Approaches to Social Research, 2nd edition
Abstract
Designed for introductory courses, this book strikes a balance between specific techniques and the underlying logic of social inquiry--the how-to and wherefore of research. Opening chapters illustrate the practicality of the study of research methods and the vital relationship between theory and research. Ensuing chapters follow the follow the ideal-typical research project--beginning with research design, measurement, and sampling, proceeding to data collection, and then to data processing and analysis. The authors focus on four major approaches to research--experimentation, survey research, field research, and the use of available data--and bring the material to life with numerous examples drawn from classic and current research. Advocating a multiple-methods strategy, the authors provide a full account of the benefits and drawbacks of using each approach, and describe the actual processes involved in conducting each.
... Combined these listservs had 994,632 unique subscribers of which an initial 3,000 potential participants were randomly selected using a random number generator. We used a modified systematic random sampling approach (Singleton et al. 1993). This type of probability sampling is simple and direct. ...
... This type of probability sampling is simple and direct. Our modifications were based on a lack of available lists of members in the Basin who are impacted by Asian carp (because they have not invaded) and a desire to gain broad coverage in drawing our sample population (Singleton et al. 1993). Our goal was to employ a sampling frame that reflected the target population of people with the potential to be impacted by the introduction of Asian carp (Singleton et al. 1993). ...
... Our modifications were based on a lack of available lists of members in the Basin who are impacted by Asian carp (because they have not invaded) and a desire to gain broad coverage in drawing our sample population (Singleton et al. 1993). Our goal was to employ a sampling frame that reflected the target population of people with the potential to be impacted by the introduction of Asian carp (Singleton et al. 1993). We recognize our sampling design is the only representative of the individuals on the voluntary listservs. ...
Biological invasion pathways are strongly influenced by human behavior. This research aimed to build new understanding about public perceptions and expectations for possible management responses that might be used after detection of Asian carp in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Although the species are as yet unestablished, our research worked to inform communication that could be publicly responsive in the event of an invasion. Our objectives were to: 1) determine public risk perceptions associated with Asian carp; 2) determine public risk perceptions associated with different types of management responses to an Asian carp invasion; and 3) identify types of risk-related information and communication that would influence community support for different types of eradication or control approaches. Objectives were achieved by using a two-phase approach. Phase one utilized an online, voluntary, self-administered survey with 2788 responses received from a convenience sample of Laurentian Great Lakes Basin residents. Phase two included three "Thinkshops" of fishing and boating stakeholders in southern Michigan. Across all hypothetical Asian carp invasion scenarios, the application of rotenone to a large area was the most frequently selected management response. When impacts from Asian carp and their management were discussed, study participants supported framing risks in terms of environment and economy. Insights herein provide new evidence that can help narrow the gap between how invasion risks are perceived and responded to by natural resource managers to reduce social conflicts over, and potentially address, invasive species threats more rapidly.
... Section 5.2 presents the findings from each question in the form of bar charts with bullet points as these convey information in a clear and intelligible format (Singleton et al 1993). Due to the low civilian response rate (Section 5.1) a comparative statistical analysis between civilian and military nurses ' answers was not possible. ...
... This is typical of postal surveys <-Sinicich 1990), for example Hamilton and Edgar's (1992) response rate of 54% (172/318). It is recognised that non-response rates can introduce bias as non-respondents' attitudes may differ to those who do respond (Fink 1995), especially as those who feel strongly about a topic are more likely to respond (Singleton et al 1993) The low civilian response rate may have occurred because the civilian nurses did not know the researcher (as rep0l1ed with the pilot study in Section 4.7.3). Additionally, within the civilian setting (Section 4.2) large numbers of medical and nursing students conduct surveys as part of their studies. ...
p>Stage 1, a self-completed questionnaire survey (n=266 nurses), found no statistically significant relationship between military nursing factors (service, rank, military experience) and their post-operative pain assessment, although some contradictory post-operative pain assessment attitudes were highlighted.
Stage 2 explored these contradictory attitudes using ethnomethological ethnographic interviews (n=29), identifying four themes within two narratives. The first, the civilian nursing narrative, describes military nurses believe that patients over or under rate their pain (Themes Two and Three), they challenge the cultural story through a collective story where they use their common-sense knowledge to account for (explain) these situations.
Military nurses also told a military narrative (Theme Four) regarding the assessment of military patients’ pain and associated military cultural influences, particularly stoical attitudes. However, these attitudes are being challenged as military nurses increasingly work within an NHS hospital culture. Newer military nurses more readily accept civilian nursing attitudes following a greater exposure to them during their nurse training, which is now predominantly undertaken in civilian establishments. In contrast, experienced military nurses are reluctant to relinquish their stoical military attitudes.
This thesis adds to the existing literature surrounding cultural attitudes influencing nurses’ post-operative pain assessment, but is distinctive as it is the first study to do so from a military perspective, thus contributing to the development of a unique body of knowledge on military nursing.</p
... Widely established rules that guide the scope of included categories and the relative size of the catchall category do not exist. Under most circumstances, it is up to the discretion of the researcher how many categories to include but relying on theory or categories identified by existing research is prudent (Singleton Jr, Straits, & Straits, 1993). ...
... They could make the list more specific by changing the categories to be urban, suburban, rural with farm, and rural without farm. Alternatively, they could make the list less specific by collapsing both final categories into one category (e.g., rural ;Singleton Jr et al., 1993). ...
Levels of measurement describe the relationship between the numeric values researchers assign during measurement. The most popular typology, developed by Stevens (1946), identifies four levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Each level identifies a different relationship between values and the appropriate corresponding descriptive and inferential statistics one may use. Nevertheless, there is not universal subscription to Stevens' typology. Some academics suggest that the lower levels of measurement are not actually measurement. Likewise, others suggest that the lower levels may be too poor of approximations to aid humans in scientifically understanding reality.
... Contextual design of cross sectional design survey is selected. Because it allows the researcher to sample enough cases within particular groups or contexts to describe accurately certain characteristics of those contexts (Singleton, Jr. & Straits, 2005). ...
... Cluster sampling technique is used to select the appropriate sample. According to Singleton (2005), if the intended population is so large that it is either unfeasible or not viable to list all the members, the researcher can get hold of a sample in steps using a method called cluster-sampling technique. Taking this consideration in account the researchers at the first stage, divided the schools of Multan into four sub groups, depending upon their fee structure. ...
