This guide to information-finding sources and techniques is attuned to the needs of researchers in all the social and behavioral sciences with a particular focus on public administration and related fields. This guide is unique in its analyses of how to design the research process in an evolving manner using approaches that reflect combinations of models, methods, and data sources. This guide is also comprehensive in its coverage of a broad spectrum of the important primary and secondary source materials in all their current forms. Students and researchers in the policy sciences, especially at the graduate level, will find this research and reference guide an essential one.

Simpson's broadly conceived guide covers sources and methods of approach to doing social science research. The book opens with an analysis of information-finding and public administration as a special and disparate series of fields for study. Subsequent chapters discuss research strategies and designs and offer annotative bibliographies evaluating the usefulness of primary and secondary sources, examining guides to the literature, the conventional library catalog, journal literature, indexing and abstracting services, computer searches, separately published bibliographies, public statistics, machine-readable data files, government documents, sources of methodology and research instruments, other sources of information, archives and other primary sources, and annual reviews. This topical and logically developed set of chapters makes the guide easy to use, and a general subject index makes this reference most accessible.

This book is designed to encourage and support in-service and pre-service teachers who want to conduct classroom-based action research about literacy teaching and learning. It can be used by individuals, small groups, or in education courses that include action research projects. The aim of the text is to facilitate active engagement in the process of action research. Comprehensive explanations of various research methods and approaches are not included; the content is pragmatic and provides the novice researcher with a solid, experience-based foundation for developing research knowledge and skills. It is hoped that readers, upon completing this text, will continue learning about and conducting action research, honing their skills and increasing their knowledge. Additional resources for further development are included in the final chapter of the book.

This volume sheds new light on the use of quantitative, qualitative and synthetic indicators for the measurement of quality of life in different countries of Latin America. Organized in three parts, the book presents the methodology for the construction of new indicators, discusses quality of urban life from a geographical perspective, and examines quality of life of different populations. The book focuses on the social, economic, political, geographical and demographic dimensions. It covers a wide range of topics, including the ways to measure social, political and spatial inequalities, the changes in urban quality of life, the construction of a synthetic indicator for the assessment of habitability, the measuring of spatial segregation in midsize and smaller cities by using thematic cartography and synthesis maps, and the concept of habitability. It includes research conducted on the quality of life of different population groups: working boys and girls, high-school students, and older people.

Is the behaviour of a crowd in an emergency situation predictable? Are the different patterns occurring in pedestrian flow based on common rules? How does panic change human reactions? These and other questions have been the scope of the international conference on Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics. This book contains elaborate manuscripts written by scientists as well as practitioners from various disciplines: architecture, civil, naval and fire safety engineering, physics, computer science and mathematics. There has been considerable progress over the last decade and the central topic of human motion and behaviour has come more and more into the centre of interest, mainly due to increasing computer power and the development of new simulation models. This is the first conference dealing with modelling and simulation of pedestrian and crowd movement as well as the dynamical aspects of evacuation processes.

The central aim of many studies in population research and demography is to explain cause-effect relationships among variables or events. For decades, population scientists have concentrated their efforts on estimating the 'causes of effects' by applying standard cross-sectional and dynamic regression techniques, with regression coefficients routinely being understood as estimates of causal effects. The standard approach to infer the 'effects of causes' in natural sciences and in psychology is to conduct randomized experiments. In population studies, experimental designs are generally infeasible.

In population studies, most research is based on non-experimental designs (observational or survey designs) and rarely on quasi experiments or natural experiments. Using non-experimental designs to infer causal relationships-i.e. relationships that can ultimately inform policies or interventions-is a complex undertaking. Specifically, treatment effects can be inferred from non-experimental data with a counterfactual approach. In this counterfactual perspective, causal effects are defined as the difference between the potential outcome irrespective of whether or not an individual had received a certain treatment (or experienced a certain cause). The counterfactual approach to estimate effects of causes from quasi-experimental data or from observational studies was first proposed by Rubin in 1974 and further developed by James Heckman and others.

This book presents both theoretical contributions and empirical applications of the counterfactual approach to causal inference.

