REES-4398/5501: Senior Colloquium/Capstone Seminar

This user-friendly book provides a step-by-step guide to using the five major approaches to research design: quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and community-based participatory research. Chapters on each approach follow a unique format--they present a template for a research proposal and explain in detail how to conceptualize and fill in every section. Terminology commonly used within each approach is identified, and key moments of ethical decision making are flagged. Interdisciplinary research examples draw on current events and social justice topics. Unique coverage includes hot topics: replication studies and data sharing, tailoring proposals to different audiences, and more. The book also includes a general introduction to social research; an in-depth, practical discussion of ethics; and a chapter on how to begin a research study, from planning a topic to developing a research question via a literature review.

The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations offers a comprehensive overview of research processes in social science -- from the ideation and design of research projects, through the construction of theoretical arguments, to conceptualization, measurement, & data collection, and quantitative & qualitative empirical analysis -- exposited through 65 major new contributions from leading international methodologists.    Each chapter surveys, builds upon, and extends the modern state of the art in its area. Following through its six-part organization, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and practicing academics will be guided through the design, methods, and analysis of issues in Political Science and International Relations:   Part One: Formulating Good Research Questions & Designing Good Research Projects Part Two: Methods of Theoretical Argumentation Part Three: Conceptualization & Measurement Part Four: Large-Scale Data Collection & Representation Methods Part Five: Quantitative-Empirical Methods Part Six: Qualitative & "Mixed" Methods    

This text consolidates the how's and why's of researching powerful people. Written by a leading authority in the field, this book introduces the reader to a significant area of methodology, and provides a research-based contribution to elite and leadership studies. It offers a truly international perspective that will appeal to those studying and working with elites in a variety of contexts. Useful features include:A variety of case studies and examples linked to over 1000 sources and resourcesExtensive use of figures throughout the text to illustrate key pointsTemplates and models for planning and presentationsThe book promotes a practical future-oriented approach to support and inspire academic, professional and civil society researchers at all levels. It introduces new research frameworks and facilitates critical techniques through Critical Process Analysis.This is a must-have resource and an excellent new addition to the field of elite and leadership studies.

Quantitative Research for the Qualitative Researcher is a concise, supplemental text that provides qualitatively oriented students and researchers with the requisite skills for conducting quantitative research. Throughout the book, authors Laura M. O'Dwyer and James A. Bernauer provide ample support and guidance to prepare readers both cognitively and attitudinally to conduct high quality research in the quantitative tradition. Highlighting the complementary nature of quantitative and qualitative research, they effectively explain the fundamental structure and purposes of design, measurement, and statistics within the framework of a research report, (including a dissertation). The text encourages the reader to see quantitative methodology for what it is, a process for systematically discovering new knowledge that can help describe, explain, and predict the world around us.

Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods is a student-friendly introduction to quantitative research methods and basic statistics. It uses a detective theme throughout the text to show how quantitative methods have been used to solve real-life problems. The book focuses on principles and techniques that are appropriate to introductory level courses in media, psychology and sociology. Examples and illustrations are drawn from historical and contemporary research in the social sciences. The original CD-ROM accompanying the book and its content are no longer available.

The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research presents a comprehensive overview of the field of qualitative research. It is intended for students of all levels, faculty, and researchers across the social sciences. This handbook provides a broad introduction to the field of qualitative research to those with little to no background in the subject, while simultaneously providing substantive contributions to the field that will be of interest to even the mostexperienced researchers. It serves as a user-friendly teaching tool suitable for a range of undergraduate or graduate courses, as well as individuals working on their thesis or other research projects.With a focus on methodological instruction, this volume offers both a retrospective and prospective view of the field. The first two sections explore the history of the field, ethics, and philosophical/theoretical approaches. The next three sections focus on the major methods of qualitative practiceas well as newer approaches (such as arts-based research and internet research); area studies often excluded (such as museum studies and disaster studies); and mixed methods and participatory methods (such as community-based research). The next section covers key issues including data analysis,interpretation, writing and assessment. The final section offers a commentary about politics and research and the move towards public scholarship.