This research study focuses on the theory of Media Uses and Gratifications. Television uses and gratifications of schoolgirls of Multan were identified and prioritized. The aim of this study was not only to know the gratifications which schoolgirls obtain from television in this part of the world but also to explore their behavior and attitude towards the television. Television use behavior means the amount of time spent on television viewing, while television attitudes include affinity with the medium and perceived content reality. Survey method was used to collect data with the help of a Likert Scale type questionnaire. Pearson Chi-Square test was applied for statistical analysis. The results showed that there are nine motivations pass time/habit, companionship/social interaction, Arousal/Excitement, Specific Program content, Relaxation, Information/Learning, Escape/to Forget, Entertainment/Enjoyment, Para social Interaction, which schoolgirls obtain from television. The results showed that age of respondents, television use behaviors and attitudes have significant positive correlations with level of identification with viewing motivations.
... A number of researchers have conducted needs assessments or environmental scans of their institutions in order to understand their research data landscape. One popular method for conducting these scans has been to utilize quantitative methods, an approach that collects and analyzes numerical data from a sample population in order to examine the relationship among variables to test theories and generalize to a broader population (Creswell 2014;Singleton and Straits 2010). In particular, multiple studies have been published using survey instruments to collect data from a diverse sample (Table 1). ...
... This response rate is within the range of online response rates (20.0% to 47.0%) identified by Nulty (2008), and is comparable to response rates from similar published research (D' Ignazio and Qin 2008;Whitmire, Boock, and Sutton 2015). While appropriate measures were taken to reduce sources of bias, the relatively low response rate increases the potential for nonresponse bias, where respondents differ in meaningful ways from non-respondents (Singleton and Straits 2010). Descriptive statistics of respondent demographics can be found in Table 2. Due to the wide range of disciplines within the College of Arts and Sciences, faculty were also sorted into disciplinary categories for analysis: Arts & Humanities (A&H), Social Sciences & Business (SS&B), and Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) ( Table 3). ...
This is the second in a series of articles reporting on a study of researcher data management practices and data services at the University of Vermont. This article reports on the second quantitative phase of an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design focused on researcher data management practices and related institutional support and services. The study aims to understand data management activities and challenges of faculty at the University of Vermont (UVM), a higher research activity Research University, in order to develop appropriate research data services (RDS). Data was collected via a survey, built on themes from the initial qualitative data analysis from the first phase of this study. The survey was distributed to a nonrandom census sample of full-time UVM faculty and researchers (P=1,190); from this population, a total of 319 participants completed the survey for a 26.8% response rate. The survey collected information on five dimensions of data management: data management activities; data management plans; data management challenges; data management support; and attitudes and behaviors towards data management planning. Frequencies, cross tabulations, and chi-square tests of independence were calculated using demographic variables including gender, rank, college, and discipline. Results from the analysis provide a snapshot of research data management activities at UVM, including types of data collected, use of metadata, short- and long-term storage of data, and data sharing practices. The survey identified key challenges to data management, including data description (metadata) and sharing data with others; this latter challenge is particular impacted by confidentiality issues and lack of time, personnel, and infrastructure to make data available. Faculty also provided insight to RDS that they think UVM should support, as well as RDS they were personally interested in. Data from this study will be integrated with data from the first qualitative phase of the research project and analyzed for meta-inferences to help determine future research data services at UVM.
... The Likert Scale is designed to measure one specific perception of the statement (item) presented to the respon- dent [45]. The Likert scale represents one of the most adopted approaches for generating reliable scales of individual differences [46, 47] and have been commonly used in travel behavioral studies [22, 33, 34, 39]. A 5-point Likert Scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) was used in the present study. ...
... A 5-point Likert Scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) was used in the present study. A neutral point ( " no opinion " ) was included in the scale to acquire responses for all items in the questionnaire and to keep participants interested in completing the questionnaire [46, 47]. The questionnaire was designed to be completed within 10 minutes. ...
From past travel behavior studies it is evident that several trip attributes have been established as key factors in travelers' decision to use public transport. Using these factors, the present study seeks to provide a psychological perspective of the inconvenience expressed by public transport users' when making transfers between public-transport modes. The theory of planned behaviorhas been adopted to determine the trip attributes influencing public transport users' intention to use routes involving transfers. A survey was undertaken in two major transport centers in Auckland, New Zealand. Analysis of results has shown that public transport users' are intolerant towards greater delays, even if occurrence is rare. Minimization of transfer walking and waiting times increases users' intention to use transfer routes. Results suggested that reliability of transfers and reduction in journey times has the most influence on users' intention to make transfers. Findings of the study is expected to support decision makers in developing new transfer routes and improving the quality of existing transfer routes to provide travelers with a possible attractive alternative to automobile.
... Several authors consider sample sizes 1999). However, most social researchers would probably recommend a sample size of at least 100 as adequate for statistical data analysis (Singleton et al, 1993). ...
Proceedings of African Alumni Workshop in Accra and Kumasi,
Ghana
... Several authors consider sample sizes 1999). However, most social researchers would probably recommend a sample size of at least 100 as adequate for statistical data analysis (Singleton et al, 1993). ...
Proceedings of African Alumni Workshop in Accra and Kumasi,
Ghana, 5th – 9th May 2008
... In self-report questionnaires respondents are asked to answer questions about themselves and as an instrument they are widely used to measure beliefs, attitudes, feelings and opinions in diverse fields of research (Singleton & Straits, 2009). This also holds for the domain of research on learning and instruction where self-report questionnaires are often used to map student learning. ...
Although self-report questionnaires are widely used, researchers debate whether responses to these types of questionnaires are valid representations of the respondent’s actual thoughts and beliefs. In order to provide more insight into the quality of questionnaire data, we aimed to gain an understanding of the processes that impact the completion of self-report questionnaires. To this end, we explored the process of completing a questionnaire by monitoring the eye tracking data of 70 students in higher education. Specifically, we examined the relation between eye movement measurements and the level of internal consistency demonstrated in the responses to the questionnaire. The results indicated that respondents who look longer at an item do not necessarily have more consistent answering behaviour than respondents with shorter processing times. Our findings indicate that eye tracking serves as a promising tool to gain more insight into the process of completing self-report questionnaires.