The industrial monoculture spreading across the globe is highly competitive, greedy and egotistical; in the shaping of educational policy, global communities have accepted a model based on science and technology, which lacks aspects that should be addressed in the goal of education. The book Timeless Teachers and Ethical Visions is a historical inquiry of educational concerns that have developed through the centuries. It is a systematic discussion of prominent educators, including their theories and experiments: St. Thomas Aquinas, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, John Dewey and Paulo Freire. In addition, the inquiry investigates the strengths and weaknesses of the neoliberal educational policy, the suggestions to construct an educational policy considering the common good, criticize uncontrolled individualism while emphasizing the goal of education that enhances community consciousness to the learner. Finally, the aim of this book is to propose an alternative educational policy that is beneficial to the global community.

This book explores the complex problem of how to measure the 'success' of social organisations, projects and activities. Whether improving a local situation, organizing a campaign around sustainability, or assessing the intangible effects of perceived social benefits, currently we have only have a very limited range of mechanisms for judging effectiveness. On the one hand, a market-driven logic demands that qualitative perceptions and experiences are quantified into simplified and numerically defined variables. On the other, community projects are left un-assessed, as one-off outcomes of local and situated processes that must somehow automatically 'make things better'. For academics, researchers and other professionals working in this field this has resulted in the deep frustration of not being able to assess the things that are most centrally important: higher human values such as integrity, trust, respect, equality and social justice. Measuring Intangible Values argues that we can make shared social values - and their measurement - central to decisions about improving civil society. But because these social values are intangible, we need to develop ways of eliciting and validating them at the local level that can capture people's shared meanings across multiple goals and perspectives. We need to develop mechanisms for evaluating whether these values are met that use rigorous but also relevant measures. And we need to develop ways of doing this that are scalable, transferable and comparable across different kinds of organisations and fields of activity. This book will be valuable for researchers in all social science disciplines which touch on human values, such as sociology, social psychology, human geography, social policy, architecture and planning, design and community studies.

social network analysis has been an established eld since the 1950s; in computer and information sciences, in biology, and of course in mathematics (graph theory) networks are central representations of objects and methods (De Nooy, forthc- ing). More detailed bibliometric studies have examined the individual, cognitive, and institutional composition of complex network theory (Morris and Yen 2004), and social network theory (Otte and Rousseau 2002). Among the more impor- .. tant pieces of literature are Borner et al. (2007), Bornholdt and Schuster (2003), Buchanan (2002), Dorogovtsev and Mendes (2003), Otte and Rousseau (2002), Newman (2003), and Watts (1999, 2004). Of these, Borner .. et al. (2007) stand out because they have most recently re-examined network science, considering it as a possible innovation in information science. All the reviews mentioned include efforts to build bridges between different scienti c disciplines and specialties. In this book we draw particular attention to the link between evolutionary economics and statistical physics. Despite this impressive development, claims that an entirely new science has been created (Barabasi ' 2002) have nevertheless been the subject of criticism. - depth analyses of a subset of "complex networks" contributions (1991-2003) have shown that the notion of "complex networks" was already prevalent in a number of different elds before it became practically a "brand name" or the popular label for a new specialty area in physics, or a new cross-disciplinary paradigm.

The book focusses on questions of individual and collective action, the emergence and dynamics of social norms and the feedback between individual behaviour and social phenomena. It discusses traditional modelling approaches to social norms and shows the usefulness of agent-based modelling for the study of these micro-macro interactions. Existing agent-based models of social norms are discussed and it is shown that so far too much priority has been given to parsimonious models and questions of the emergence of norms, with many aspects of social norms, such as norm-change, not being modelled. Juvenile delinquency, group radicalisation and moral decision making are used as case studies for agent-based models of collective action extending existing models by providing an embedding into social networks, social influence via argumentation and a causal action theory of moral decision making. The major contribution of the book is to highlight the multifaceted nature of the dynamics of social norms, consisting not only of emergence, and the importance of embedding of agent-based models into existing theory."

This book proivdes an account of the nature and value of the family within a liberal society. It defines "family," and assesses the right to have a family, whether the family promotes injustice, and what future there is for the family in the face of significant changes.

This book focuses on three interdependent challenges related to managing transitions toward sustainable development, namely (a) mapping sustainability for global knowledge e-networking, (b) extending the value chain of knowledge and e-networking, and (c) engaging in explorations of new methods and venues for further developing knowledge and e-networking. While each of these challenges constitutes fundamentally different types of endeavors, they are highly interconnected. Jointly, they contribute to our expansion of knowledge and its applications in support of transitions toward sustainable development.

