Social Research Methods and Methodology

Dealing with missing data

by Thom Baguley

Baguley, T. (2012). Meta-analysis. Online Supplement 2 to Serious stats: A guide to advanced statistics for the behavioral sciences. Basingsoke: Palgrave. Retrieved from: http://www.palgrave.com/psychology/baguley/students/supplements.html

Companion blog:

http://seriousstats.wordpress.com/

Reflexivity and Tourism Research: Telling An (Other) Story

by William Feighery

Tourism studies scholars have, for the most part, sidestepped the issue of subjectivity in their research practice and... more Tourism studies scholars have, for the most part, sidestepped the issue of subjectivity in their research practice and in its reporting. Yet, in the broader social sciences, there is a burgeoning interest in matters of reflexivity which has grown out of a critique of the detached and distant writings which were the result of what has been termed a 'disembodied intellect'. Reflexivity can be regarded as the act of making oneself the object of one's own observation, in an attempt to bring to the fore the assumptions embedded in our perspectives and descriptions of the world. Reflexive approaches to research, and to its reporting, have, through a variety of strategies emphasised the subject-centred nature of all human knowing. For example, some scholars have embraced 'confessional writing' in attempts to produce embodied texts. However, such approaches have been questioned for seeking to produce realist or 'truer' texts - the very goal reflexive practitioners have supposedly abandoned. Thus, while reflexive approaches to research facilitate subject-centred critiques which may be well suited to the kinds of human-human encounters which are often a feature of tourism research, these are also likely to result in a loss of control of knowledge production as a result of the 'reflective turn'.

Ryan, A., Tähtinen, J., Vanharanta, M. and Mainela, T. (2012) Putting critical realism to work in the study of business relationship processes, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 41(2) 300-311.

by Jaana Tähtinen

The complexity of business relationships and networks presents particular challenges to researchers aiming to... more The complexity of business relationships and networks presents particular challenges to researchers aiming to investigate processes over time. Critical Realism is proving to be particularly apposite in the study of such processes. Notwithstanding the growing use of critical realism, we acknowledge that is not an easy ontology to apply. In addition, characteristics of business relationships and industrial networks lead to specific challenges
in the application of Critical Realism. This paper fills this methodological gap by offering clear support in the design and execution of a study on business relationships and networks using critical realism as ontology.
We identify specific methodological challenges related to the field of industrial marketing, and how these challenges may be overcome. This will involve a discussion on how this perspective affects our view of business relationships and networks, the research design, and the theorization process, moving from
thick description common in small N studies towards analytical generalization. This paper contributes to existing discussion on the use of critical realism in industrial marketing research with the introduction of a 4-task Critical Realist Research Spiral to guide researchers in the consistent use of this ontological position. This is supported by nine reflective questions to guide researchers throughout the research process.

A Review of the Relevant Merits and Disadvantages of the Current Assessment Methods used in the Photography BTEC Extended Diploma Course

by Ben Macloughlin

This paper explores the current assessment method used in a Photography BTEC course. It reveals the role of formative... more This paper explores the current assessment method used in a Photography BTEC course. It reveals the role of formative and summative assessment methods in Photography. It identifies the differences between the use of sketchbooks, PowerPoint and blogs to track learner progress and for receiving feedback. The research takes into account the views of the learners and their tutors and offers an insight into teaching and learning styles. The aim of the paper is to discover which assessment method best suits Photography and can possibly raise the standards of teaching and learning in the UK.

Research Proposal for Research Methods course

by Vildan Ozer

Lo Monaco, G., Guimelli, C., Piermattéo, A., & Abric, J.-C. (in press). Social representations, questionnaire of characterization and correspondence factor analysis: a methodological contribution. The Spanish Journal of Psychology.

by Gregory Lo Monaco

Lo Monaco, G., Guimelli, C., Piermattéo, A., & Abric, J.-C. (in press). Social representations, questionnaire of characterization and correspondence factor analysis: a methodological contribution. The Spanish Journal of Psychology.

by Gregory Lo Monaco

Misyurov D.A. Dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas // Credo New. 2012. №2

by Dmitry Misyurov

The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with... more The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with dominant and the non-dominant elements; universal formula; formula with symbolic weight of elements; tautological formula. For example, it suggests an opportunity to use the dialectical formulas for modeling and artificial intelligence creation, etc.