... Reliability/dependability Reliability is defined in a case study as ‚it is demonstrated in a way that the operations of a study, such as the data collection procedures can be repeated, with the same results (Yin, 1998). The reliability of the research can be achieved if other researchers conduct same research and get similar results (Cassell & Symon 1994;Miles & Huberman 1994;Singleton et al., 1993). ...
... Group interviews were typically conducted with naturally assembled groups, quite often women going about their daily duties or taking work breaks -a method that can, and did, create favourable interview conditions (Gomm, 2008;Nkonya, 2008). The research adopted an iterative approach of progressive focusing, where research questions were honed or changed with each iteration of interviewing, observation and community familiarity over repeated visits to each village (Gomm, 2008;Yin, 2009;Stake, 1995;Singleton and Straits, 2010). The research aimed to uncover nuances relating to social structures, village institutions, labour and monetary contributions, relations with neighbours and collective action around other communal issues and activities, rather than forcing our explanations to conform to pre-figured theoretical assumptions (Merriam, 1998). ...
In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa community water points are provided through external support in the form of enhanced boreholes fitted with hand pumps. The external agency supplying the improved water source commonly provides maintenance training and assists in organising a governance plan for the water point. Despite its apparent virtues the Village-Level Operation and Maintenance model still experiences high levels of water point failures, even where the technical training and material conditions are adequate. There has been relatively little investigation of the institutional factors that may influence the cases where villages successfully maintain their shared water source infrastructure. This research investigated five villages in central Malawi where communities had maintained their water point hand pumps for periods exceeding 10 years. The results point to the importance of informal institutions giving primacy to ad-hoc 'rules-in-use' that suit the local context, and adapting forms of free-rider sanctions that are typically minor, low level and triangulated with local norms and behaviours. The findings highlight collective action that is successful through day-to-day adaption and that serves to institutionalise cooperative behaviour through appeals to norms.
... As such, field studies can comprise naturalistic approaches such as ethnography [23,40] to observe and understand people's ordinary behaviours, and interventionist activities such as design workshops [52] and technology trials facilitated by the research team 'in the wild'. Field studies are broadly characterized by the researchers' immersion in a setting to "gain firsthand knowledge of the situation" [57]. While in other disciplines such as anthropology and sociology these immersive field studies take place over longer periods of time (e.g. over several years), long-term immersive field studies in HCI are less common outside of specific research areas such as ICT for Development (ICT4D) (e.g. ...
Design research is generative, intuitive, experiential, and tactical. Documenting the design research process helps to communicate these decisions, judgements, and values that are embodied in design products. Yet, practices for documenting design research are underreported in the CHI community, particularly for immersive design research field studies. We contribute the "Debrief O'Clock" fieldnote practice for documenting design research field studies, comprising collaborative discussion sessions and the production of written research accounts. We show how the Debrief O'Clock practice emerged in the context of a Digital Community Noticeboard project with a very remote Australian Aboriginal community, and explain three key purposes of Debrief O'Clock as: 1) an early stage data recording and analysis process; 2) a tactical manoeuvre in responsive project planning; and 3) a mechanism for personal debriefing and reflexivity. We conclude with a series of open practical, ethical, and methodological questions to advance the discussion of design research documentation practices.
... This procedure, known as reflecting a variable, is common in survey research (see Singleton and Straits 2005). In Barcelona, public school attendance and gender were significant predictors of a less favorable attitude toward Spain before the lagged effects of earlier attitudes were introduced in Model II. ...
This article contributes to the study of immigrants' bilingualism and self-identity by focusing on the newer, promising concept of "heritage language bilingualism". Using data from the Longitudinal Study of the Spanish Second Generation, we show that youths who reported limited proficiency in all their languages were less likely to identify with Spain. Conversely, youths proficient in Spanish and/or Catalan and in their heritage language - labeled "heritage language bilinguals" - exhibited a more relaxed self-identity: they identified with Spain, but did not consider their identification that important. Finally, neither language proficiency nor heritage language bilingualism affected attitudes toward Spain; those were influenced by the social context of reception. © 2018 Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas. All rights reserved.
... This study was a correlational design; it examined the relationships which were based on hypotheses that it existed. A crosssectional design was used, meaning that questionnaires were administered only at a single point in time (Singleton, and Straits 2010). ...
This study was anchored on a postpositivism paradigm and the Theory of perceived attributes and individual innovativeness, regarding the multiple serial mediations of attitudinal and behavioral competencies in the relationship between the entrepreneurs' experience and firm innovativeness. To test the hypothesized relationship a cross-sectional design and qualitative approach were employed. The study drew on a sample of 698 Micro and Small-scale entrepreneurs in Western Kenya. Questionnaires were the main data collection tools. Results indicate that entrepreneurial attitudinal and behavioral competencies had a mediating effect on the relationship between the entrepreneurs' experience and firm innovativeness among adult women entrepreneurs while among youth men were partial mediation. The direct effect of entrepreneurial experience on the level of innovativeness was significant for youth respondents but not adult women respondents. This study identifies entrepreneurial attitudinal and behavioral competencies as critical inputs for enhancing firm innovativeness hence, appropriate supportive policies and programmes are required.
... Participants often spoke for up to a minute before my interpreter was able to interpret the answer for me and, by that time, it was logistically impossible for her to give a full direct translation of the participant's words. So within the first few weeks in the field, I decided that it would be necessary to transcribe each interview in the original language and then have the transcripts translated into English to ensure greatest accuracy and thoroughness (Firebaugh 2008;Rubin and Rubin 2005;Singleton and Straits 2010). In order to save money and time, I immediately sought out transcribers in Cambodia and had all Khmer portions of all audio files transcribed before leaving the country. ...
As sites of global environmental degradation continue to emerge and pose significant threats to life on the planet, the world’s natural resource managers persist in attempts to mitigate and reverse this degradation. However, these mitigation attempts often employ capitalist mechanisms as solutions to problems caused by capitalism. I used one-on-one in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation to examine the socioenvironmental changes associated with an Irrawaddy dolphin conservation project in Cambodia from the perspectives and experiences of the people most affected by the project. I argue that the inability of capitalist mechanisms to address the interconnectedness of “social” and “environmental” problems resulting from capitalism, in this case, appear to have served to exacerbate social inequality and to shift the project’s targeted ecological rift from the rivers to the forests. I also introduce the term “Whack-A-Mole” conservation to refer to this tendency of neoliberal conservation to simply shift socioecological rifts.