The central theme of this book revolves around ways of transcending barriers that impede the use of knowledge and knowledge networking in transitions toward sustainability. In order to transcend these barriers, we examine the potential contributions of innovations in information technologies as well as computation and representation of attendant complexities. A related theme addresses new ways of managing information and systematic observation for the purpose of enhancing the value of knowledge. Finally, this book shows applications of new methodologies and related findings that would contribute to our understanding of sustainablity issues that have not yet been explored. In many ways, this is a book of theory and of practice; and it is one of methods as well as policy and performance.

This book brings feminist theories and concepts to the sociology of risk in an attempt to carve out a framework for intersectional risk theories in times of ambivalence. The authors purport that risk is pervasive in the Global North, and is fast becoming a hegemonic governing principle. In order to understand this crucial aspect of society, sociological risk theories and risk analysis must go beyond power and social inequalities, to incorporate an intersectional risk approach that takes into account gender, race and other critical perspectives. Their proposed framework will provide the tools to assess how risk is situated in different configurations of power, revealing cracks and openings in the weft of power and rethinking risk governance in contemporary society. By utilising an intersectional and nuanced analysis, the everyday understanding, practices and discourses of risk can be explored and better understood. This book will be of interest to scholars and students who value the importance of establishing interdisciplinary networks between risk theory, sociology, politics and more in order to study the contemporary world.

Today, any regular newspaper reader is likely to be exposed to reports on manifold forms of (physical, emotional, sexual) child abuse on the one hand, and abnormal behavior, misconduct or offences of children and minors on the other hand. Occasionally reports on children as victims and children as offenders may appear on the same issue or even the same page. Rather seldom the more complex and largely hidden phenomena of structural hostility or indifference of society with a view to children are being dealt with in the press. Such fragmentary, ambiguous, incoherent or even contradictory perception of children in modem society indicates that, firstly, there is a lack of reliable information on modem childhood, and secondly, children are still treated as a comparatively irrelevant population group in society. This conclusion may be surprising in particular when drawn at the end of The Century of the Child proclaimed by Ellen Key as early as 1902. Actually, there exist unclarities and ambiguities about the evolution of childhood in the last century not only in public opinion, but also in scientific literature. While De Mause with his psycho-historic model of the evolution of childhood, comprising different stages from infanticide, abandonment, ambivalence, intrusion, socialisation to support, underlines the continuous improvement of the condition of childhood throughout history and thus rather confirms Key's expectations, Aries, with his social history of childhood, seems to hold a more culturally pessimistic view.

The authors consider the nature of explanatory models in the social sciences in order to suggest ways in which conceptual systems differ. They suggest that, in many cases, theorists, researchers and clinicians can utilize insights from rival models in building their own models, without sacrificing the integrity of their own work.

In this book, experts in statistics and psychometrics describe classes of linkages, the history of score linkings, data collection designs, and methods used to achieve sound score linkages. They describe and critically discuss applications to a variety of domains. They define what linking is, to distinguish among the varieties of linking and to describe different procedure for linking. Furthermore, they convey the complexity and diversity of linking by covering different areas of linking and providing diverse perspectives.

Given the extreme variety of research issues under investigation today and the multi-million-dollar industry surrounding research, it becomes extremely important that we ensure that research involving Indigenous peoples is ethically as well as methodologically relevant, according to the needs and desires of Indigenous peoples themselves. This distinctive volume presents Indigenous research as strong and self-determined with theories, ethics and methodologies arising from within unique cultural contexts. Yet the volume makes clear that challenges remain, such as working in mainstream institutions that may not regard the work of Indigenous researchers as legitimate 'science'. In addition, it explores a twenty-first-century challenge for Indigenous people researching with their own people, namely the ethical questions that must be addressed when dealing with Indigenous organisations and tribal corporations that have fought for - and won - power and money. The volume also analyses Indigenous/non-Indigenous research partnerships, outlining how they developed respectful and reciprocal relationships of benefit for all, and argues that these kinds of best practice research guidelines are of value to all research communities.

This book focuses on how new pedagogical scenarios, task environments and communication tools within Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environments can favour collaborative and productive confrontations of ideas, evidence, arguments and explanations, or arguing to learn. The first to assemble the work of internationally renowned scholars, this book will be of interest to researchers in education, psychology, computer science, communication and linguistic studies

Statistics indicate that African American females , as a group, fare poorly in the United States. Many live in single-parent households - either as the single parent mother or as the daughter. Many face severe economic hurdles. Yet despite these obstacles, some are performing at exceptional levels academically. Based on interviews with hundreds of successful young women and their families, Overcoming the Odds provides a wealth of information about how and why they have succeeded - what motivates them, how their backgrounds and family relationships have shaped them, even how it feels to be a high academic achiever.

