E. Lambert, F.S. Lee, G. Lewin, N.O. Martins, A. Mearman, M. Meurs, J. Morgan, J.K. Moudud, J. Munoz, M.J. Murray, R. Ong, L. Pickbourn, S. Ramnarain, S.K. Schroeder, R. Sharp, R. Szostack, G. Zezza

Approaching qualitative research for the first time and unsure how to get started? This book captures what you need to know to jump into effective qualitative or mixed methods research. The book gets you up to speed on the specifics of qualitative research, while showing how it complements quantitative research and how to draw on and hone your existing skills to conduct impactful research. It covers the whole research process, from explaining what theories are for and planning your research design, through gathering and working with your data, to developing good practice in research reporting and dissemination. The book also: * Showcases the value of qualitative research, helping you understand its relevance, credibility and validity. * Grapples with how to decolonise your approach, do research in an ethical and inclusive way, and debias your thinking. * Challenges you to rethink how you conduct research and choose the most appropriate methods for your project. Giving you a fuller understanding of methods and methodologies to benefit your work regardless of the approach you choose, this book encourages you to discover the joy of qualitative research.

Research doesn't exist in a bubble but co-exists with a multitude of other tasks and commitments, yet there is more need for people to save time than ever before. Brilliantly attuned to the demands placed on researchers, this book considers how students, academics and professionals alike can save time and stress without compromising the quality of their research or its outcomes. This third edition: - is fully revised with new chapters on research and evaluation ethics, creative methods of collecting data and how research can make a positive difference; - includes illustrative case studies throughout the book, and each chapter concludes with exercises, discussion questions and a debate topic; - is accompanied by a fully updated companion website. This supportive book is designed for any student or practitioner who wants to know how to do research on top of their main job, and still have a life.

Combining the latest thinking in the field with practical, step-by-step guidance, the Third Edition of John W. Creswell and Vicki L. Plano Clark's Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research now covers seven mixed methods designs with accompanying journal articles illustrating each design. The authors walk readers through the entire research process, and present updated examples from published mixed methods studies drawn from multiple disciplines. In addition, this new edition includes information about the dynamic and evolving nature of the field of mixed methods research, four additional methodological approaches, and coverage of new directions in mixed methods.

This book presents an overview of the wide variety of digital genres used by researchers to produce and communicate knowledge, perform new identities and evaluate research outputs. It explores the role of digital genres in the repertoires of genres used by local communities of researchers to communicate both locally and globally, both with experts and the interested public, and sheds light on the purposes for which researchers engage in digital communication and on the semiotic resources they deploy to achieve these purposes. The authors discuss the affordances of digital genres but also the challenges that they pose to researchers who engage in digital communication. The book explores what researchers can do with these genres, what meanings they can make, who they interact with, what identities they can construct and what new relations they establish, and, finally, what language(s) they deploy in carrying out all these practices.

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.

Mastering the basic concepts of mathematics is the key to understanding other subjects such as Economics, Finance, Statistics, and Accounting. Mathematics for Finance, Business and Economics is written informally for easy comprehension. Unlike traditional textbooks it provides a combination of explanations, exploration and real-life applications of major concepts.

Mathematics for Finance, Business and Economics discusses elementary mathematical operations, linear and non-linear functions and equations, differentiation and optimization, economic functions, summation, percentages and interest, arithmetic and geometric series, present and future values of annuities, matrices and Markov chains.

Aided by the discussion of real-world problems and solutions, students across the business and economics disciplines will find this textbook perfect for gaining an understanding of a core plank of their studies.

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.