... Most have employed non-experimental methods outside of the laboratory, without controlled treatments with pretests and posttests, such as survey research, field studies, simpler correlation analysis with little accounting for multiple factors and interactions, case studies, and content analyses. These are vulnerable to experimenter expectancy biases, poor replicability, and weak or no testing of mediator or moderator variables; and they tend not to contribute much to theory building, indicating a need for laboratory experiments (Singleton et al., 1993). ...
A systematic and controlled laboratory study was conducted because non-experimental studies of wind energy perceptions have produced diverse findings in disparate settings. Ninety Swiss respondents experienced carefully constructed, calibrated and projected audio-visual simulations in a laboratory setting of two wind park sizes in each of three different settings in Switzerland. They rated each for experiential preference, simulation realism and acceptability. Before the next simulation, respondents were given information about each project's energy production, bird hazards, scale and setting type and again rendered the same ratings. These information sets were mostly stratified to produce a systematic variety of experimental conditions. Respondents then answered other questions about their experiences, concerns and attitudes regarding wind parks. Regression models predicted each of the two types of ratings, both with and without the wind parks’ associated information sets. The first regression models employed technical wind park attributes and perceived simulation realism factors. Further models added factors derived from the information sets and respondents’ attitudes and opinions. These models showed that affective experiential versus acceptability perceptions have different explanatory composition and are affected differently by information. Simple experiential perceptions contribute to informed acceptability perceptions. Respondents produced lower ratings if they saw simulations as unrealistic, particularly for experiential preferences. Setting types were not reliable predictors across all four rating types. Information and attitudes tended to improve the explanation of acceptability ratings more than they explained experiential ratings. Energy production was a weak factor, and bird hazard information a potent factor, in explaining both experiential and acceptability ratings.
... It is worth noting that the sampling scheme here is not a simple random sampling, but a stratified random sampling. In a stratified random sampling, "the population is first subdivided into two or more mutually exclusive segments, … simple random samples are drawn from each stratum, and these subsamples are joined to form the complete, stratified sample" ( Singleton Jr et al., 1993). In our research, the three strata are the non-participants, lottery participants, and auction participants. ...
Lotteries and auctions are common ways of allocating public resources, but they have rarely been used simultaneously in urban transportation policies. This paper presents a unique policy experiment in Guangzhou, China, where lotteries and auctions are used in conjunction to allocate vehicle licenses. Guangzhou introduced vehicle license regulations to control the monthly quota of local automobile growth in 2012. To obtain a license, residents are required to choose between the lottery and auction method. Since the introduction of the regulations, there have been heated debates on the distributional effects of lotteries and auctions; however, the debates have not been grounded in empirical studies. We analyze the distributional effects of such mixed mode of resource allocation in a positive manner based on individual behavioral choices. We conducted a survey in January 2016 (n=1000 people ∗ 12 months) and used mixed logit models to analyze how socioeconomic status, including income and household automobile ownership, determined people’s choices among lottery, auction, and non-participation alternatives. We find that income increased participation, but did not influence non-car owners’ choices between lotteries and auctions, which contrasts with the common notion that lotteries benefit the poor. Additionally, the positive impact of car ownership on participation indicates a car-dependent trajectory for automobile growth. The significant socio-economic differentiators between lotteries and auctions were age, gender, and education. Proxies of mobility needs were insignificant overall. The program attributes had a much larger impact than all other variables—people were more likely to choose lotteries with higher winning rates and more participants and more likely to choose auctions with higher prices and more participants. We concluded that for those who participated, the choice between lotteries and auctions did not depend on their income or mobility needs but, rather, the probability of winning plates and the opportunity for speculation.
... Thus, due to the low refusal rate/missing data, we expect the effect of this bias to be negligible. Lastly, the experience of police officers in Tijuana may be different than other cities in Mexico, making it difficult to generalize our findings to other police departments in the country [61]. ...
Abstract Background Mexico’s 2009 “narcomenudeo reform” decriminalized small amounts of drugs, shifting some drug law enforcement to the states and mandating drug treatment diversion instead of incarceration. Data from Tijuana suggested limited implementation of this harm reduction-oriented policy. We studied whether a police education program (PEP) improved officers’ drug and syringe policy knowledge, and aimed to identify participant characteristics associated with improvement of drug policy knowledge. Methods Pre- and post-training surveys were self-administered by municipal police officers to measure legal knowledge. Training impact was assessed through matched paired nominal data using McNemar’s tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of improved legal knowledge, as measured by officers’ ability to identify conceptual legal provisions related to syringe possession and thresholds of drugs covered under the reform. Results Of 1750 respondents comparing pre- versus post training, officers reported significant improvement (p
... Erlandson et al., 1993 "we hope they find in this book a way of collecting, analyzing and reporting data" (xvii). Singleton et al., 1993 "the foremost characteristic of scientific inquiry is that it is based on empiricism" (p30). McBurney, 1994 "Empiricism is an essential characteristic of science" (p7). ...
Many researchers - and their advisors on research method - adopt a doctrine called empiricism, which claims that researchers may only use empirical methods. This restrictive doctrine impoverishes any academic discipline where it is dominant. The main reason is that a discipline only qualifies for the status of a science after it has progressed beyond empirical generalisations to explanatory theories; but although empirical methods are useful for discovering the former, they are inherently useless for creating the latter. So the empiricist doctrine retards scientific progress. Researchers should be aware of this danger, and research methodologists should attempt to counter it.
... Science allows us to uncover and understand the lawful and orderly relations between events through the process of observation and experimentation ( Spata, 2003). From a scientific perspective, knowledge about how the natural world works is gained through the application of the scientific method ( Singleton, Straits, & Straits, 1993). Generally, the scientific method begins by proposing a hypothesis about the relationship between two or more events. ...