Qualitative research design is continually evolving. It is not only more established in disciplines beyond the traditional social sciences in which it is a standard choice, but also just as impacted by the changes in what data, technologies, and approaches researchers are using. This Handbook takes readers through the foundational theories, functions, strategies, and approaches to qualitative research design, before showcasing how it negotiates different data and research environments and produces credible, actionable impact beyond the study. Containing contributions from over 90 top scholars from a range of social science disciplines, this Handbook is not just an anthology of different qualitative research designs and how/when to use them; it is a complete exploration of how and why these designs are shaped and how, why, and into what they are evolving. This is a valuable resource for Master's and PhD level students, faculty members, and researchers across a wide range of disciplines such as health, nursing, psychology, social work, sociology, and education. Volume One: Part I: Concepts of Designing Designs in Qualitative Research Part 2: Theories and Epistemological Contexts of Designing Qualitative Research Part 3: Elements of Designing Qualitative Research Part 4: Basic Designs and Research Strategies in Qualitative Research Part 5: Mixing Methods in Designing Qualitative Research Volume Two: Part 6: Designing Qualitative Research for Specific Kinds of Data Part 7: Designing Qualitative Online and Multimodal Research Part 8: Designing Qualitative Research for Specific Groups and Areas Part 9: Designing Qualitative Research in Disciplinary Fields Part 10: Designing Qualitative Research for Impact

Qualitative interviewing is among the most widely used methods in the social sciences, but it is arguably the least understood. In The Science and Art of Interviewing, Kathleen Gerson and Sarah Damaske offer clear, theoretically informed and empirically rich strategies for conducting interviewstudies. They present both a rationale and guide to the science -and art - of in-depth interviewing to take readers through all the steps in the research process, from the initial stage of formulating a question to the final one of presenting the results. Gerson and Damaske show readers how todevelop a research design for interviewing, decide on and find an appropriate sample, construct a questionnaire, conduct probing interviews, and analyze the data they collect. At each stage, they also provide practical tips about how to address the ever-present, but rarely discussed challenges thatqualitative researchers routinely encounter, particularly emphasizing the relationship between conducting well-crafted research and building powerful social theories. With an engaging, accessible style, The Science and Art of Interviewing targets a wide range of audiences, from upper-levelundergraduates and graduate methods courses to students embarking on their dissertations to seasoned researchers at all stages of their careers.

Qualitative interviewing has today become one of the most common research methods across the human and social sciences, but it is an approach that comes in different guises. Qualitative Interviewing will help its readers write, represent, understand, and critique qualitative interview research in its many forms as currently practiced. The book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to qualitative interviewing by presenting a variegated landscape of how conversations have been used for knowledge-producing purposes.

The robust, real-world approach makes this book appropriate for practitioner researchers and postgraduate students up to PhD level. Covers distance and face-to-face interviewing, from the un-structured and naturalistic to the highly structured, focused and time-efficient.

Used by everyone from survey researchers to oral historians, the interview may be the most basic and essential field method in the qualitative researcher's toolkit. In this concise, student-friendly guide, Fontana and Prokos give a cogent introduction to the history, types, and methods of interviewing in the social sciences. They outline the range of ways in which interviews are conducted, both structured and unstructured, then provide instruction on conducting and interpreting interviews, and address ethical considerations in eliciting information from people. The authors also point to recent and future trends that will affect the use of this method. For researchers who need a primer and for students in methods courses or assigned fieldwork projects in other courses across the social sciences, this short, inexpensive volume is ideal.

More people than ever are using case studies in research, yet there is very little guidance on how to construct case studies effectively. Drawing on his vast experience of teaching and mentoring researchers, Bill Gillham here provides a comprehensive guide to this popular method of research.Using real-life examples throughout, Case Study Research Methods guides the reader through all the stages of a case study, from initial design to the processing and writing up of findings. Especially detailed guidance offered on observation techniques, using documentary and electronic sources and physical artifacts, conducting interviews and analyzing and writing up case-study data.