Navigating research careers is often highly challenging for early career researchers (ECRs) in the social sciences. The ability to thrive in research careers is complex and requires "soft" people and management skills and resilience that often cannot be formally taught through university coursework. Written from a peer perspective, this book provides guidance and establishes emotional rapport on topical issues relevant for ECRs in academia and industry. The authors are ECRs who have been successful in navigating their careers, and they seek to connect with readers in a supportive and collegial manner. Each chapter includes elements of story-telling and scientific thinking and is organized into three parts: (1) a personal story that is relevant to the topic; (2) key content on professional and personal effectiveness based on evidence in the psychological, sociological, and/or management sciences; and (3) action points and practical recommendations. The topics covered are specifically curated for people considering undertaking research careers or already working in research, including: Work Hard, Snore Hard: Recovery from Work for Early Career Researchers Networking and Collaborating in Academia: Increasing Your Scientific Impact and Having Fun in the Process Accelerating Your Research Career with Open Science Engaging with the Press and Media Make Your Science Go Viral: How to Maximize the Impact of Your Research Exploring the Horizon: Navigating Research Careers Outside of Academia Thinking like an Implementation Scientist and Applying Your Research in Practice Survival Guide for Early Career Researchers summarizes relevant evidence-based research to offer advice in strategic but also supportive ways to ECRs. It is an essential go-to practical resource for PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty. This book will also benefit senior researchers who are serving as mentors or delivering professional development programs, administrators and educators in institutions of higher learning, and anyone with an interest in building a successful research career.

A systematic, innovative introduction to the field of network analysis, Network Psychometrics with R: A Guide for Behavioral and Social Scientists provides a comprehensive overview of and guide to both the theoretical foundations of network psychometrics as well as modelling techniques developed from this perspective. Written by pioneers in the field, this textbook showcases cutting-edge methods in an easily accessible format, accompanied by problem sets and code. After working through this book, readers will be able to understand the theoretical foundations behind network modelling, infer network topology, and estimate network parameters from different sources of data. This book features an introduction on the statistical programming language R that guides readers on how to analyse network structures and their stability using R. While Network Psychometrics with R is written in the context of social and behavioral science, the methods introduced in this book are widely applicable to data sets from related fields of study. Additionally, while the text is written in a non-technical manner, technical content is highlighted in textboxes for the interested reader. Network Psychometrics with R is ideal for instructors and students of undergraduate and graduate level courses and workshops in the field of network psychometrics as well as established researchers looking to master new methods. This book is accompanied by a companion website with resources for both students and lecturers.

Climate disruption, overpopulation, biodiversity loss, the threats of financial collapse, large-scale damage to our natural and social environments and eroding democracy are all becoming critically important concerns. The editors of this timely book assert that these problems are not separate, but all stem from our overreliance on an out-dated approach to economics that puts growth of production and consumption above all else. Ecological economics can help create the future that most people want - a future that is prosperous, just, equitable and sustainable. This forward-thinking book lays out an alternative approach that places the sustainable wellbeing of humans and the rest of nature as the overarching goal. Each of the book s chapters, written by a diverse collection of scholars and practitioners, outlines a research and action agenda for how this future can look and possible actions for its realization. Sustainable Wellbeing Futures will be of value to academics and students researching environmental and ecological economics, as well as individuals interested in gaining a greater understanding of the concept of a wellbeing future and how we might act to achieve it. Contributors include: M. Abrams, J. Adams, G. Alperovitz, J. Ament, D. Baker, L. Barbeiri, D. Barmes, S. Bliss, R. Boumans, K. Brevik, P. Brown, M. Burke, B.S. Caniglia, C. Carmichael, J.C. Castilla-Rho, R. Costanza, A. Damiano, T. Dietz, E.M.B. Doran, B. Dube, M. Egler, J.D. Erickson, S.C. Farber, J. Farley, L. Fioramonti, M.-J.V. Fox, K. Gallagher, T. Gladkikh, R.K. Gould, J. Gourevitch, J. Gowdy, C. Guay-Boutet, M. Hensher, R.B. Howarth, T. Jackson, X. Ji, D.C. Kenny, K. Kish, C. Koliba, J. Kolodinsky, N. Kosoy, I. Kubiszewski, M.T. Lucas, V. Luzadis, D. Markowitz, S. Marshall, J. McGlade, M. Moser, S. O'Hara, C. Orr, P. Perez, K. Pickett, S. Posner, S. Quilley, T.H. Ricketts, A.B. Schneider, D. Spethmann, R. Svartzman, S. Telle, K. Trebeck, J. Valcour, M. Venkatesan, P.A. Victor, A. Voinov, S. Wallis, R. Wilkinson, G. Yahya Haage, Y. Yoshida, E. Zencey, A. Zia