Our everyday lives contain numerous examples of the pursuit of quick fixes and fad treatments lacking objective research to support their use. The Internet is saturated with anecdotal stories of effectiveness and other false claims, which make it challenging to separate legitimate treatment options from offerings by “snake oil salesmen.” Humans are not immune to their effects. This phenomenon is commonly found in resources for autism treatment and can have devastating effects on consumers and families. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to describe different approaches to understanding phenomena (science, pseudoscience, and antiscience) and how to distinguish empirical evidence and evidence-based practice. A careful review of the criteria that constitute evidence-based practice is offered. The chapter also provides recommendations for practitioners to stay abreast of the scientific literature and presents a model for addressing implementation of unsubstantiated interventions. Helpful checklists and key questions for use in clinical practice accompany the chapter.
... Theories in-time after due supervision, examination, reasoning, testing and re-testing become standards of prediction. This standard further directs researchers on the strengths of each variables, construct relationships and situations for innovative correlation [66][67] [65]. Models and Theories are often used interchangeably in various fields. ...
... In this study, over the complete data matrix obtained by using different missing data methods, the investigation of operation of DIF detection methods based on different theories in regard to gender variable is aimed for. Thus it can be said that the type of this study is basic research (Kothari, 2004;Royce, Straits & Straits, 1993;Singh, 2006).Some descriptive information related to the participants is given inTable 1.around the world every year for granting them undergraduate education in MEU. Candidates are ranked according to the scores they achieved in this exam and regarding specific quotas, are placed to programs they chose. ...
In this study, it is aimed to investigate the impact of different missing data handling methods on the detection of Differential Item Functioning methods (Mantel Haenszel and Standardization methods based on Classical Test Theory and Likelihood Ratio Test method based on Item Response Theory). In this regard, on the data acquired from 1046 candidates who entered to Foreign National Student Exam (FNSE) held in year 2016 by Mersin University (MEU) and answered Basic Skills subtest, using different missing data handling methods, differential item functioning analyses with Mantel Haenszel, Standardization and Likelihood Ratio Test methods are performed. Basic Skills test consists of 80 multiple choice items. The items are all binary scored (1-0) items. Among the participants 523 are female and 523 are male. The findings showed that the number of items flagged as DIF has changed with the used missing data handling methods. The DIF detection methods based on Classical Test Theory are more consistent within themselves compared to DIF detection method based on Item Response Theory, whereas the used missing data handling methods differentiate the DIF detected items and this difference reaches a significant level for Mantel Haenszel method
... Participatory research was used to enhance ecologically valid understanding of the four PLCs in schools (Denzin and Lincoln 2000). One researcher who participated in the group and used observational schemes to articulate processes and results of the PLC (Singleton et al. 1993) studied each PLC. The participatory researchers used the observational schemes to collect meaningful quotes or statements from both members and school principals (see ''Appendix 1''). ...
This article focuses on the development of professional learning communities (PLCs), which are communities within schools, composed of voluntary participating teachers facilitated by school principals with a specific task to accomplish as part of a larger innovation project. Four PLCs were observed during 3 years by using questionnaires and participatory research. The questionnaires revealed that PLCs differed in their group characteristics, collective learning processes and outcomes. Through participatory research, we explored seven elements affecting the development of PLCs, namely, task perceptions, group composition, tensions between roles, beliefs about alignment, reflective dialogues, socialisation and ownership. Beliefs about alignment, ownership and socialisation had sufficient impact on the development of the PLCs. A case study including two contrasting PLCs indicated interrelations between task perceptions and ownership by members and between ownership and socialisation activities. Regarding implications, this research suggests to explicitly create and facilitate reflective dialogues and ownership over time for PLCs to flourish.
... Quantitative methods often focus on measurable indicators to the neglect of qualitative issues that tend to offer a deeper insight into the study setting. Examples of quantitative methods include the one group pretest-posttest design (before and after), the pretest-posttest control group design (with and without), the projected trend line versus post-program comparisons, and the classic experimental design that compares control and experimental groups before and after program implementation (Dye, 2017;Singleton & Straits, 2010). Each of these methods has limitations. ...
This paper examines microfinance intervention in rural poverty reduction in Ghana by surveying 100 rural women farmer-entrepreneurs. The findings reveal that microfinance interventions that emphasize both credit provision and social intermediation improve access to credit, improve business performance, and contribute to a higher standard of living for female farmer-entrepreneurs and their families. The results show that the microfinance scheme has been successful due to a strong social network and group relationships among the farmers. An implication of the study is that poverty reduction programs in developing countries need to emphasize social and human development components in microfinancing policies.
... The data analysis was done inductively (Djajasudarma, 1993:13) because this technique can reveal the complex phenomena containing in the data. (Cf.Singleton and Straits, 1999: 41). ...
p>This study entitled The Correspondence between Phonetic Transcription and Orthographic Transcription in English is intended to describe how phonetic symbols correspond to orthographic symbols (alphabets), and to find the most complex and simplest phonetic symbols and orthographic symbols (alphabets). This study belongs to descriptive qualitative type. The research object is the phonetic transcription and orthographic transcription. The data were in the forms of words and their phonetic transcription and they were gathered from two dictionaries, namely Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English written by Hornby (1986) in complete version and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English written by Longman (2001). The data were gathered by observation method followed by noting technique. Then, dividing-key-factor technique using mental ability in dividing the data was used to analyze the data. The research findings show that in English the phonetic symbols (transcription) have one-to-many correspondence with the orthographic symbols (transcription) viewed from both sides. Viewed from the phonetic symbols, there are only two symbols which have one-to-onecorrespondence, namely [æ] and [Ɔ], but viewed from the orthographic symbols, all alphabets have one-to-many correspondence. The most complex phonetic symbol referring to vowels is [i:], while the simplest one is [æ]. The most complex phonetic symbols referring to diphthongs are [iə] and [uə], while the simplest one is [au]. Finally, the most complex orthographic symbol (alphabet indicating vowels) is o, while the simplest one is e.
Key words: phonetic transcription, orthographic transcription, one-to-many correspondence, one-to-one correspondence</p
... However, it has been widely accepted that prior to a careful scientific research plan, it is critical to define the involved concepts so that " a system of propositions capable of explaining a finite amount of phenomena " (McLeod & Pan, 2005, p.26) can be developed. A concept is defined as " abstractions communicated by words or other signs that refer to common properties among phenomena " (Singleton Jr & Straits, 1999, p.554). The effort to define MOOC as a trendy concept will benefit both research and practice fields by proposing a better understanding of the concept into its essence, characteristics, propositions, and other core values. ...
