For instance, what type of problem is unresearchable? The great thing about research methods is that the content ages well does not change over time. The examples were relevant and should not make the text obsolete. Any instructor should be able to provide current, real-world examples to compare and contrast to those in the text.
Although the sample syllabus if for a business class, I did not find the text to be relevant only to business students. The authors uses broad social science illustrations that cross disciplines. When students are learning a new language - research methods - they may be confused when definitions vary.
Causality is explained with slightly different language which may be misunderstood by students. One chapter includes a summary section. It would have been helpful to include a summary of key takeaways for each chapter, and perhaps include a list of key terms and definitions since the text does not include a glossary. I will be adopting this text to supplement other readings assigned in my master's-level research and analytic methods course. I appreciate the clear and helpful context it provides on key concepts that students must understand to become effective researchers.
The text is comprehensive yet concise and would not overwhelm students. I really appreciate the broad focus and examples from social science fields.
As a fellow social scientist from a high growth area communication studies , I would appreciate even more breadth! I supplement with many field-specific resources, so I supplement with many field-specific resources, so this critique is very minor. An appropriate place and reference might be within the first chapter, under the heading Types of Scientific Research, to give a nod to some of the social science fields and the importance of interdisciplinary questions across disciplinary lines.
I did not find any errors in the content of the book. One critique is that the author rarely cites any sources for assertions or materials. I get the impression that the author is relying on "commonly known" ideas regarding research methods and processes, but I have to consistently remind my students to cite all non-original information, and that example is lacking in this text. The text content is relevant and the author has taken care to provide relatively timeless sample research examples throughout.
Some examples include areas of social and political interest conflict, crime , business and marketing, and social psychology. The contents of the text are not dated and the author does a fantastic job of offering a variety of relevant examples so that readers of all backgrounds can relate to the content. Incredibly clear and concise. Main ideas are clearly articulated in headings.
Bullet point lists are used infrequently, but appropriately. The writing style is professional, academic in tone, yet relate-able.
There is little, if any, discipline-specific references that a graduate student from any area of social sciences could not comprehend; however, this book is empirically-grounded and quantitatively focused. For our readers in fields with lower quantitative literacy, some of the terminology in chapters is better suited for students with basic statistical experience, some research methods or theory coursework completed. This text is consistent and detailed in the use of interdisciplinary, social scientific terminology.
The layout of materials and the concise writing style contribute to an easy-to-visualize text. The page layout and brief chapters make it appropriate to assign supplemental readings along with the chapter topics.
Some areas for improvement: use hyperlinks to reference forward and backward within the text so that readers can pop back and forth to related concepts. Include links in the text to reputable online materials or publications. See my comment below in Organization feedback concerning chapter ordering. One thing that strikes me as amazing and also challenging about this text is the concision and simplicity for which Bhattacherjee integrates complex information.
The chapters are very brief- about half of what would be a typical, field-specific textbook, but the content is simultaneously dense and clear. For example, Chapter 7 addresses scale reliability and validity. In just a few short pages, we get an incredible density of information and terminology, from a formula and brief explanation of Chronbach's alpha to exploratory factor analysis as a method to demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity.
There is an appropriate number of tables to visually demonstrate complex topics in-text. Overall, the chapters are well-organized and easy to follow with a working knowledge of basic stats.
The introductory chapters have been intentionally placed to introduce readers to basic principles. The final chapter, 16, covers Research Ethics, which seems to have been lopped on at the end of the text. It would be a better fit in the first third; perhaps integrated into one of the first several chapters with a nod toward the evolution of social research. Regarding navigation, the pdf online version does not allow for creative navigation through the document.
Graphics and charts are clear and easy to see in the online pdf version. They are a little smaller than I would like on the page, but the text is clear and the tables and graphs are visually appealing.
It looks like most of the graphics were created using PowerPoint. One odd thing I noticed is that the paragraph spacing is inconsistent. In one section, the spacing between paragraph lines seems to be set at 1. This is not visually distracting, just peculiar.