From theory to 'measurement' in complex interventions: Methodological lessons from the development of an e-health normalisation instrument

by Frances Mair

Co-authored with:  Tracy L Finch, Catherine O'Donnell, Elizabeth Murray and Carl R May

Abstract (provisional)
Background
Although empirical and theoretical understanding of processes of... more Abstract (provisional)
Background
Although empirical and theoretical understanding of processes of implementation in health care is advancing, translation of theory into structured measures that capture the complex interplay between interventions, individuals and context remain limited. This paper aimed to (1) describe the process and outcome of a project to develop a theory-based instrument for measuring implementation processes relating to e-health interventions; and (2) identify key issues and methodological challenges for advancing work in this field.

Methods
A 30-item instrument (Technology Adoption Readiness Scale (TARS)) for measuring normalisation processes in the context of e-health service interventions was developed on the basis on Normalization Process Theory (NPT). NPT focuses on how new practices become routinely embedded within social contexts. The instrument was pre-tested in two health care settings in which e-health (electronic facilitation of healthcare decision-making and practice) was used by health care professionals.

Results
The developed instrument was pre-tested in two professional samples (N = 46; N = 231). Ratings of items representing normalisation 'processes' were significantly related to staff members' perceptions of whether or not e-health had become 'routine'. Key methodological challenges are discussed in relation to: translating multi-component theoretical constructs into simple questions; developing and choosing appropriate outcome measures; conducting multiple-stakeholder assessments; instrument and question framing; and more general issues for instrument development in practice contexts.

Conclusions
To develop theory-derived measures of implementation process for progressing research in this field, four key recommendations are made relating to (1) greater attention to underlying theoretical assumptions and extent of translation work required; (2) the need for appropriate but flexible approaches to outcomes measurement; (3) representation of multiple perspectives and collaborative nature of work; and (4) emphasis on generic measurement approaches that can be flexibly tailored to particular contexts of study.

Techniques and tools. Corpus methods and statistics for semantics

by Dylan Glynn

An overview of the corpus methods and statistical techniques in Cognitive Semantics An overview of the corpus methods and statistical techniques in Cognitive Semantics

'Political Activist as Ethnographer', Revisited

by Ian Hussey

Published in April 2012 in the Canadian Journal of Sociology 37(1): 1-23.

In   this   article   I   revisit   and   expand   upon   George   Smith’s   (1990)   landmark  article,  “Political... more In   this   article   I   revisit   and   expand   upon   George   Smith’s   (1990)   landmark  article,  “Political  Activist  as  Ethnographer.”  Political  activist  ethnography   (PAE)   is   a   specialized   form   of   institutional   ethnography   (IE)   that   has   not   received  nearly  enough  attention  in  the  twenty  years  since  the  original  publication   of  Smith’s  article.  In  an  effort  to  revisit  and  bolster  this  research  approach,  I  provide  an  overview  of  IE/PAE,  critically  engage  with  three  recent  commentaries  on   PAE,  and  offer  a  new  interpretation  of  this  approach  as  well  as  an  example  of  its   application  from  my  ongoing  research  on  fair  trade.

Religious Practice among Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral studying in Universities of Lahore

by Zahir Shah

Submitted as an academic work, in Spring 2011, part of Social Research Course, department of Sociology, FCCU Lahore with Dr. Grace Clark

Generally, religious practice of college/ university students decline during their college years. Using the survey... more Generally, religious practice of college/ university students decline during their college years. Using the survey method the religious practice based on prayer, attendance and service, for the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim university students in Lahore belonging to Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral was analyzed. I found out that the religious practice did not decline because of relatively independent life and study. Rather varying results for the attendance in terms of occasions affected their participation in services and thus invites an insightful study for the reasons of the changed pattern of attendance.