This study conducted an inductive content analysis in the definitions of MOOC included in a total of purposefully sampled 84 MOOC-related publications. The analysis concluded two main categories of discussions: MOOC concept sets and MOOC concept’s attributes. It was found that the MOOC was considered not only course but also other multiple roles, and the main characteristics discussed are massive, open, and online. This study constructed a Tree of MOOC Concept Debate to explain the structure and ideas revealed from the content analysis. At the end, a tentative definition of MOOC was provided with the hope to contribute to a shared concept of MOOC.
This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between positive psychological capital status and organizational commitment of academicians. The research model is built on the relational survey model which is an extension of the general survey model. The population of the study consists of Suleyman Demirel University academics. Taking into account the secondary reasons such as time, budget and ease of transportation, the sample of the study consisted of 245 individuals selected by stratified sampling method within the study population. Data were collected by means of Personal Information Form (PIF) Positive Psychological Capital (PPC) scale and Organizational Commitment Scale (OC) and analyzed by SPSS 24th package program. The data showed normal distribution. In this context, while Regression analysis, Pearson Correlation analysis was carried out in order to investigate the relationships between the variables of the research variables, ANOVA test was used to investigate the differentiation status of the variables in terms of demographic factors. On the other hand, descriptive statistics were obtained by using Frequency Analysis method. At the end of the study, it was found that there was a positive and negative relationship between the PPC status and the OC status of Suleyman Demirel University academicians. According to the results, a significant positive correlation was found between psychological resilience, optimism, self-efficacy and hope variables and emotional commitment, while negative relationships were found between self-efficacy and hope and continuation commitment. On the other hand, there is a positive correlation between optimism, psychological resilience and hope variable and normative commitment.
This article aims to trace the entrepreneurial journey of CEOs of successful mid-sized companies in Kenya. This was done by documenting their motivations, their turning points and the challenges they face in pursuits of their entrepreneurial pursuits. The study used primary data collected from Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of mid-sized companies and entrepreneurial leadership experts through combination of methods namely: survey, case studies and the Delphi method. The results indicate that CEOs take different and unique routes in their entrepreneurial journey. This can be linked to variations in their family and social groups they belong to and their personal drive. Entrepreneurial journey is characterized by ups and downs which are experienced differently. The main challenges facing CEOs in Kenya include financial constraints, intrapersonal challenges, family pressures and demands, social obligations, unethical practices in business performance. Some of the challenges that CEOs encounter in the course of executing their duties challenges their character and societal ideals. A case in point is the rampant corruption that has currently permeated in every aspect of the society. In some cases to get a business opportunity both in government and private sector, one is required to bribe in order to be favoured. The big question to the CEOs is whether to or not to engage in corrupt dealings. In a society where the corrupt are the winners, being ethical may jeopardize chances of entrepreneurial survival. As such, corruption is a major detriment and work against personal efforts for development of entrepreneurial competencies.
This article examines the decisional motivations of state and federal administrative law judges. On the basis of the analysis of the survey responses of 265 state and federal administrative law judges (ALJs), we found that ALJs’ views toward the propriety of deferring to external stimuli (such as their agencies, public opinion, or to the elective branches of government) differ considerably in their exercise of quasijudicial authority. To determine the sources of this variation, two different conceptual models were tested, the first drawn from the “rational-actor” variation of the New Institutionalism school of decision making, and the second adapted from the “articulation model of judicial selection.” Although the rational actor model accounts for some portion of the variation observed, the alternative articulation model was superior in its predictive ability. These findings suggest that although institutional constraints are by no means irrelevant, the socialization process that ALJs undergo has an important impact on their feelings of responsiveness to a broad range of external actors. The authors discuss these findings in the broader normative context regarding judicial independence and bureaucratic responsiveness.
Objectives
We examine how news media portrays the causes of mass shootings for shooters of different races. Specifically, we explore whether White men are disproportionately framed as mentally ill, and what narratives media tend to invoke when covering mass shootings through the lens of mental illness as opposed to other explanatory frames.
Methods
The study examines a unique data set of 433 news documents covering 219 mass shootings between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015. It analyzes the data using a mixed methods approach, combining logistic regression with content analysis.
Results
Quantitative findings show that Whites and Latinos are more likely to have their crime attributed to mental illness than Blacks. Qualitative findings show that rhetoric within these discussions frame White men as sympathetic characters, while Black and Latino men are treated as perpetually violent threats to the public.
Conclusions
Results suggest that there is racial variability in how the media assign blame to mass shooters. While Black men and Latinos are cast as violently inclined, White men are treated as victims or sympathetic characters. Results also indicate that there are noteworthy differences in how blame is assigned to Black men and Latinos.
This research challenges the long-standing paradigm that considers compositional analysis to be the key to researching historical Islamic geometric patterns. Adopting a mathematical description shows that the historical focus on existing forms has left the relevant structural similarities between historical Islamic geometric patterns understudied. The research focused on the hexagonal-based Islamic geometric patterns and found that historical designs correlate to each other beyond just the formal dimension and that deep, morphological connections exist in the structures of historical singularities. Using historical evidence, this article identifies these connections and presents a categorization system that groups designs together based on their “morphogenetic” characteristics.
The mission of the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, a public–private partnership co-founded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Duke University, is to develop and drive adoption of practices that will increase the quality and efficiency of clinical trials. The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative works collaboratively with key stakeholders, implements “fit-for-purpose” evidence-gathering projects, and develops actionable recommendations and tools to address the challenges faced by the clinical trials enterprise. In pursuit of its mission, The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative follows an innovative and collaborative, five-step methodology: (1) state the problem and identify impediments to research, (2) gather evidence to identify gaps and barriers, (3) explore results by analyzing and interpreting findings, (4) finalize solutions by developing recommendations and tools, and (5) drive adoption through disseminating and implementing recommendations and tools. This article describes each step of the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative's methodology, with a specific focus on describing the evidence-gathering activities.