Overall, the graphics in the online version are much clearer than in the softcover print version, which prints only in greyscale, with quite a bit of granulated distortion in the figures.
The research topic examples represented a diverse array of research topics, methods, fields, etc. The overview of science, scientific research, and social science was welcomed and unique to this text.
Some areas for improvement would be to include historical scientific figures who are not all male, and link critical methodology in a clearer manner with specific critical and cultural examples of this form of research.
The text seems comprehensive, covers a wide range of research approaches, and parts of the research process. I will have to supplement with more of the area-specific writing that my students need, but this is easily added in the adapted version I will have to supplement with more of the area-specific writing that my students need, but this is easily added in the adapted version of this text that I plan to produce.
This text seems to follow the path of other texts that outline research design and methods, such as the Creswell book that I have used for several semesters. I do not detect bias in the text, or any significant errors. I will discuss disciplinary relevance rather than chronological applicability which other reviewers have already addressed thoroughly.
The course for which I seek a textbook is meant to prepare students in a non-discipline-specific regional studies context, and for a range of methodologies and research design possibilities, mostly in the social sciences and humanities. Definitions are clear, and sufficient jargon is explained. There could be more examples to clarify and assure comprehension of concepts, I plan to add these in my adaptation. There is not an overt intra-chapter organization scheme that is consistent from chapter to chapter--each chapter differs in the sorts of content, that some sort of generic outline would feel forced, I think.
The portions of the text that are less relevant to the course I teach i. Some of the more technical vocabulary will require editing and explanation, but this seems manageable for me as an adapter. The book is logically organized and the topics make sense in the order presented.
I agree with another reviewer that the ethics portion seems like an appendix, rather than an essential and structural part of the book. As I adapt this text, I would address ethics at the beginning as I do in my current teaching of research methods and infuse the topic through other sections to address ethics-related concerns at all stages of research design and implementation.
Still, I miss the comprehensive list of works cited at the end of the book, which I would add to a text that I create, since an e-text is not limited by the economics of physically-printed books. The text is workable as presented in the PDF document that I downloaded. Charts and other imagery are usable. There are no extra navigation features a link to take a reader to the table of contents in a header or footer, etc.
I am left wondering if, in a PDF form, an OER textbook would be more useful with more navigation features, or if they might make the document buggy, cluttered, or otherwise affect use.
The author has stated that they hope to translate and widely distribute the text - perhaps, as is the case in the syllabus that the author provides, the hope is that in use for a course, additional readings will provide local knowledge and place-, culture-, and discipline-specific details and context. I am pleased with the coverage in the text; it includes the history and foundations of research, as well as chapters on ethics and a sample syllabus.
The structure and arrangement of the book differs from my own understandings of research and how The structure and arrangement of the book differs from my own understandings of research and how I present it in class, but all the material covered in my class appears in the text, and it can be ordered to fit my syllabus. This text spends more time with statistics than I include in a research course, but again, that can be omitted or just used for reference.
The book does not include either an index or a glossary, which is unfortunate for anyone who wants a paper version. Of course, most students seem to prefer an electronic text, so I assume they use a search function rather than an index. I have not spotted any glaring errors, other than an occasional grammatical slip or a cumbersome edit. The author includes a few citations, usually following APA style, but employs footnotes instead of a reference section.
The content mostly aligns with my own conceptions of research, although it does have a different arrangement from my presentation in class. This does not suggest that the content is wrong, only that I would likely rearrange it to suit my instructional sequence.
I sense no bias in the presentation, including the historical or ethical portions, or sections that mention religion. Research is something of a traditional topic, in the sense that changes or evolutions move at a comfortably slow pace. I expect there is very little of this text that is likely to become obsolete any time soon. The flip side is there is little in this book that is necessarily cutting-edge, but that is not the fault of the author at all.
And in the unforeseeable situation where a new protocol or a new advance in either statistics or research warrants an update, I think the organization and the modular design will allow that to happen without major upheavals in the structure or arrangement of the text.
