Retains complete coverage of the first edition, while amplifying key areas such as direct/indirect effects, standardized/unstandardized variables, multicollinie-arity, and nonrecursive modeling.

Polling and the Public helps readers become savvy consumers of public opinion polls, offering solid grounding on how the media cover them, their use in campaigns and elections, and their interpretation. This trusted, brief guide by Herb Asher also provides a non-technical explanation of the methodology of polling so that students become informed participants in political discourse. Fully updated with new data and scholarship, the Ninth Edition examines rec...

The perfect book for any student taking a research methods course for the first time!The new edition of David and Sutton′s text provides those new to social research with a comprehensive introduction to the theory, logic and practical methods of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research. Covering all aspects of research design, data collection, data analysis and writing up, Social Research: An Introduction is the essential companion for all undergraduate and postgraduate...

Narrative Inquiry provides both a new theoretical orientation and a set of practical techniques that students and experienced researchers can use to conduct narrative research. Explaining the principles of what she terms "dynamic narrating," author Colette Daiute provides an approach to narrative inquiry that builds on practices of daily life where we use storytelling to connect with other people, deal with social structures, make sense of surrounding events, and craft our...

The third edition of The SAGE Handbook of Action Research presents an updated version of the bestselling text, including new chapters covering emerging areas in healthcare, social work, education and international development, as well as an expanded ‘skills’ section which includes new consultant-relevant materials.Building on the strength of the previous landmark editions, Hilary Bradbury has carefully developed this edition to ensure it follows in...

Ideal for students, novice researchers, or professionals, this indispensable resource serves as a road map for readers who need to analyze and apply research findings. It helps them think critically about the credibility of what they are reading by showing them how to identify problems and develop constructive questions.Key FeaturesAssumes no prior knowledge of research proceduresProvides readers with a step-by-step format for decoding the c...

Examines the use of Rasch measurement models in the social sciences. This lucid introduction first focuses on general principles, so the applications and algebra of the model can be readily understood. Andrich then connects Rasch models to common procedures for social science measurement. Avoiding polemics, Andrich′s presentation allows comparison between the Rasch models and other, better known measurement approaches. Rasch Models For Measurement concentrates on the simple logistic model,...

Hierarchical Linear Modeling provides a brief, easy-to-read guide to implementing hierarchical linear modeling using three leading software platforms, followed by a set of original "how-to" application articles following a standardized instructional format. The Guide portion consists of five chapters that provide an overview of HLM, discussion of methodological assumptions, and parallel worked model examples in SPSS, SAS, and HLM software. The Applications portion consists...

Monte Carlo Simulation is a method of evaluating substantive hypotheses and statistical estimators by developing a computer algorithm to simulate a population, drawing multiple samples from this pseudo-population, and evaluating estimates obtained from these samples. Christopher Z. Mooney explains the logic behind Monte Carlo Simulation and demonstrates its uses for social and behavioral research in conducting inference using statistics with only weak mathematical theory, ...

Qualitative researchers have long made use of many different interview forms. Yet, for novice researchers, making the connections between "theory" and "method" is not always easy. This book provides a theoretically-informed guide for researchers learning how to interview in the social sciences.In order to undertake quality research using qualitative interviews, a researcher must be able to theorize the application of interviews to investigate research problems in social science res...

An essential tool for those planning to undertake social research, this exceptional book tackles many of the specific concerns and issues that arise. A well structured text, it offers a comprehensive introduction to a range of important areas in project management, including:commissioning researchpreparing a tender or grant applicationrisk and stakeholder analysismanaging the field work and data analysisfinancial managementeth...

Latent growth curve modeling (LGM)—a special case of confirmatory factor analysis designed to model change over time—is an indispensable and increasingly ubiquitous approach for modeling longitudinal data. This volume introduces LGM techniques to researchers, provides easy-to-follow, didactic examples of several common growth modeling approaches, and highlights recent advancements regarding the treatment of missing data, parameter estimation, and model fit.The book covers the basic...