This book provides the first English-language account of the history of Danish sociology, examining it from the late 19th century to the present day. Focusing on the discipline's struggle for recognition in Denmark, it is a case study of how sociological knowledge has entered into ever-changing coalitions with welfare state bureaucracies.

The essays bring to contemporary debates about educational research both a first hand familiarity with the practices and arguments of the educational research community and a clear grasp of the ways in which philosophical sources and analysis can inform them. They are both measured and passionate - sparked by an intense personal curiosity, which takes Bridges into unexpected resources and territory (such as the insights of museology into debates on educational research as narrative fiction) as well as more familiar material relating to, for example, issues about the assessment of quality of educational research and the concern for its relevance.

The book makes an articulate case, by its own example as well as in its argument, for the continuing contribution of philosophical thinking to the development and critique of educational research. It will be essential reading for researchers already engaged in this development and for masters and doctoral students who are coming to terms with educational research, and it offers a contribution to the literature in philosophy of education which is richly grounded in the wider field of educational research.

The 77th Annual International Meeting of the Psychometric Society (IMPS) brought together quantitative researchers who focus on methods relevant to psychology. The conference included workshops, invited talks by well-known scholars, and presentations of submitted papers and posters. It was hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and took place between the 9th and 12th of July, 2012. The chapters of this volume are based on presentations from the meeting and reflect the latest work in the field. Topics with a primarily measurement focus include studies of item response theory, computerized adaptive testing, cognitive diagnostic modeling, and psychological scaling. Additional psychometric topics relate to structural equation modeling, factor analysis, causal modeling, mediation, missing data methods, and longitudinal data analysis, among others. The papers in this volume will be especially useful for researchers (graduate students and other quantitative researchers) in the social sciences who use quantitative methods, particularly psychologists. Most readers will benefit from some prior knowledge of statistical methods in reading the chapters.

Involvement of community partners in the structure and design of services is largely accepted in principle, but its practice is heavily contested. This book argues that the co-production of research is one of the best ways to involve community partners. As well as having intrinsic value in and of itself, research embeds a culture of learning, co-production and of valuing research within organizations. It also creates a mechanism for developing evidence for, monitoring and evaluating subsequent ideas and initiatives that arise from other co-production initiatives. The book makes a case for research to be a synthesis of participatory research, critical pedagogy, peer research and community organizing. It develops a model called Participatory Pedagogic Impact Research (PPIR). Participatory research is often criticized for not having the impact it promises. PPIR ensures that the issues chosen, and the recommendations developed, serve the mutual self-interest of stakeholders, are realistic and realizable. At the same time this approach pushes the balance of power towards the oppressed using methods of dissemination that hold decision makers to account and create real change. PPIR also develops a robust method for creatively identifying issues, methods and analytic frameworks. Its third section details case studies across Europe and the United States of PPIR in action with professional researchers' and community partners' reflections on these experiences. This book gives a unique articulation of what makes for genuinely critical reflective spaces, something underdeveloped in the literature. It should be considered essential reading for both participatory research academics and those involved in health and social care services in the planning, commissioning and delivery of services.

Late in a career of more than sixty years, Thomas Burch, an internationally known social demographer, undertook a wide-ranging methodological critique of demography. This open access volume contains a selection of resulting papers, some previously unpublished, some published but not readily accessible. Rejecting the idea that demography is simply a branch of applied statistics, his work views it as an autonomous and complete scientific discipline. When viewed from the perspective of modern philosophy of science, specifically the semantic or model-based school, demography is a balanced discipline, with a rich body of techniques and data, but also with more and better theories than generally recognized. As demonstrated in this book, some demographic techniques can also be seen as theoretical models, and some substantive/behavioral models, commonly rejected as theory because of inconsistent observations, are now seen as valuable theoretical models, for example demographic transition theory. This book shows how demography can build a strong theoretical edifice on its broad and deep empirical foundation by adoption of the model-based approach to science. But the full-fruits of this approach will require demographers to make greater use of computer modeling in the statement and manipulation of theoretical ideas, as well as for numerical computation.