As mentioned elsewhere, the writing is comfortably academic without becoming dense or burdensome. I have seen introductions to research that were more casual and probably fit a beginner audience better than this would, but I daresay this is intended as a core text for a graduate-level class, and for that reason, can be expected to sound less approachable and more authoritative.
The text employs features for fast visual reference, to include breaks in the text to allow for visual elements, and bolded text where key terms are introduced or defined. While this would probably not be a particularly exciting text for a self-study course, it will sit well with classes that need a reference text that takes the time to explain concepts with some authority.
Structurally the author has a style and sticks to it throughout the text. Visually this book is sparse, and it will require some effort on the part of the professor to make the content digestible in a classroom environment.
However, that also suggests that the arrangement and format remain predictable from the first page to the last, without any surprises in presentation or discourse. Research has a tendency to step on its own toes when it comes to terminology, but this text follows those conventions for the most part, making it mostly congruent with other research texts I have seen.
I think this book would complement other research texts without causing too many difficulties in terminology or arrangement. The author suggests in the preface that the work was intended to be rearranged by sections, and I can appreciate how the chapters and structure support that statement.
I do see this more as a foundational reference for a graduate-level course than a self-study text though, and it has the feel of a reference work to it. Text appears in large blocks, is illustrated sparsely, and has no callout texts or pull quotes. Key words are bolded but get no more embellishment, which again suggests a reference rather than an instructional work.
This might be the most appealing point of the text for me. As I mentioned earlier, I like the overall sequence that the author follows, but at the same time I can appreciate how the sections can be detached and still stand alone. The logic follows principles and theory through to fundamentals, then diverges to cover the details that fit more complex or esoteric versions of research.
There is enough statistical explanation to avoid vague generalizations, but at points I expect it would overwhelm a beginner. I would prefer ethics was near the start of the text, rather than an epilogue; our course is arranged to require students to complete ethics training before they may pursue later assignments. But this is easily solved. Some of the statistical formulas or graphs are low-quality, or have suffered compression artifacts.
Their appearance in the text is logical though, and the few tables or diagrams that do appear are in color, with arrows or labels to ease interpretation. The table of contents is primitive, and there is no way to navigate specific tables or diagrams except moving page by page in sequence. External sites are hyperlinked, and the table of contents has been designed for electronic use, but there are no cross-reference features.
This gives the text the feel of a word processed document converted to a PDF format, intended to be printed. Overall, the core content is strong, as a printed book it is probably acceptable, but as an electronic textbook it lacks some contemporary features. I have found very few grammatical errors or incomplete sentences, and none of those were so flagrant as to make the text unusable.
If this had been submitted as an academic work it would likely earn some criticism for style or grammar the author seems to follow APA style, but tends to footnote references simultaneously , but this never impedes the delivery.
The text is readable at a collegiate level without becoming over-academic, or for that matter, casual. The text manages to broach sensitive issues in a level and balanced format; in particular the ethics section manages to discuss some well-known failings in past research without becoming overly critical of the researcher or the participants. Arguably, research and its underlying processes are mostly mechanical or at least standardized , meaning it is possible for individual researchers to violate cultural, ethnic, racial, or other boundaries, but the underlying science is generally unconcerned with those issues.
In that sense, the book has very few opportunities to broach hot-button topics except when dealing with historical or ethical examples.
I appreciate this text as a starting point for a more accessible design, or as a background reference for a full course introducing social science research.
I see it as a foundation text or an external source for students who seek a concise fallback for lessons, and with content that is compatible with other textbooks. In many ways it needs much more to compete with established textbooks or dedicated electronic learning tools, and in some places I would like more references for the material that is included. On the whole though, I would consider this as the core text for my next introductory research course. This text covers the core elements of a social science research methods course at the undergraduate level.
While the notes state it is intended for graduate coursework, I would have no problem teaching in my undergraduate courses. The concise The concise chapters are undergraduate-friendly and will make a solid foundation with the addition of supplemental reading assignments that show examples of the concepts discussed in the textbook. There is no glossary or index, but keyword searching in the pdf copy is simple and effective.
