Author Profile

Dr. Ben K. Kelley is an Assistant Professor in the Inquiry Methodology Program at Indiana University, where his research focuses on methodological and statistical issues that arise in the behavioral, educational, and social sciences. More specifically, Dr. Kelley's research focuses on the design of research studies, with an emphasis on sample size planning from the power analytic and accuracy in parameter estimation approaches, and the analysis of change, with an emphasis on multilevel change models nonlinear in their parameters.

About The Book

Across the social sciences and humanities, there are differences in the development and popularity of particular methods, differences that are also evident cross-nationally. From the 1930s onward survey research and statistical methods have assumed a dominant position, whereas qualitative methods have gained ground more recently. There has also been a recent resurgence of interest both in the social sciences and humanities in quantitative methods and in mathematical modes of inquiry, for example, fuzzy logic. Mixing different and the innovative use of statistical analysis are not, however, recent phenomena. The growth of explicit interest in mixed-methods research designs dates from the late 1980s, resulting in a number of specialist texts but the practice has historically been intrinsic to many types of social science research. In qualitative research, many researchers have incorporated several quantitative approaches such as cross tabulation of their data and some have adopted a multivariate approach. In 1987 Charles Rag in published his text on qualitative comparative methods, which lies in between qualitative and quantitative methods and draws upon logic rather than statistical probability. Historically there has been a plurality of practices of social research. What distinguishes the social sciences today is a positive orientation toward engaging in different types of research practice. Present-day scholars undertaking empirical research view methods as tools or optics to be applied to several different kinds of research questions that they and their funders seek to address in carrying out research. Coding observations and subjecting them to statistical processes is one way of creating and explaining patterns. Case study and comparative approaches are others: the explication of the logic that brings together the clues about a case and has an explanatory purpose with reference to other cases. These two approaches can also be combined as in embedded case studies that employ both a case study design and a survey design. The importance of scientific investigation and research is becoming more pronounced in today's society, with many organizations relying on this research to make informed decisions. As such, research methodology courses have been integrated into undergraduate and master's programs at most academic institutions where students are being challenged to conduct and write research. Research Methodology and Social Science is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the main concepts of research writing, including the guidelines of research methodology and proposal designing. It presents an understanding of social research practice through appreciation of its foundations and methods. Stretching from the philosophy of science to detailed descriptions of both qualitative and quantitative techniques, it illustrates not only `how? to do social research, but also `why? particular techniques are used today.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction to Research in Social Science
Chapter 2. Sampling Techniques
Chapter 3. Methods of Data Collection
Chapter 4. Measurement and Scaling Techniques
Chapter 5. Data Processing and Preparation
Chapter 6. Descriptive Statistics
Chapter 7. Inferential Statistics
Chapter 8. Qualitative Research Methods
Chapter 9. Use of ICT in Social Science Research
Chapter 10. Social Research Applications and Trends
Bibliography
Index