Children as Researchers in Primary Schools: Choice, Voice and Participation

by Sue Bucknall

Published by Routledge on 24th May 2012

Children as Researchers in Primary Schools is an innovative and unique resource for practitioners supporting children... more Children as Researchers in Primary Schools is an innovative and unique resource for practitioners supporting children to become ‘real world’ researchers in the primary classroom. It will supply you with the skills and ideas you need to implement a ‘children as researchers’ framework in your school that can be adapted for different ages and abilities. Children in primary schools are accustomed to being set short-term goals and are often unaware of long-term aims or of the connections between the concepts and skills they are learning. In contrast, this book demonstrates that children engaging in the research process have authentic opportunities to apply invaluable personal, learning and thinking skills while managing their own projects, making their ‘voices’ heard and experiencing increased levels of engagement and self-esteem.

Based on the author’s 4-year research study exploring the experiences of young researchers and teachers in primary schools, and on her considerable experience of training young researchers, this book also contains:

    the history and theory behind ‘children as researchers’ initiatives;

    a model for good practice based on successful real life case studies;

    questions for reflective practice;

    practical examples of research in the classroom;

    photocopiable resources;

    opportunities for self-evaluation.

This comprehensive resource will be appeal to primary teachers, educational practitioners and students on CPD and ITT courses. It will also be of interest to teacher trainers, to academics involved in teaching and research and to all those interested in promoting children’s voices.

Devil in the detail: using a pupil questionnaire survey in an evaluation of out-of-school classes for gifted and talented children

by Mike Lambert

Education 3-13, 36(1) February 2008, 69-78.

The use of questionnaires to evaluate educational initiatives is widespread, but often problematic. This paper... more The use of questionnaires to evaluate educational initiatives is widespread, but often problematic. This paper examines four aspects of an evaluation survey carried out with very able pupils attending out-of-school classes: ethics, design, bias and interpretation. There is a particular focus on the interpretation and analysis of pupils’ answers to open questions. Conclusions are drawn from this analysis which will help teachers and others to take a careful and critical approach to their use of questionnaires in educational evaluation.

Author profile: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=13209

[A limited number of eprints of this article are available - send me a message if you require one].

Review Essay: Sven-Eric Knudsen: Luhmann und Husserl. Systemtheorie im Verhältnis zur Phänomenologie

by Harald Wiltsche

published in: Journal Phänomenologie 28, 2008, 77-81.

call for papers-Metamorphosis of the Arab World-Political Geography and Alternative Maps

by barış çoban

Metamorphosis of The Arab World:
Political Geography and Alternative Maps

Editors: Barış Çoban, Barış Erdoğan

The so-called "Arab Spring", recent social movements in the Arab world, which can also be described as the "return of the oppressed", have attracted international attention on the Middle East and Arab world. The Middle East, North Africa and Turkey have been profoundly affected by this political and social metamorphosis. The objective of this project is to discuss “metamorphosis of the Arab world” in the context of international relations, politics, sociology, economics and communications and so on by the contribution of several academicians, researchers, politicians and journalists.
The geography of the Arab world is in a process of metamorphosis and consequently traditional structure of the Arab world, its power structure, power relations, politics and social relations have been fluctuated by the hand of the global super power(s). In fact, “All that is solid melts into air", this expression summarizes clearly what is happening in the Middle East and North Africa. The possible outcomes and/or result of this ongoing process are vague, and it needs to be discussed with its all aspects.
As a result, our focus is on “metamorphosis” of the Middle East and the Arab world, since it simultaneously means “metamorphosis” of the world. This book project aims to address and discuss transformation and subsequent reformation of societies and changes in the political geographies and mental maps of the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey from past to present with a multi-voice and multi-layer approach.