Corruption, crime, economic inequality, religious fundamentalism, financial crises, environmental degradation, population ageing, gender inequality, large-scale migration... This book tackles many of the most pressing problems facing societies today. The authors demonstrate that similar social mechanisms lie behind many of these seemingly disparate problems. Indeed, many societal problems can be traced back to behaviours that are perfectly rational and often well-intended from an individual perspective. Yet, taken together these behaviours can - paradoxically - give rise to unintended and undesirable outcomes at the society level. In addition to addressing the causes of societal problems, the book explains why some problems rank higher on the public agenda than others. Moreover, it is shown how government intervention may sometimes provide a cure, yet other times exacerbate existing problems or create new problems of its own. This book includes an extensive amount of data on trends and geographic variation in the prevalence of different problems, as well as telling examples - both recent and historical - from a variety of countries to support its key arguments. Employing a bold multidisciplinary approach, the authors draw on insights from across the social sciences, including sociology, economics, anthropology, criminology, and psychology. Throughout the book, students are introduced to analytical concepts such as free-riding, herding behaviour, principal-agent relations and moral hazard. These concepts are essential tools for better understanding the roots of many societal problems that regularly make headlines in the news. This improved understanding will, in turn, be critical for ultimately finding solutions to these problems.

Imagination and Arts-Based Practices for Integration in Research explores the philosophical assumptions, defining concepts, and methodological issues related to the introduction of intentional imaginative mental processes and arts-based practices into some or all phases of investigation, and data integration of particular research approaches. Although typically central to mixed, multi-method, and arts-based research, the practice of integrating diverse forms of data might be applied to other research traditions. The integration of data diversity represents a deviation from traditional scientific thinking demanding a dramatic paradigm shift inclusive of multi-dimensional, nondiscursive, aesthetic, rhizomatic, and imaginative mental processes. In this book, imaginative mental processes and arts-based practices are described and illustrated as approaches to investigating, revealing, and understanding the elusive yet essential meanings hidden in the crevices, shadows, and liminal spaces in between diverse data sets leading to integration, illumination, and synthesis. The book will appeal to arts-based, mixed methods, and adventurous researchers. It walks the reader through the revisionist philosophical assumptions and offers aligned methodological suggestions to the induction of imaginative mental processes and arts-based practices into research.

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.

In eight clear-cut steps, this book provides a systematic introduction to qualitative content analysis and how you can use it in each stage of your research project, no matter the type or amount of data. Developed by a leading expert in the field and based on years of teaching experience, this book offers an essential framework for interpreting qualitative data for any social sciences student or researcher. To support you in choosing the best approach for your research, this book includes: * Examples of how QCA can be applied to various research processes * An introduction to text analysis and its different approaches * Discussions of how to use QCA software to benefit your research * An online how-to manual to help you get the most out of QCAmap software. It also introduces the process of scientific research, and integrates qualitative and quantitative analysis into the step-by-step approach.

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 edited volume uses an interdisciplinary approach to art and design that not only reframes but also repositions agendas and actions to address fragmented global systems. Contributors explore the pluriverse of art and design through epistemological and methodological considerations. What kinds of sustainable ways are there for knowledge transfer, supporting plural agendas, finding novel ways for unsettling conversations, unlearning and learning and challenging power structures with marginalised groups and contexts through art and design? The main themes of the book are art and design methods, epistemologies and practices that provide critical, interdisciplinary, pluriversal and decolonial considerations. The book challenges the domination of the white logic of art and design and shifts away from the Anglo-European one-world system towards the pluriverse. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, visual studies, arts-based research, and design studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis. com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Semantic Network Analysis in Social Sciences introduces the fundamentals of semantic network analysis and its applications in the social sciences. Readers learn how to easily transform any given text into a visual network of words co-occurring together, a process that allows mapping the main themes appearing in the text and revealing its main narratives and biases. Semantic network analysis is particularly useful today with the increasing volumes of text-based information available. It is one of the developing, cutting-edge methods to organize, identify patterns and structures, and understand the meanings of our information society. The first chapters in this book offer step-by-step guidelines for conducting semantic network analysis, including choosing and preparing the text, selecting desired words, constructing the networks, and interpreting their meanings. Free software tools and code are also presented. The rest of the book displays state-of-the-art studies from around the world that apply this method to explore news, political speeches, social media content, and even to organize interview transcripts and literature reviews. Aimed at scholars with no previous knowledge in the field, this book can be used as a main or a supplementary textbook for general courses on research methods or network analysis courses, as well as a starting point to conduct your own content analysis of large texts.

