An Introduction to Research Methods

Abstract

PART ONE: GENERAL ORIENTATION Contrasting Perspectives Ethics of Research Selecting a Research Topic and Reviewing the Literature PART TWO: QUANTITATIVE METHODS Descriptive Statistics Normal Distribution and Statistical Significance Sampling and Standard Error of the Mean Hypothesis Formation and Testing Levels of Measurement Variables Research Design and Control of Error Choosing Statistical Tests Power and Effect Size Testing Hypotheses of Differences 1 Independent Groups Design Testing Hypotheses of Differences 2 Paired Groups Design Testing Hypotheses of Relationships 1 Chi Square Testing Hypotheses of Relationships 2 Correlation Other Correlation Techniques Prediction and Simple Linear Regression Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Reliability and Validity Meta-Analysis The Experimental Research Report PART THREE: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Ethnographic Research Unstructured Interviewing Action-Research Case Studies Historical Research The Qualitative Research Report PART FOUR: SURVEY METHODS Attitude Surveys Structured Interview and Questionnaire Surveys