(Papers can be submitted in English, French and Turkish)
Deadline for Abstracts: June 10, 2012
Deadline for Full Paper: December 25, 2012
(Please use APA style)

E-mail:
barishc@gmail.com
baris.erdogan1974@hotmail.com,

Editors:
Barış Çoban (Assoc. Prof. Dr., Department of Communication Studies, Dogus University, Turkey)
Barış Erdoğan (Assist Prof. Dr., Department of Political Sciences, Yeni Yuzyil University, Turkey)

Métamorphose du monde arabe:
Géographie politique et des cartes alternatives
Editeurs: Barış Çoban, Barış Erdoğan
Les mouvenents sociaux recents apparus dans une large partie du monde arabe, appellés communement «printemps arabe», peuvent également être décrit comme le «retour de l'opprimé», ont attiré l'attention internationale sur le Moyen-Orient et le monde arabe. Le Moyen-Orient, l'Afrique du Nord et la Turquie ont été profondément touchés par cette métamorphose politique et sociale. L'objectif de ce projet est de discuter «la métamorphose du monde arabe » dans le contexte des relations internationales, politique, sociologie, économie et communication et ainsi de suite par les biais de la contribution de plusieurs universitaires, chercheurs, politiciens et journalistes.
La géographie du monde arabe est dans un processus de métamorphose et par conséquent la structure traditionnelle du monde arabe, sa structure de pouvoir, les relations de pouvoir, la politique et les relations sociales se sont gravement écroulés par la main de la(des) puissance(s) mondiale(s). En fait, «Tout ce qui est solide se dissout dans l'air", cette expression résume bien ce qui se passe au Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord. Les résultats possible et / ou résultat de ce processus en cours sont vagues, et ils doivent être discuté dans tous ses aspects.
Par conséquent, nous nous concentrons sur la métamorphose du Moyen-Orient et du monde arabe, puisqu'elle constitue à la fois la métamorphose du monde. Ce projet a pour objectif d'aborder et discuter de la transformation et la réforme de ces sociétés ainsi que les modifications de la géographie politique et cartes mentales du Moyen-Orient , de l'Afrique du Nord et de la Turquie du passé au présent, avec un multi-voix et une approche multicouche.
Transmission des propositions et date limite
Vorte propositions doit etre transmise a baris.erdogan1974@hotmail.com ou barishc@gmail.com au plus tard le 10 juin 2012. Les articles peuvent être rédigés en anglais, français ou en turc

ECHEANCIERS
- Date limite de réception des propositions : 10 juin 2012
- Date limite de réception des articles : 25 décembre 2012
Information technique
Les propositions, d’un maximum de deux pages, en format Microsoft Word ou PDF, 12 points, devront contenir: le titre de la proposition; le sujet; le nom de l’auteur ou des auteurs; l’institution ou organisation à laquelle vous êtes attaché
Articles
- les articles ne pourront dépasser, avec leur bibliographie, 30 000 caractères, espaces non compris;
- ils devront inclure un résumé de 150 mots maximum qui devra être présenté en français, en anglais ou en turque;

Editeurs :
Dr. Barış Çoban, maitre de conférence, le département de communication, l’Universite de Doğuş, Turquie.
Dr. Barış ERDOGAN, maitre de conférence adjoint, le département des relations internationales l’Université de Yeni Yüzyıl, Turquie.