The development of new e-technologies and an increased focus on developing distance social work education programs has created the impetus for social work educators to consider the tools they can employ in delivering distance courses. This article reflects on an action learning research project involving the development of an online toolbox of e-technologies to support social work educators in the delivery of distance courses. It highlights the opportunities and challenges when considering the integration of e-technologies as part of social work education.
This qualitative research examines entrepreneurial cultures of private and public sector universities in an apparently hostile economy such as Pakistan, and how it is affected by a nexus of its internal and external environmental factors. The phenomenon is explored through viewpoints and understanding of the social actors who experience it firsthand through 32 interviews with faculty members of 4 public and 4 private sector universities. A top-down, government-pull model approach driven by visionary leaders was found more viable and suggested in promoting entrepreneurial culture rather than bottom-up, university-push model approach. Furthermore, to achieve entrepreneurial cultures, private universities are restrained by profit motives, whereas public ones are inhibited by administrative procedures. The proposed framework offers empirical guidelines for the purposes of contextualizing entrepreneurial university culture and its underlying factors under unfavorable conditions.
Law No. 39/2007 stated that objective of the excise tax is to control consumption and distribution of excised goods. This law also said that maximum allowable excise tariff for a cigarette is 57% of the regulated retail price. In this law discussion initially, the government purpose to increase maximum cigarette excise rate to 65% from 55% of retail price. Guy Peters stated that there are four political powers in tax policy making, the government, politician, pressure groups and international group. The objective of this research is to analyze roles of each political power in the maximum cigarette excise rate debate. This study uses qualitative approach by examining meeting report in the parliament and result of the in-depth interview with related informants.
This research has several conclusions. Firstly, the ability of tobacco business in affecting the debate over maximum tobacco excise rate is higher than the pro-health civil society. The initial maximum tobacco excise rate is 55%, and the government proposal was to increase it to be 65%, then the concluded rate is 57%. So it is much lower than the initial government proposal. Pro-health civil society in the discussion period of 2005-2007 was not consolidated well in term of financing and understanding of the role of tobacco excise in decreasing cigarette consumption. Secondly, there is relation pattern among the political powers involved in this debate. The government was closed with pro-health civil society especially in designing the technocratic proposal to increase maximum tobacco excise rate. Politicians in the parliament were closed to the tobacco business because they need each other. Tobacco business needs politicians in canceling the government proposal to increase maximum tobacco excise rate, and the politicians need tobacco business because they have significant political resources. Thirdly, there is disconnection phenomenon between legislative and executive power in this case. All political parties are eager to win the election to implement their idealism to improve the welfare of citizen. The winning party and its coalitions should support policies proposal from the government. However, in this case, the winning coalition parties namely Democrat Party and Golkar Party refused government proposal to increase maximum tobacco excise rate.
Key Words : Politics of Public Budgetting, Politics of Taxation, Tobacco Excise, Political Powers, Role of Business in Politics.
Levels of measurement describe the relationship between the numeric values researchers assign during measurement. The most popular typology, developed by Stevens in 1946, identifies four levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Each level identifies a different relationship between values and the appropriate corresponding descriptive and inferential statistics one may use. Nevertheless, there is not universal subscription to Stevens' typology. Some academics suggest that the lower levels of measurement are not actually measurement. Likewise, others suggest that the lower levels may be too poor of approximations to aid humans in scientifically understanding reality.
This article argues the advance of computational methods for analyzing, visualizing and disseminating social scientific data can provide substantial tools for ethnographers operating within the broadly realist ‘normal-scientific tradition’ (NST). While computation does not remove the fundamental challenges of method and measurement that are central to social research, new technologies provide resources for leveraging what NST researchers see as ethnography’s strengths (e.g. the production of in situ observations of people over time) while addressing what NST researchers see as ethnography’s weaknesses (e.g. questions of sample size, generalizability and analytical transparency). Specifically, we argue computational tools can help: (1) scale ethnography, (2) improve transparency, (3) allow basic replications, and (4) ultimately address fundamental concerns about internal and external validity. We explore these issues by illustrating the utility of three forms of ethnographic visualization enabled by computational advances – ethnographic heatmaps (ethnoarrays), a combination of participant observation data with techniques from social network analysis (SNA), and text mining. In doing so, we speak to the potential uses and challenges of nascent ‘computational ethnography.’
Policymakers face significant liabilities with traditional defined benefit (DB) plans in the government. Unlike defined contribution (DC) plans, the fiscal risks under DB plans are borne by the plan sponsors, that is, state and local governments, and ultimately taxpayers. The Great Recession heightened pension solvency concerns in many jurisdictions, necessitating a reconsideration of their retirement systems. Drawing on Florida municipalities' plans from 2006 to 2012, we develop an index of pension change and track its evolution. Findings reveal a preponderance of incremental change and suggest the lack of significant change may be a function of high financial costs and status quo bias.
One of the activities corporations should be accountable for is their level of political donations. This paper examines two mandatory corporate political donation disclosure regimes in Australia and identifies three important lessons. First, our review confirms that although few citizens may care enough to scrutinise donation disclosure, there are people interested in such information and we should take political donation disclosure regimes seriously. Second, a well-funded entity must be made responsible not just for administering the disclosure system, but also for reviewing and recommending updates to the system. One disclosure regime examined in this paper was never updated to reflect the existence of the internet until 2007, because no-one was responsible for monitoring the regime and suggesting necessary updates. Finally, details concerning the ultimate source of donations should be provided.
This study bridges a knowledge gap in existing literature by investigating correlates of male perpetrated intimate partner violence in Ghana. Based on a review of literature, it was hypothesized that some sociodemographic factors would be associated with the experience of male perpetrated physical, psychological, and sexual intimate violence in Ghana. To examine this hypothesis, data were collected from a convenience but nonreferral sample of 443 women, using a structured instrument. Descriptive statistics showed that 27%, 62%, and 34% of the sample, respectively, had experienced past-year physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, using some 15 sociodemographic factors as predictors. The analyses showed that women in rural settings had 1.71 and 2.20 times the odds of experiencing psychological and physical violence, respectively; women who were younger than their husbands had 2.67 and 5.71 times the odds of experiencing psychological and sexual violence, respectively; women whose husbands were unemployed had 2.41 and 2.58 times the odds of experiencing psychological and physical violence, respectively; women whose husbands had nonmarital sexual partners had 2.10 and 2.33 times the odds of experiencing psychological and physical violence, respectively; women who rated their health as good had 2.10 and 2.39 times the odds of experiencing psychological and sexual violence, respectively; and women whose husbands did not appreciate them had 2.22 and 2.57 times the odds of experiencing physical and sexual violence, respectively. Low education and polygamous marriage were also related to psychological violence. Policy and practice implications of the findings are discussed.
