Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals

Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals
Author: W. Paul Vogt
Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2007
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

This concise text discusses a wide range of quantitative research methods, including advanced techniques such as logic regression, multilevel modeling, and structural equation modeling. Because the text emphasizes concepts rather than mathematics and computation formulas, it is accessible to a wide range of users of research. Professional practitioners in areas such education, business, social work, and psychology can gain an understanding of research methods sufficient to base their work on advanced research in their fields. The text discusses the quantitative designs and analytic techniques most needed by students in the social sciences and in applied disciplines such as education, social work, and business. It teaches what the various methods mean, when to use them, and how to interpret their results. Since it emphasizes general understanding rather than mathematical foundations, students are able to review a broad range of methods in a comparatively short space.

Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods

Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods
Author: Mark Balnaves
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2001-04-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1848608640

Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods is a student-friendly introduction to quantitative research methods and basic statistics. It uses a detective theme throughout the text to show how quantitative methods have been used to solve real-life problems. The book focuses on principles and techniques that are appropriate to introductory level courses in media, psychology and sociology. Examples and illustrations are drawn from historical and contemporary research in the social sciences. The original CD-ROM accompanying the book and its content are no longer available.

Best Practices in Quantitative Methods

Best Practices in Quantitative Methods
Author: Jason W. Osborne
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 609
Release: 2008
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1412940656

The contributors to Best Practices in Quantitative Methods envision quantitative methods in the 21st century, identify the best practices, and, where possible, demonstrate the superiority of their recommendations empirically. Editor Jason W. Osborne designed this book with the goal of providing readers with the most effective, evidence-based, modern quantitative methods and quantitative data analysis across the social and behavioral sciences. The text is divided into five main sections covering select best practices in Measurement, Research Design, Basics of Data Analysis, Quantitative Methods, and Advanced Quantitative Methods. Each chapter contains a current and expansive review of the literature, a case for best practices in terms of method, outcomes, inferences, etc., and broad-ranging examples along with any empirical evidence to show why certain techniques are better. Key Features: Describes important implicit knowledge to readers: The chapters in this volume explain the important details of seemingly mundane aspects of quantitative research, making them accessible to readers and demonstrating why it is important to pay attention to these details. Compares and contrasts analytic techniques: The book examines instances where there are multiple options for doing things, and make recommendations as to what is the "best" choice—or choices, as what is best often depends on the circumstances. Offers new procedures to update and explicate traditional techniques: The featured scholars present and explain new options for data analysis, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the new procedures in depth, describing how to perform them, and demonstrating their use. Intended Audience: Representing the vanguard of research methods for the 21st century, this book is an invaluable resource for graduate students and researchers who want a comprehensive, authoritative resource for practical and sound advice from leading experts in quantitative methods.

Quantitative Methods

Quantitative Methods
Author: Paolo Brandimarte
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 812
Release: 2012-01-03
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 111802348X

An accessible introduction to the essential quantitative methods for making valuable business decisions Quantitative methods-research techniques used to analyze quantitative data-enable professionals to organize and understand numbers and, in turn, to make good decisions. Quantitative Methods: An Introduction for Business Management presents the application of quantitative mathematical modeling to decision making in a business management context and emphasizes not only the role of data in drawing conclusions, but also the pitfalls of undiscerning reliance of software packages that implement standard statistical procedures. With hands-on applications and explanations that are accessible to readers at various levels, the book successfully outlines the necessary tools to make smart and successful business decisions. Progressing from beginner to more advanced material at an easy-to-follow pace, the author utilizes motivating examples throughout to aid readers interested in decision making and also provides critical remarks, intuitive traps, and counterexamples when appropriate. The book begins with a discussion of motivations and foundations related to the topic, with introductory presentations of concepts from calculus to linear algebra. Next, the core ideas of quantitative methods are presented in chapters that explore introductory topics in probability, descriptive and inferential statistics, linear regression, and a discussion of time series that includes both classical topics and more challenging models. The author also discusses linear programming models and decision making under risk as well as less standard topics in the field such as game theory and Bayesian statistics. Finally, the book concludes with a focus on selected tools from multivariate statistics, including advanced regression models and data reduction methods such as principal component analysis, factor analysis, and cluster analysis. The book promotes the importance of an analytical approach, particularly when dealing with a complex system where multiple individuals are involved and have conflicting incentives. A related website features Microsoft Excel® workbooks and MATLAB® scripts to illustrate concepts as well as additional exercises with solutions. Quantitative Methods is an excellent book for courses on the topic at the graduate level. The book also serves as an authoritative reference and self-study guide for financial and business professionals, as well as readers looking to reinforce their analytical skills.

Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods

Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods
Author: William E. Martin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2012-07-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 111823457X

Quantitative 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.

Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS

Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS
Author: Daniel Muijs
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2010-12-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 144624234X

This accessible and authoritative introduction is essential for education students and researchers needing to use quantitative methods for the first time. Using datasets from real-life educational research and avoiding the use of mathematical formulae, the author guides students through the essential techniques that they will need to know, explaining each procedure using the latest version of SPSS. The datasets can also be downloaded from the book′s website, enabling students to practice the techniques for themselves. This revised and updated second edition now also includes more advanced methods such as log linear analysis, logistic regression, and canonical correlation. Written specifically for those with no prior experience of quantitative research, this book is ideal for education students and researchers in this field.

Quantitative Research Methods in Communication

Quantitative Research Methods in Communication
Author: Erica Scharrer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2021-05-13
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1000380211

This textbook is an advanced introduction to quantitative methods for students in communication and allied social science disciplines that focuses on why and how to conduct research that contributes to social justice. Today’s researchers are inspired by the potential for scholarship to make a difference for society, to push toward more just and equitable ends, and to engage in dialogue with members of the public so that they can make decisions about how to navigate the social, cultural, and political world equipped with accurate, fair, and up-to-date knowledge. This book illustrates the mechanics and the meaning behind quantitative research methods by illustrating each step in the research design process with research addressing questions of social justice. It provides practical guidance for researchers who wish to engage in the transformation of structures, practices, and understandings in society through community and civic engagement and policy formation. It contains step-by-step guidance in quantitative methods—from conceptualization through all the stages of execution of a study, including providing a detailed guide for statistical analysis—and demonstrates how researchers can engage with social justice issues in systematic, rigorous, ethical, and meaningful ways. This text serves as a core or supplementary textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in research methods for communication and social sciences and fills a gap for a methods text that is responsive to the desire of scholars to conduct socially impactful research.

The SAGE Handbook of Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences

The SAGE Handbook of Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences
Author: David Kaplan
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 532
Release: 2004-06-21
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 9780761923596

Quantitative methodology is a highly specialized field, and as with any highly specialized field, working through idiosyncratic language can be very difficult made even more so when concepts are conveyed in the language of mathematics and statistics. The Sage Handbook of Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences was conceived as a way of introducing applied statisticians, empirical researchers, and graduate students to the broad array of state-of-the-art quantitative methodologies in the social sciences. The contributing authors of the Handbook were asked to write about their areas of expertise in a way that would convey to the reader the utility of their respective methodologies. Relevance to real-world problems in the social sciences is an essential ingredient of each chapter. The Handbook consists of six sections comprising twenty-five chapters, from topics in scaling and measurement, to advances in statistical modelling methodologies, and finally to broad philosophical themes that transcend many of the quantitative methodologies covered in this handbook.

Quantitative Research Methods for Social Work

Quantitative Research Methods for Social Work
Author: Barbra Teater
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2017-09-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1137400277

Quantitative research makes a very important contribution to both understanding and responding effectively to the problems that social work service users face. In this unique and authoritative text, a group of expert authors explore the key areas of data collection, analysis and evaluation and outline in detail how they can be applied to practice.

UX Research

UX Research
Author: Brad Nunnally
Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2016-11-15
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1491951265

One key responsibility of product designers and UX practitioners is to conduct formal and informal research to clarify design decisions and business needs. But there’s often mystery around product research, with the feeling that you need to be a research Zen master to gather anything useful. Fact is, anyone can conduct product research. With this quick reference guide, you’ll learn a common language and set of tools to help you carry out research in an informed and productive manner. This book contains four sections, including a brief introduction to UX research, planning and preparation, facilitating research, and analysis and reporting. Each chapter includes a short exercise so you can quickly apply what you’ve learned. Learn what it takes to ask good research questions Know when to use quantitative and qualitative research methods Explore the logistics and details of coordinating a research session Use softer skills to make research seem natural to participants Learn tools and approaches to uncover meaning in your raw data Communicate your findings with a framework and structure