An End to the Crisis of Empirical Sociology?


Book Description

Research data are everywhere. In our everyday interactions, through social media, credit cards and even public transport, we generate and use data. The challenge for sociologists is how to collect, analyse and make best use of these vast arrays of information. The chapters in this book address these challenges using varied perspectives and approaches: The economics of big data and measuring the trajectories of recently arrived communities Social media and social research Researching 'elites', social class and 'race' across space and place Innovations in qualitative research and use of extended case studies Developing mixed method approaches and social network analysis Feminist quantitative methodology Teaching quantitative methods The book provides up to date and accessible material of interest to diverse audiences, including students and teachers of research design and methods, as well as policy analysis and social media.




Social Science Research


Book Description

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.




The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology: Volume 2


Book Description

Whether a student, an instructor, a researcher, or just someone interested in understanding the roots of sociology and our social world, The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology, Volume 2 is for you. This second volume of the Handbook covers specialties within sociology and interdisciplinary studies that relate to sociology. It includes perspectives on race, class, feminist theories, special topics (e.g. the sociology of nonhuman animals, quality of life/social indicators research, the sociology of risk, the sociology of disaster, the sociology of mental health, sociobiology, the sociology of science and technology, the sociology of violence, environmental justice, and the sociology of food), the sociology of the self, the sociology of the life course, culture and behavior, sociology's impact on society, and related fields (e.g. criminology, criminal justice studies, social work, social psychology, sociology of translation and translation studies, and women and gender studies). Each essay includes a discussion of how the respective subfield contributes to the overall discipline and to society. Written by some of the most respected scholars, teachers, and public sociologists in the world, the essays are highly readable and authoritative.




Visualization of Categorical Data


Book Description

A unique and timely monograph, Visualization of Categorical Data contains a useful balance of theoretical and practical material on this important new area. Top researchers in the field present the books four main topics: visualization, correspondence analysis, biplots and multidimensional scaling, and contingency table models.This volume discusses how surveys, which are employed in many different research areas, generate categorical data. It will be of great interest to anyone involved in collecting or analyzing categorical data.* Correspondence Analysis* Homogeneity Analysis* Loglinear and Association Models* Latent Class Analysis* Multidimensional Scaling* Cluster Analysis* Ideal Point Discriminant Analysis* CHAID* Formal Concept Analysis* Graphical Models




Qualitative Research


Book Description




Qualitative Content Analysis in Practice


Book Description

Qualitative content analysis is a powerful method for analyzing large amounts of qualitative data collected through interviews or focus groups. It is frequently employed by students, but introductory textbooks on content analysis have largely focused on the quantitative version of the method. In one of the first to focus on qualitative content analysis, Margrit Schreier takes students step-by step through: - creating a coding frame - segmenting the material - trying out the coding frame - evaluating the trial coding - carrying out the main coding - what comes after qualitative content analysis - making use of software when conducting qualitative content analysis. Each part of the process is described in detail and research examples are provided to illustrate each step. Frequently asked questions are answered, the most important points are summarized, and end of chapter questions provide an opportunity to revise these points. After reading the book, students are fully equiped to conduct their own qualitative content analysis. Designed for upper level undergraduate, MA, PhD students and researchers across the social sciences, this is essential reading for all those who want to use qualitative content analysis.




The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis


Book Description

The wide range of approaches to data analysis in qualitative research can seem daunting even for experienced researchers. This handbook is the first to provide a state-of-the art overview of the whole field of QDA; from general analytic strategies used in qualitative research, to approaches specific to particular types of qualitative data, including talk, text, sounds, images and virtual data. The handbook includes chapters on traditional analytic strategies such as grounded theory, content analysis, hermeneutics, phenomenology and narrative analysis, as well as coverage of newer trends like mixed methods, reanalysis and meta-analysis. Practical aspects such as sampling, transcription, working collaboratively, writing and implementation are given close attention, as are theory and theorization, reflexivity, and ethics. Written by a team of experts in qualitative research from around the world, this handbook is an essential compendium for all qualitative researchers and students across the social sciences.




Research Handbook on Community Development


Book Description

This timely Research Handbook offers new ways in which to navigate the diverse terrain of community development research. Chapters unpack the foundations and history of community development research and also look to its future, exploring innovative frameworks for conceptualizing community development. Comprehensive and unequivocally progressive, this is key reading for social and public policy researchers in need of an understanding of the current trends in community development research, as well as practitioners and policymakers working on urban, rural and regional development.




Handbook on Aging and Place


Book Description

Moving away from studies of aging in place, this forward-looking Handbook focuses on aging and place, offering a broader scope and more nuanced, complex and enlightening understanding of these two intertwined universals of human experience. Not only examining the latest literature, the chapters also challenge current thinking on the many intersections, opportunities and issues around place and aging that need to be addressed through policy and practice.