Social research : a practical introduction / Bruce Curtis and Cate Curtis.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1.Introduction -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Structure of the book -- Defining social research -- Case-centric or variable-centric research -- Analytical induction or hypothesis-testing -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology -- Reliability and validity -- Ethical considerations -- Ethical issues: Risk of harm -- Ethical issues: Deception -- Ethical issues: Debriefing -- Ethical issues: Where to from here? -- Putting the approach in context -- Fixed or fluid framings or research -- Precursors to research -- Developing the research topic -- Preparing a research proposal -- Recruiting participants -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 2.In-Depth Interviewing - The Interactive Base -- Doing data collection, analysis and presentation -- What is an in-depth interview? -- How is an in-depth interview different from a questionnaire-based interview? --

Contents note continued: How is an interview different from a focus group? -- How is an interview different from a discussion? -- Origins of the approach -- The practicalities: What are the advantages of in-depth interviews? -- What are the disadvantages? -- Preparing and undertaking a `typical' set of interviews -- Collecting data: Beginning the interview -- Collecting data: During the interview -- Collecting data: Completing the interview -- Managing the data -- Analysing data -- Some issues in research -- Interviews as data sources and data creators -- Epistemological concerns and constraints -- Resource issues -- Putting the approach in context -- Visual techniques: Photo-elicitation and photo-voice -- Computer-based data analysis -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 3.Life Histories - Private Troubles and Public Issues -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Comparing life history research with oral history --

Contents note continued: Pointers in doing a life history -- Building rapport -- Memory and recall -- Analytical induction -- Triangulation -- Naturalistic and edited forms of life history -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 4.Ethnographic Research - Studying Groups In Natural Settings -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Data collection -- Observation in practice -- Exiting the field -- Data analysis and presentation -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Resource limitations -- Putting the approach in context -- The impacts of new technologies on ethnography -- The ethics of ethnography -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 5.Focus Groups - Studying Artificial Groups -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Exceptional focus groups --

Contents note continued: Origins of the approach -- Data collection -- Determine the purpose of the focus group -- Determine the role of the moderator -- Determine the composition of the group -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology -- Reliability and validity -- Putting the approach in context -- A real-life example: When focus groups go wrong -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 6.Survey Research - Studying Many Cases -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Hypothesis-testing: From insights to posing questions -- Attributes, attitudes and behaviour -- Sample size and margin of error -- Sampling frames -- Response rates -- Sampling strategies -- Scales of measurement -- Statistical analysis: Hypothesis-testing and the null hypothesis -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and scales of measurement -- Question formats -- Putting the approach in context -- Survey fatigue and over-sampling -- Conclusion -- Further readings --

Contents note continued: References -- 7.Experimental Research - In the Laboratory and Beyond -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Hypothesis-testing -- Variables in experiments -- Validity and reliability in data collection -- Cases in experiments -- Analysing experiments -- Some issues in research -- Ethical issues -- The crisis in social psychology: A crisis in positivist epistemology? -- Resourcing -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 8.Unobtrusive Research - Studying Artefacts and Material Traces -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Applications of unobtrusive methods -- Examples of unobtrusive research -- Some issues in research -- Methodological issues: Observer bias -- Methodological issues: Bias within the data -- Ethical issues: Defining `unobtrusive' -- Ethical issues: Informed consent -- Ethical issues: Deception -- Ethical issues: Debriefing --

Contents note continued: Ethical issues: Where to from here? -- Putting the approach in context -- The use of new technologies -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 9.Content Research - Coding and Counting -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Looking at coding form -- Hypothesis-testing -- Deciding on what is a case -- Coding: Develop a codebook, design a coding form, train the coders -- Drawing a sample -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 10.Secondary Research - More Than Literature Reviews -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Search engines -- Boolean searches -- Hypothesis-testing -- Secondary versus primary research -- Finding gaps in, and running with or against the literature -- Meta-analyses: Combining and testing results -- Some issues in research --

Contents note continued: Epistemology and goals of social research -- Putting the approach in context -- Issues in quality assurance -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 11.Semiotic Analysis - Studying Signs and Meanings -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Analysing signs -- Some issues in research -- An aside on rigour -- Structuralism and post-structuralism -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 12.Autoethnographic Research - Writing and Reading the Self -- Doing data collection and analysis -- An authoethnographic aside -- Origins of the approach -- Autobiography and reflexivity as a case -- Data collection and analysis and reflexivity -- Guidelines for writers -- Analytical autoethnography -- Aims of autoethnography -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Evaluating autoethnographies -- Putting the approach in context --

Contents note continued: Motivations: The forms of personal documents -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References.

Machine converted from AACR2 source record.