Arap Dünyasının Dönüşümü:
Siyasetin Coğrafyası ve Alternatif Haritalar

Editörler: Barış Çoban, Barış Erdoğan

Arap ülkelerinde yaşanan ve “Arap Baharı” olarak adlandırılan, “bastırılmış olanın geri döndüğü” kitle hareketleri sonrasında tüm dünyanın gözü yeniden Ortadoğu ve diğer Arap ülkelerine odaklandı. Ortadoğu, Kuzey Afrika ve Türkiye yaşanan siyasal ve toplumsal bu dönüşümden derin bir biçimde etkilenmekte. Bu sürecin uluslararası ilişkiler, siyaset, sosyoloji, ekonomi ve iletişim vb. alanları bağlamında tartışılmasını amaçlayan bu kitap projesi, farklı disiplinlerden akademisyen, araştırmacı, siyasetçi ve gazetecilerin katkılarından oluşacaktır.
Söz konusu coğrafyada bir yılı aşkın bir süredir küresel iktidar(lar)ın da farklı biçimlerde müdahil olduğu toplumsal hareketler geleneksel iktidar yapılarını, siyaset biçimlerini ve toplumsal ilişkileri parçalamakta. Ortadoğu ve Kuzey Afrika’da “katı olan her şey buharlaşmakta”. Bu coğrafyada kurulma aşamasında olan yeni düzende siyasi ve sosyal aktörlerin bu buharlaşmanın ardından nasıl bir katılaşma süreci izleyeceği ise şimdilik belirsiz ve üzerinde çok boyutlu olarak düşünülmesi gereken bir konu.
Sonuç olarak, odak noktamız Ortadoğu’nun ve Arap Dünyasının dönüşümüdür, çünkü bu dönüşüm eşzamanlı olarak dünyanın dönüşümüdür. Bu kitap projesi Ortadoğu, Kuzey Afrika ve Türkiye coğrafyası bağlamında tarihten günümüze siyasal ve zihinsel haritaların değişimi ve toplumların dönüşümünü çoksesli, çok katmanlı bir yaklaşımla ele almayı ve tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır.

(Makaleler Türkçe, İngilizce, Fransızca dillerinde yazılabilir)
Makale Başlığı ve Özeti Gönderimi Son Tarih: 10 Haziran 2012
Tamamlanmış Makale Gönderimi Son Tarih: 25 Aralık 2012
(Makaleler APA formatına göre yazılacaktır.)

İletişim:
barishc@gmail.com
baris.erdogan1974@hotmail.com

(Barış Çoban, Doç. Dr. Doğuş Üniversitesi, Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi, İletişim Bilimleri Bölümü)
(Barış Erdoğan, Yrd. Doç. Dr., Yeni Yüzyıl Üniversitesi, İktisadi İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü)

call for papers-

Metamorphosis of the Arab World-
Political Geography and Alternative Maps
more call for papers-

Metamorphosis of the Arab World-
Political Geography and Alternative Maps

Métamorphose du monde arabe:
Géographie politique et des cartes alternatives

Arap Dünyasının Dönüşümü:
Siyasetin Coğrafyası ve Alternatif Haritalar

Changing our landscape of inquiry for a new science of education

by Gary Thomas

Thomas, G. (2012) Changing our landscape of inquiry for a new science of education. Harvard Educational Review, 82, 1, 26-51.

In this essay, Gary Thomas argues that education research repeatedly makes a mistake first noted by Dewey: it... more In this essay, Gary Thomas argues that education research repeatedly makes a mistake first noted by Dewey: it misunderstands our science. This misunderstanding has led to attempts to import various putatively scientific precepts into education inquiry. But in reality, he argues, those “scientific” precepts do not characterize scientific endeavor, which is fluid and plural: science flexes to any angle to answer the questions that are posed in any field. Questions in education concern worlds of practice and social relations where change and corrigibility draw the parameters for inquiry. Education research becomes valuable only when it takes account of the reality of the educational endeavor. Thomas urges us to strive to forge a new science of education based on singular and shared understandings of such practice.

What symbols

by Dmitry Misyurov

This article contains 12 questions about the symbols. What are your thoughts in response? This article contains 12 questions about the symbols. What are your thoughts in response?

Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Methodology

by Mark Bound

Qualitative Research: Phenomenological Method

by Mark Bound