Given increasing scholarly recognition of the need to better understand the factors that influence identification with or participation in social movements, we build upon recent work that integrates public opinion methods and analytical techniques into social movements research. Specifically, we revise an existing measure of environmental movement identity into a general measure of identification with a broad range of movements. Our analyses show that this new instrument captures meaningful variation across levels of identification with 20 major U.S. social movements and also helps distinguish among three movement identity clusters that largely align with key movement families. Furthermore, we provide strong evidence that our instrument has construct validity, as selected predictors explain variation in the three movement identity clusters in ways expected by previous research. We close by proposing an agenda for future research that helps advance our understanding of public support for or engagement with social movements.
Many websites allow users to rate items and share their ratings with others, for social or personalisation purposes. In recommender systems in particular, personalised suggestions are generated by predicting ratings for items that users are unaware of, based on the ratings users provided for other items. Explicit user ratings are collected by means of graphical widgets referred to as ‘rating scales’. Each system or website normally uses a specific rating scale, in many cases differing from scales used by other systems in their granularity, visual metaphor, numbering or availability of a neutral position. While many works in the field of survey design reported on the effects of rating scales on user ratings, these, however, are normally regarded as neutral tools when it comes to recommender systems. In this paper, we challenge this view and provide new empirical information about the impact of rating scales on user ratings, presenting the results of three new studies carried out in different domains. Based on these results, we demonstrate that a static mathematical mapping is not the best method to compare ratings coming from scales with different features, and suggest when it is possible to use linear functions instead.
This study uses a Diagnostic Framework for Local Governance (Yilmaz et al 2008) to evaluate the current capacity for administrative decentralization at the county level in Liberia, as well as to identify political economy challenges and opportunities surrounding decentralization. Applying the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) framework to our findings, we offer recommendations for moving decentralization reform forward. We find strong demand for administrative decentralization among local officials, and propose decentralization reform can be enhanced through incremental implementation that focuses on strengthening the existing structures and capacity of local administration, and through creation of stronger accountability and participatory mechanisms. The triangulated research design includes focus group and interview data in 8 Liberian counties, analyzed using NVivo Qualitative Data Analysis Software. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Comments on G. M. Fliszar and J. R. Clopton's (see record 1995-34739-001) concerning attitudes of psychologists in training toward persons with AIDS. Crawford expresses concern with their findings, and suggests that the interpretation of their results does not take into account the possible effects of demand characteristics, social desirability, and instrumentation.
Objectives:
To develop the Medication Nonpersistence Scale (MNPS)-a multi-item self-reported scale to measure medication persistence.
Setting:
Six hundred seventy-five patients patronizing 3 separate independent community pharmacies in the southeastern United States participated in this research.
Practice innovation:
The MNPS, a self-reported measure, developed to provide an estimate of, and reasons for, medication nonpersistence.
Evaluation:
Cross-sectional survey data were linked with retrospective prescription fill data obtained from 3 independent community pharmacies in the southeastern United States. The MNPS factor structure was studied by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and its scale reliability and convergent validity were evaluated with the use of the results of this analysis. Its concurrent validity was tested against a standardized days-to-discontinuation measure calculated over the past 12 months, and an attempt was made to arrive at an optimum cutoff point to identify patients who have been nonpersistent with their medications.
Results:
The survey yielded 675 usable patients. The CFA confirmed a single-factor solution with good model fit (root mean square error of approximation = 0.06 [90% CI 0.05-0.07]; comparative fit index = 0.96). Moderate to strong evidence of scale reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.75; construct reliability = 0.94; index of composite reliability developed for binary items = 0.91), convergent validity (standardized factor loadings >0.5 and statistically significant), and concurrent validity (unstandardized regression coefficient = -3.97; P = 0.03) was observed. Individuals who score 1 or higher on the MNPS were considered to be nonpersistent.
Conclusion:
The MNPS demonstrated good psychometric properties and offers a useful first step toward the self-reported measurement of medication persistence in clinical practice and research.
Background
Bariatric surgery is effective in assisting persons with severe obesity in achieving significant weight loss and improved health; however, success depends on one’s lifelong commitment to lifestyle modifications post-operatively. Life partners can be essential to the success of bariatric patients as they can serve as a primary resource to patients and healthcare teams. This study aimed to explore bariatric patients’ partner’s experiences in order to help inform clinical practice in bariatric care to better address patient and partner needs. Methods
This study utilized a grounded theory analysis of ten semi-structured interviews of male partners of bariatric surgery patients to form a general explanatory framework of the partner experience. ResultsParticipants described three interconnected processes of change that followed after their spouses surgeries: (1) effort put forth to engage in the surgical process with their spouses, (2) adoption of the behavioural changes made by their spouses and (3) adjustment to a “new normal”. For those who engaged in all three processes, optimism for the future and an enriching and synergistic harmonized lifestyle with their spouse was reached. Conclusions
Bariatric surgery in one partner can impact couples’ dietary behaviours, physical and leisure activities, physical and emotional intimacy and relationship quality as a whole. Pursuing bariatric surgery as a couple is a unique process. This study highlights the necessity to approach bariatric care in a way that targets the whole spousal unit as engaging both members in lifestyle modification may improve the quality of both their health and relationship overall.
Measurement is a core activity and challenge in all social sciences, and the complex nature of interpersonal communication makes this fundamental activity particularly challenging. This entry provides a discussion of basic concepts in measurement and an introduction to the myriad considerations to be made in measuring constructs in interpersonal communication. It includes a review of the advantages and disadvantages of the most common techniques for measuring interpersonal communication, including observational assessments, self-reports, diaries and logs, and physiological assessments. In addition to the perennial challenges of measurement in interpersonal communication scholarship, this entry notes some of the promises and difficulties implicit in the rise of new communication technologies in interpersonal interaction.
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