Methods of Family Research
- Theodore N. Greenstein - North Carolina State University, USA
- Shannon N. Davis - George Mason University, USA
While traditional sociological methods texts focus on teaching how to produce research, Greenstein teaches students how to understand the research results they'll encounter. He equips students with the essentials they'll need to become intelligent and critical readers of research on families, whether in their work or in everyday life.
In focusing on techniques that enable students to better interpret and comprehend scientific findings, Greenstein addresses such essential questions as:
- Why do research on families?
- What are the stages of social research? @! What are the benefits of well-conducted research?
- How is research analyzed?
- How are literature searches and reviews conducted?
- How is the internet best used in research?
Students at all levels will come away from this brief, affordable book equipped to critically read, understand, and evaluate research on the family.
Generally, the text as a whole focuses on conceptual understanding aimed at helping students become intelligent and critical consumers of research on families, equipping them to more critically analyze what they read. More specifically, 'Study Questions' at the end of each chapter help students test their command of the material. In addition, when new terms are first introduced, they are highlighted in boldface and defined in context. A combined glossary/index further helps students review and navigate the terminology of social science research methodology and guides them to where the term was introduced in the text.
| The Goal of This Text |
| What’s New in the Third Edition |
| To the Student |
| To the Instructor |
| Organization of This Text |
| What Are the Stages of Social Research? |
| How Is Research on Families Different? |
| The Benefits of Well-Conducted Research |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Variables |
| Units of Analysis |
| Thinking Causally |
| Framing the Hypothesis |
| Causal Inference in Qualitative Research |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Reading a Journal Article |
| Where Do I Go From Here? |
| How Do Journal Articles Get Published? |
| Research Monographs |
| Edited Volumes |
| Other Types of Publications |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Defining the Population |
| Sampling Designs |
| How Large Does the Sample Need to Be? |
| How Do We Go About Choosing a Sampling Technique? |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Characteristics of a Good Measurement Procedure |
| Levels of Measurement |
| What Are Reliability and Validity? |
| Some Thoughts on Reliability and Validity |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Types of Scales and Indices |
| Using Existing Scales and Indices |
| How Do We Evaluate Scales and Indices? |
| How Do We Deal With Missing Data in Scales and Indices? |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Studying Families Through Experiments |
| Studying Families Through Survey Methods |
| Studying Families Through Nonreactive Techniques |
| Types of Nonreactive Research |
| Secondary Analysis of Sample Surveys |
| Some Limitations of Quantitative Methods |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Qualitative Research Compared to Quantitative Research |
| Types of Qualitative Strategies |
| Studying Families through Observation |
| Evaluating Qualitative Research |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Mixed-Method Approaches to Family Research |
| Mixed-Model Studies in Family Research |
| Some Closing Thoughts on Choosing a Research Strategy |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Analysis |
| What Are Some Sources of Data About Families? |
| Sources of Secondary Data Sets |
| Future Trends in Secondary Data Analysis |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Descriptive Statistics |
| Interpreting Cross-classification Tables |
| Inferential Statistics |
| Commonly Reported Tests of Statistical Significance |
| Some Thoughts About Statistical Analysis |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| The Idea of Nested Entities |
| Analyzing Nested Data |
| Individual Change over Time |
| Final Thoughts on Nested Entities |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Needs and Social Impact Assessment: What Is the Problem? |
| Outcome Assessment: Does It Work? |
| Process Research: How Does It Work? |
| Some Thoughts About Randomization in Evaluation Research |
| The Relationship Between Applied and Basic Research |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
| Ethical Issues in Research on Families and Children |
| What Is the Role of the Institutional Review Board? |
| Political Concerns in Research on Families |
| Some Closing Thoughts |
| Study Questions |
| For Further Reading |
Very logical approach to family research. It's practical and theoretical which is refreshing and ensures the book is not only of relevance to lecturers but becomes essential for students' research development and understanding.
simply and easy to understand and yet quite informative for students just beginning to understand critical research methods.
Perfect voice, coverage and length to use as a supplement in my intro to family studies course. Excellent option!
Will be reconsidered when LMFT PhD program starts in August, 2014. Text's focus more appropriated there than for a general counseling program.
Great text for teaching senior family and consumer science students methods of family research.