In recent years, crucial questions have been raised about anthropology as a discipline, such as whether ethnography is central to the subject, and how imagination, reality and truth are joined in anthropological enterprises. These interventions have impacted anthropologists and scholars at large. This volume contributes to the debate about the interrelationships between ethnography and anthropology and takes it to a new plane. Six anthropologists with field experience in Egypt, Greece, India, Laos, Mauritius, Thailand and Switzerland critically discuss these propositions in order to renew anthropology for the future. The volume concludes with an Afterword from Tim Ingold.

This book deals with the evaluation of scholarly research performance, and focuses on the contribution of scholarly work to the advancement of scholarly knowledge. Its principal question is: how can citation analysis be used properly as a tool in the assessment of such a contribution?

Citation analysis involves the construction and application of a series of indicators of the a ~impacta (TM), a ~influencea (TM) or a ~qualitya (TM) of scholarly work, derived from references cited in footnotes or bibliographies of scholarly research publications. It describes primarily the use of data extracted from the Science Citation Index and the Web of Science, published by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)/Thomson Scientific. But many aspects to which this book dedicates attention relate to citation analysis in general,

It provides a wide range of important facts, and corrects a number of common misunderstandings about citation analysis. It introduces basic notions and distinctions, and deals both with theoretical and technical aspects, and with its applicability in various policy contexts, at the level of individual scholars, research groups, departments, institutions, national scholarly systems, disciplines or subfields, and scholarly journals.

Although the major part of the analysis relates to the basic science a" a domain in which citation analysis is used most frequently a" this book also addresses its uses and limits in the applied and technical sciences, social sciences and humanities.

It reveals the enormous potential of quantitative, bibliometric analyses of the scholarly literature for a deeper understanding of scholarly activity andperformance, and highlights their policy relevance. But this book is also critical, underlines the limits of citation analysis in research evaluation, and issues warnings for potential misuse. It proposes criteria for proper use of citation analysis as a research evaluation tool.

In order to be used properly as a research evaluation tool, it is essential that all participants have insight into the nature of citation analysis, how its indicators are constructed and calculated, what the various theoretical positions state about what they measure, and what are their potentialities and limitations, particularly in relation to peer review. This book aims at providing such insight.

Technological developments in recent years have been tremendous. This evolution is visible in companies through technological equipment, computerized procedures, and management practices associated with technologies. One of the management practices that is visible is related to business intelligence and analytics (BI&A). Concepts such as data warehousing, key performance indicators (KPIs), data mining, and dashboards are changing the business arena. This book aims to promote research related to these new trends that open up a new field of research in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) area. Features Focuses on the more recent research findings occurring in the fields of BI&A Conveys how companies in the developed world are facing today's technological challenges Shares knowledge and insights on an international scale Provides different options and strategies to manage competitive organizations Addresses several dimensions of BI&A in favor of SMEs

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.

* The Mental Models construction creates a simple framework that can be easily retrieved from memory and applied to policing problems * Designed to accompany the lessons of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing's curriculum to teach practitioners, researchers, and academics the necessary skills to identify, interpret, integrate, and produce research to inform police policies and practices * Equips readers with multiple models with which to deal with a problem rather than proposing a simplistic strategy

Feminist Speculations and the Practice of Research-Creation provides a unique introduction to research-creation as a methodology, and a series of exemplifications of research-creation projects in practice with a range of participants including secondary school students, artists, and academics. In conversation with leading scholars in the field, the book outlines research-creation as transdisciplinary praxis embedded in queer-feminist anti-racist politics. It provides a methodological overview of how the author approaches research-creation projects at the intersection of literary arts, textuality, artistic practice, and pedagogies of writing, drawing on concepts related to the feminist materialisms, including speculative thought, affect theories, queer theory, and process philosophy. Further, it troubles representationalism in qualitative research in the arts. The book demonstrates how research-creation operates through the making of or curating of art or cultural productions as an integral part of the research process. The exemplification chapters engage with the author's research-creation events with diverse participants all focused on text-based artistic projects including narratives, inter-textual marginalia art, postcards, songs, and computer-generated scripts. The book is aimed at graduate students and early career researchers who mobilize the literary arts, theory, and research in transdisciplinary settings.