The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods

681 Pages·2008·7.58 MB·English

by  Leonard Bickman

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2
EDITION
TheSAGEHandbookof
Applied
Social Research
Methods
FM-Bickman-45636:FM-Bickman-45636 7/28/2008 7:30 PM Page ii
2
EDITION
The SAGE Handbook of
Applied
Social Research
Methods
Leonard Bickman
Vanderbilt University
Debra J. Rog
Westat
EDITORS
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Copyright©2009bySAGEPublications,Inc.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Handbookofappliedsocialresearchmethods
TheSagehandbookofappliedsocialresearchmethods/editedby
LeonardBickman,DebraJ.Rog.—2nded.
p.cm.
Publishedin1998undertitle:Handbookofappliedsocialresearchmethods
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4129-5031-2(cloth:acid-freepaper)
1. Socialsciences—Research—Methodology. 2. Socialsciences—Methodology.
I. Bickman,Leonard,1941- II. Rog,DebraJ. III. Title.
H62.H245342009
300.72—dc22 2008008495
Printedonacid-freepaper
08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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AssociateEditor: SeanConnelly
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Contents
Introduction: Why a Handbook of
Applied Social Research Methods? viii
Leonard Bickman and Debra J. Rog
PART I: APPROACHES TO APPLIED RESEARCH 1
1. Applied Research Design: A Practical Approach 3
Leonard Bickman and Debra J. Rog
2. Design Sensitivity: Statistical Power for
Applied Experimental Research 44
Mark W. Lipsey and Sean M. Hurley
3. Practical Sampling 77
Gary T. Henry
4. Planning Ethically Responsible Research 106
Joan E. Sieber
PART II: APPLIED RESEARCH DESIGNS 143
5. Randomized Controlled Trials for
Evaluation and Planning 147
Robert F. Boruch, David Weisburd, Herbert M. Turner III,
Allison Karpyn, and Julia Littell
6. Quasi-Experimentation 182
Melvin M. Mark and Charles S. Reichardt
7. Designing a Qualitative Study 214
Joseph A. Maxwell
8. How to Do Better Case Studies (With Illustrations
From 20 Exemplary Case Studies) 254
Robert K. Yin
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9. Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches to Research 283
Abbas Tashakkori and Charles Teddlie
10. Organizational Diagnosis 318
Michael I. Harrison
11. Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis 344
Harris M. Cooper, Erika A. Patall, and James J. Lindsay
PART III: PRACTICAL DATA COLLECTION 371
12. Design and Evaluation of Survey Questions 375
Floyd J. Fowler Jr. and Carol Cosenza
13. Internet Survey Methods 413
Samuel J. Best and Chase H. Harrison
14. Concept Mapping for Applied Social Research 435
Mary Kane and William M. Trochim
15. Mail Surveys 475
Thomas W. Mangione and Janet H. Van Ness
16. Methods for Sampling and
Interviewing in Telephone Surveys 509
Paul J. Lavrakas
17. Ethnography 543
David M. Fetterman
18. Group Depth Interviews: Focus Group Research 589
David W. Stewart, Prem N. Shamdasani,
and Dennis W. Rook
Author Index 617
Subject Index 635
About the Editors 651
About the Contributors 652
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Acknowledgments
T
heeditorsaregratefulfortheassistanceofPeggyWestlakeinmanagingthe
complexprocessofdevelopingandproducingthisHandbook.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
SAGE Publications gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following
reviewers:
NeilBoyd,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity,CapitalCollege
JulieFleury,ArizonaStateUniversity
StevenRogelberg,UniversityofNorthCarolina,Charlotte
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Introduction
Why a Handbook of Applied
Social Research Methods?
Leonard Bickman
Debra J.Rog
T
his second edition of the Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods
includes 14 chapters revised and updated from the first edition as well as
4newchapters.Weselectedthecombinationofchaptersinthissecondedi-
tiontorepresentthecuttingedgeof appliedsocialresearchmethodsandimpor-
tantchangesthathaveoccurredinthefieldinthedecadesincethefirsteditionwas
published.
Oneareathatcontinuestogainprominenceisthefocusonqualitativeresearch.