The text seems to be an accurate reflection of social science research methods, particularly when considering causal inference and hypothesis testing. If your course is also covering descriptive inference, you would want to supplement the text with additional material. Research methods is not a subject that changes quickly, and thus this text will not become obsolete quickly.
The only things that may need updating over time are any links that lead to pages that no longer exist. Any other updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement.
The text is written in a style that is accessible for undergraduates. It follows the conventions of including relevant key words and phrases in bold and includes easy to follow definitions of terms. I anticipate that undergraduates will also appreciate how concise the text is.
The chapters are consistent in both terminology and framework. It offers a unified organization that also allows for mixing and matching chapters if an instructor wishes to teach the chapters out of order. The organization of the text lends itself to be adapted to any introductory social science research methods course, regardless of what order the instructor wants to place the topics being discussed.
Chapters could be taught out of order and can be subdivided accordingly. While it is certainly possible to break apart to teach the text in a different order than how the chapters are originally offered, the progression of the text from the introduction to the chapters on qualitative data analysis is both logical and clear.
The text is free of interface issues, and charts and images appear to be clear and correct. The only exception to this are the links found in the sample syllabus at the end of the book. I was only able to get one of the links to work. No grammatical errors jumped out at me. There are a few here and there, but they are not distracting for the reader.
Because the book is concise, I would recommend its use in addition to other supplementary resources such as class lectures, academic articles that demonstrate the methods discussed in the textbook, and projects that allow students to experience the methods first-hand. It would make a good alternative to more elaborate basic research methods textbooks when the instructor wishes to keep costs for the students low. The textbook covers the major key elements that are essential in research methods for social science.
However, both the breadth and depth of information might be too elementary for Ph. With the use of additional reading With the use of additional reading assignments as he provides in his sample syllabus , this book could be a great base for further usage. I did not notice any errors or unbiased content. Given the nature of the subject, the content is considered to be up-to-date.
However, although there will not be too many changed expected in the research strategies and designs, it is important to note that some of the sampling procedure have been facing some changes in recent years e. The textbook provided the content in a clear and concise manner. Overall, the content was consistent throughout the textbook. As he provided in CH. This textbook is certainly divided into smaller segments, but maybe too small short. However, as mentioned above, this problem can be solved by adapting additional readings.
The textbook is significantly reader-friendly and well-structured. Overall, the use of indentations, bolding, italicization, and bullet points, was consistent. However, many of the images were blurry e. I did not notice any grammatical errors. Even I had missed some, they would not be destructions for the reader.
Note: The scale is confusing. What I mean by '5' is the least amount of grammatical errors were found. What I mean by '5' is the least amount of cultural insensitivity or offensiveness were found. There are some key elements that I would expect to be in a social science research methods book that are missing in this book.
I think this comprehensiveness may be appropriate for an undergraduate course with some supplementation , but the text Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less. I think this comprehensiveness may be appropriate for an undergraduate course with some supplementation , but the text says it is written for a doctoral and graduate students.
The content is very relevant. Because the book focuses on methods, it does not need too much change over time. It was published in The main area that might need to be updated in the discussion regarding the Internet and how it impacts our research options.
Perhaps more could be added on machine learning, AI, web-scraping, and social media in general. I increasingly see studies conducted either using social media content or recruiting through social media; neither of these are addressed in this book.
I really like the way the book is laid out. In particular, the qualitative and quantitative analysis sections are well organized. They succinctly cover a lot of information is a way that is very consumable.
There were some instances, however, where I thought wording lacked clarity or definitions needed further explanation. I like the organization of this book and each chapter does a good job of standing alone on important topics within research methods. The sections within the chapters are clearly marked and logically organized. The organization is clear and logical.
It covers important concepts in research methods in the same order in which they are typically taught, with the exception of ethics. In this book, ethics comes last, whereas I would have taught it earlier.
This might be minor, but I noticed some places where the spacing was different and it was a little distracting. Overall, it is well formatted. Overall, the text book could use more examples and applied examples, but when present, I find them culturally appropriate. I have mixed feeling on the image on the cover and the limited visuals within the book. I also don't feel like this textbook has enough visuals or figures that could be used to support comprehension of the materials.
