Sage Research Methods Database
As a graduate student, you will experience different research methodologies discussed in your classes as well as in the scholarly articles and books you encounter. Eventually, you may be asked to conduct research yourself and need to choose the most appropriate methodology for your project. While you may have taken or will take a research methodologies class in your discipline, you might need a refresher, or you might be doing cross-disciplinary research and encountering a methodology with which you are not familiar. While a quick internet search can work, a much more expedient and useful method is to use the resources available through the library, particularly the Sage Research Methods database.
Some examples of what you can find in the database:
- How to guides. Being Ethnographic: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Ethnography
- Videos: Survey Research: A Mixed Methods Approach
- Case studies: Secondary Data Analysis of Survey Responses: Using a Step-by-Step Guide
- Data sets: A Comparison of a Local Newspaper and Television Coverage of a Murder Investigation Using Content Analysis (allows you to practice with someone else's data and provides an explanation from the original researcher)
Additional texts
Searching IUCAT will also provide access to both print and electronic texts on particular research methods. Searches such as [phenomenology AND "research methods"] or [quantitative AND "research methods"] will provide lists of electronic and print books you can access such as the ones listed below.
Research Methods in Outdoor Studies by ISBN: 9780429581625Publication Date: 2019-07-23Over the last two decades Outdoor Studies has emerged as an innovative and vibrant field of study. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive appraisal of established and cutting-edge research methods as applied to Outdoor Studies. Covering qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, the book examines key methodologies, themes and technologies such as digital research, mobile methodologies, ethnography, interviews, research design, research ethics and ways of disseminating research. Featuring contributions from leading researchers from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, this is an essential text for any Outdoor Studies course or for researchers looking for innovative and creative research techniques.
Qualitative Research in the Study of Leadership by ISBN: 9781785606519Publication Date: 2016-01-06The book is divided into four parts: (1) foundations of qualitative research methods consisting of a chapter summarizing the various qualitative paradigms and a research methods chapter illuminating various design features such as data collection and analysis, qualitative standards and ethics; (2) frequently used qualitative methods in the study of leadership designs; (3) underutilized qualitative methods; (4) three commissioned empirical studies illustrating content analysis, narrative analysis, and mixed methods study using content analysis and case study. The book also includes a chapter on the use non-textual, image-based sources of data for qualitative leadership research. Each of the methods chapters contains a number of leadership studies that have employed a given method such as case study, interviewing or phenomenology.The book is intended for students of leadership ranging from graduate students to seasoned leadership scholars. It was written with leadership practitioners in mind who wish to broaden their understanding of new developments in leadership research.
Quantitative Research Methods for Communication by ISBN: 9780199931804Publication Date: 2012-11-13Quantitative Research Methods for Communication: A Hands-On Approach, Second Edition, is a comprehensive and engaging guide to quantitative research. Drawing on their extensive research and teaching experience in the field of communication, authors Jason S. Wrench, Candice Thomas-Maddox,Virginia Peck Richmond, and James C. McCroskey encourage students to take an active, hands-on role in the learning process. After giving students the tools they need to locate, conduct, collect, and present their research, the text provides them with the opportunity to immediately apply these skillsin research scenarios.
Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods by ISBN: 9781118220757Publication Date: 2012-07-09Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods This user-friendly textbook teaches students to understand and apply procedural steps in completing quantitative studies. It explains statistics while progressing through the steps of the hypothesis-testing process from hypothesis to results. The research problems used in the book reflect statistical applications related to interesting and important topics. In addition, the book provides a Research Analysis and Interpretation Guide to help students analyze research articles. Designed as a hands-on resource, each chapter covers a single research problem and offers directions for implementing the research method from start to finish. Readers will learn how to: Pinpoint research questions and hypotheses Identify, classify, and operationally define the study variables Choose appropriate research designs Conduct power analysis Select an appropriate statistic for the problem Use a data set Conduct data screening and analyses using SPSS Interpret the statistics Write the results related to the problem Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods allows students to immediately, independently, and successfully apply quantitative methods to their own research projects.