Inthefirstedition,4of the18chapterswerefocusedonthequalitativeapproach;
in this edition,a third of the Handbook now focuses on that approach.Moreover,
researchthatcombinesquantitativeandqualitativeresearchmethods,calledmixed
methods,hasbecomeamuchmorecommonrequirementforstudies.InChapter9,
AbbasTashakorriandCharlesTeddliepresentanapproachtointegratingqualitative
andquantitativemethodswithanunderlyingbeliefthatqualitativeandquantitative
methodsarenotdichotomousordiscretebutareonacontinuumofapproaches.
Anotherchangethatisreflectedinmanyoftherevisedchaptersaswellasintwo
of thenewchaptersistheincreasinguseof technologyinresearch.Theuseof the
Internetandcomputer-assistedmethodsisdiscussedinseveralofthechaptersand
isthefocusofSamuelBestandChaseHarrison’schapter(Chapter13)onInternet
surveymethods.Inaddition,MaryKaneandBillTrochim’scontributiononcon-
ceptmappinginChapter14offersacutting-edgetechniqueinvolvingbothquali-
tativeandquantitativemethodsindesigningresearch.
Finally,MichaelHarrison’schapteronorganizationaldiagnosisisanewcontri-
bution to this Handbook edition. Harrison’s approach focuses on using methods
viii
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Introduction ix
andmodelsfromthebehavioralandorganizationsciencestohelpidentifywhatis
goingoninanorganizationandtohelpguidedecisionsbasedonthisinformation.
Inadditiontoreflectinganynewdevelopmentsthathaveoccurred(suchasthe
technologicalchangesnotedabove),otherchangesthathavebeenmadeinthisedi-
tion respond to comments made about the first edition, with an emphasis on
increasingthepedagogicalqualityofeachofthechaptersandthebookasawhole.
Inparticular,thetexthasbeenmademore“classroomfriendly”withtheinclusion
of discussion questions and exercises. The chapters also are current with new
researchcitedandimprovedexamplesofthosemethods.Overall,however,research
methodsarenotanareathatissubjecttorapidchanges.
ThisversionoftheHandbook,likethefirstedition,presentsthemajormethod-
ologicalapproachestoconductingappliedsocialresearchthatwebelieveneedtobe
inaresearcher’srepertoire.Itservesasa“handy”referenceguide,coveringkeyyet
often diverse themes and developments in applied social research. Each chapter
summarizesandsynthesizesmajortopicsandissuesofthemethodandisdesigned
with a broad perspective but provides information on additional resources for
morein-depthtreatmentofanyonetopicorissue.
Appliedsocialresearchmethodsspanseveralsubstantivearenas,andthebound-
aries of application are not well-defined. The methods can be applied in educa-
tional settings, environmental settings, health settings, business settings, and so
forth.Inaddition,researchersconductingappliedsocialresearchcomefromseveral
disciplinary backgrounds and orientations,including sociology,psychology,busi-
ness, political science, education, geography, and social work, to name a few.
Consequently,a range of research philosophies,designs,data collection methods,
analysistechniques,andreportingmethodscanbeconsideredtobe“appliedsocial
research.”Appliedresearch,becauseitconsistsofadiversesetofresearchstrategies,
isdifficulttodefinepreciselyandinclusively.Itisprobablymosteasilydefinedby
what it is not, thus distinguishing it from basic research. Therefore, we begin by
highlightingseveraldifferencesbetweenappliedandbasicresearch;wethenpresent
some specific principles relevant to most of the approaches to applied social
researchdiscussedinthisHandbook.
Distinguishing Applied From Basic Social Research
Socialscientistsarefrequentlyinvolvedintacklingreal-worldsocialproblems.The
researchtopicsareexceptionallyvaried.Theyincludestudyingphysicians’effortsto
improve patients’ compliance with medical regimens, determining whether drug
use is decreasing at a local high school,providing up-to-date information on the
operations of new educational programs and policies, evaluating the impacts of
environmental disasters, and analyzing the likely effects of yet-to-be-tried
programstoreduceteenagepregnancy.Researchersareaskedtoestimatethecosts
ofeverythingfromshoppingcenterproposalstoweaponssystemsandtospeakto
therelativeeffectivenessofalternativeprogramsandpolicies.Increasingly,applied
researchersarecontributingtomajorpublicpolicydebatesanddecisions.