More examples would also be helpful. Overall, however, the author has presented a lot of information succinctly and I look forward to using this text in parts in future methods courses. This text provides an overview of many important issues for my graduate research methods course in education.
There are a few important topics missing, however. In particular, types of correlational designs and mixed-methods designs would be In particular, types of correlational designs and mixed-methods designs would be important to include. Likewise, single-subject designs are not mentioned at all.
I will have to supplement these areas with other readings. I also think more about specific threats to internal and external validity should be provided, along with information about when and how certain threats are avoided. There is no glossary but being an online text, it is simple enough to search for certain terms. Content seems to be error-free and unbiased for the most part.
The author also states that hypotheses should have IVs and DVs I think students could be misled by this and I think this requires a lot of unpacking. Thus, I do sense somewhat of a prejudicial treatment of quantitative and experimental research methods. I plan to add information to pages 13 and 15 about how qualitative methods do not involve testing hypotheses though the results might be an inductively derived hypothesis or nascent theory.
The chapter and subject headers all seem to be clear. They will make it easy to select sections for assignment or reordering if revising for use. The hotlinks in the table of content are nice, but additional navigational aids would be helpful.
For example, a back to the Table of Contents TOC button would be nice, as well we a list of all subsections hotlinked added to a long version of the TOC. Reviewed by Eddie T. The book provides ample information for a research course, but it may not meet the needs of every instructor. For this reason, the book should include a few more chapters so that course instructors can have more options for a semester-long For this reason, the book should include a few more chapters so that course instructors can have more options for a semester-long research course.
For instance, at least one chapter should be on nonparametric statistics and their applications on research studies, while another chapter should be on research paper writing e. Most of the information presented in this book is accurate. The author has mentioned in Chapter 5 p. Does it mean the p-value has to be less than 0. In terms of content, the book has fairly good amount of information.
However, it is also obvious that many terms appeared in the last few decades are missing from the book. For example, Survey Monkey and social media can be included in Chapter 9 Survey Research and structure equation modeling can be introduced in Chapter New terms are bolded with clear definition, and sometimes they are illustrated with examples.
The chapters are logically presented and they are grouped under different sections. As mentioned before, the text should add a few more chapters for the course instructors to select from. The text does not have any significant interface issues, though the font size of the figures can be larger e.
Overall, the text contains very few grammatical errors. The content of the text is not culturally insensitive, and the author does not present any offensive statements or comments anywhere in the text. This text is a nice overview of some of the key points in social science research. There are useful definitions of key terms throughout the book, although none of the chapters go into much depth. It should be noted that there is more of a focus on It should be noted that there is more of a focus on quantitative research.
Towards the end, there are three chapters with a qualitative focus, but they are brief. Overall, the text seems accurate. There are some cases when the author gives advice that I don't agree with i. Even so, most of the information seems to be accurate. The book is relevant. It gives a good overview of the theories and methods, which change little over time. I would suggest a few updates, however. Currently, there is controversy on the over-reliance of the p-value, and it would be useful to include some of this discussion on p.
Also, on p. This information needs to be updated, as currently, much of the survey research is done via online platforms. The chapters are short and very readable. There would be no problem dividing the chapters up for a class, or using a portion of the book. The text in some of the tables is blurry, especially when enlarging the PDF.
Perhaps the print copy is clearer. The text outside of the tables is clear. Overall, this is a good book to have as a reference or an additional text for a class. For my field, it wouldn't be sufficient to use as a stand-alone text. Although its intended audience is graduate students, it's a bit too basic for Ph.
It would be a good text for an intro to research class at the UG or MA level, as a supplemental text. I would recommend it to Ph. It's great that a resource like this is available for free to students and faculty in a wide variety of disciplines. This book provides an introductory and broad review of some of the key topics in social science research including research theories, research design, data collection, data analysis and research ethics Students from different disciplines in This book provides an introductory and broad review of some of the key topics in social science research including research theories, research design, data collection, data analysis and research ethics Students from different disciplines in social science will find these topics useful in developing their research method skills.
However, the book falls short on the depth of the essential concepts. It would also benefit from offering more practical examples for some of the theories or terminology. A glossary is not found within the text, although the table of content lists the topics covered in each of the modules.
The relevancy and longevity of this book are great. It focuses on fundamental research methods as well as incorporates current research approaches.
The topics are written in the way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement. The text is written in a logical and concise fashion.
The text is easy to follow. I did not find any jargon or technical terminology used without explanation. The text is clearly organized into five modules: introduction to research, basics of empirical research, data collection, data analysis, and research ethics. It also includes a course syllabus, which is nice and useful. I downloaded the PDF version of the textbook and find it easy to read offline.
Overall, this is a good textbook that covers a broad range of topics important in research method. As this textbook is designed as a succinct overview of research design and process, more practical topics are not included in much detail such as how to conduct different statistical analyses using SPSS or SAS, or how to interpret statistical analysis results. I use almost the entire text in an undergraduate Health Science research methods course.
I do supplement the text with additional readings on: -selecting a research topic -developing a research question -how to read scholarly articles -how to I do supplement the text with additional readings on: -selecting a research topic -developing a research question -how to read scholarly articles -how to search the literature -mixed methods research -community-based participatory research -disseminating research findings -evidence-based practice.
The content is written in a way that will allow for longevity of use. I compliment this text with current peer-reviewed journal articles which are relevant to my students' career paths and can be updated more regularly.
I have found the book to be clearly written and appropriate for upper-level Health Science undergraduate students. Technical terminology is sufficiently defined. The text is easily divisible into smaller reading sections. I assign the chapters in an alternative order and students have not had problems with this. I assign the chapters in an alternative order for my undergraduate students.
For example, I have students read chapter 1 following by chapter 16 research ethics. Because of the basic nature of the materials presented and clear writing, my upper level undergraduate students have done well with this text. The brevity of the chapters and bolded key terms particularly appeal to the students. I do have to supplement the text with journal articles and other materials. However, I am pleased with this straight-forward text and will continue to use it as the main text in my course moving forward.
The text covers all of the areas of basic research information that I cover when I teach research and research methods in the social sciences. The table of contents is straight forward, and the chapters are arranged in a fluid, logical order. The nice thing with this text is that you could rearrange as you see fit for your course without an issue.
There is also a sample syllabus in the appendix which could be useful when setting up a course. I feel this text is great for students who may not necessarily be interested in research as a job prospect their interests may be more clinical in nature but need the basics of research in a clear, easy to understand, and straight forward format.
This text appears to be up-to-date including issues such as web-based or internet surveys and questionnaires. I did see that the copyright for this text was so not sure if revisions or updates to the original have happened or not. It seems that there should be a way to document if this is the latest version of the text. This may be useful information for users of this text. This textbook is written in a concise and easy to read and understand manner - it is very user-friendly.
This is a plus for students - it means they may actually read the text! Jargon and acronyms were appropriately defined with an explanation of how the terms originated and came to be utilized in research.
This is appealing to me as an instructor so there is background information for the students. WebDataNet, was created in by a group of researchers focusing on the discussion on data collection methods. Supported by the European Union programme for the Coordination of Science and Technology, WebDataNet has become a unique, multidisciplinary network that has brought together leading web-based data collection experts from several institutions, disciplines, and relevant backgrounds from more than 35 different countries.
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The Process of Social Research. Authors: Jeffrey C. Dixon, Royce Singleton, Bruce C. The Process of Social Research successfully meets two major challenges of teaching social science methods: to make the material interesting and accessible to students, and to provide them with the tools necessary to understand, evaluate, and conduct research.
Authors Jeffrey C. Dixon, Royce A. Singleton, Jr. Controversial Issues in Social Research Methods. It is often said that one of the key determinants of a book's wmth is the extent to which it fulfills the reader's expectations.
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