The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods

′Appreciative users of this volume will be students, faculty, and researchers in academic, special, and large public libraries, for whom it is recommended′ - Library Journal

′The compilers of this impressive, unique work claim it "brings together, in one place, authoritative essays on virtually all social science methods topics, both quantitative and qualitative" – a claim examination supports. More than 400 contributors from the US and abroad present approximately 1,000 comprehensive, in-depth, well-referenced entries that vary in length from 50 to 2,500 words. The attractively designed and produced volumes, 1,351 total pages, consist of easily legible text and figures, the front matter occupying 46 pages and the index 40.... This defining work will be valuable to readers and researchers in social sciences and humanities at all academic levels. As a teaching resource it will be useful to instructors and students alike and will become a standard reference source. Essential for general and academic collections′ - Choice

SAGE Reference is proud to announce The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods, a three-volume resource that is a first of its kind, developed by the leading publisher of social science research methods books and journals.

This unique multi-volume reference set offers readers an all-encompassing education in the ways of social science researchers. Written to be accessible to general readers, entries do not require any advanced knowledge or experience to understand the purposes and basic principles of any of the methods.

The Encyclopedia features two major types of entries: definitions, consisting of a paragraph or two, which provide a quick explanation of a methodological term; and topical treatments or essays, discussing the nature, history, application/example and implication of using a certain method. Also included are suggested readings and references for future study.

To help provide a more complete explanation than is often achieved within the scope of a single article, key terms and concepts appear in small capital letters to refer readers to related terms explained elsewhere.

In addition to epistemological issues that influence the nature of research questions and assumptions, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods tackles topics not normally viewed as part of social science research methodology, from philosophical issues such as poststructuralism to advanced statistical techniques. In covering the full range of qualitative and quantitative data analyses, this key reference offers an integrated approach that allows the reader to choose the most appropriate and robust techniques to apply to each situation.

Many entries treat traditional topics in a novel way, stimulating both interest and new perspectives. One example is the entry Econometrics, by Professor Damodar Gujarati. Following a process which many educators preach but seldom practice, Gujarati walks the reader twice through the research process from economic theory to data and models to analysis, once in principle and a second time with an example. In using the ordinary process of economic research to achieve an extraordinary impact, he leaves the reader thinking not only about methods and models but also the fundamental purpose of econometrics.

Topics Covered:

- Analysis of Variance

- Association and Correlation

- Basic Qualitative Research

- Basic Statistics

- Causal Modeling (Structural Equations)

- Discourse/Conversation Analysis

- Econometrics

- Epistemology

- Ethnography

- Evaluation

- Event History Analysis

- Experimental Design

- Factor Analysis and Related Techniques

- Feminist Methodology

- Generalized Linear Models

- Historical/Comparative

- Interviewing in Qualitative Research

- Latent Variable Model

- Life History/Biography

- Loglinear Models (Categorical Dependent Variables)

- Longitudinal Analysis

- Mathematics and Formal Models

- Measurement Level

- Measurement Testing and Classification

- Multiple Regression

- Multilevel Analysis

- Qualitative Data Analysis

- Sampling in Surveys

- Sampling in Qualitative Research

- Scaling

- Significance Testing

- Simple Regression

- Survey Design

- Time Series

Key Features:

- Over 900 entries arranged A to Z

Each entry is written by a leading authority in the field, covering both quantitative and qualitative methods

- Covers all disciplines within the social sciences

- Contains both concise definitions and in-depth essays

- Three volumes and more than 1500 pages

Michael S. Lewis-Beck is F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.  His interests are comparative elections, election forecasting, political economy, and quantitative methodology.  He has been designated the 4^th most cited political scientist since 1940, in the field of methodology. Professor Lewis-Beck has authored or co-authored over 240 articles and books, including Applied Regression: An Introduction, Data Analysis: An Introduction, Economics and Elections: The Major Western Democracies, Forecasting Elections, The American Voter Revisited and French Presidential Elections.  He has served as an Editor of the American Journal of Political Science, the Sage QASS series (the green monographs) in quantitative methods and The Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods.  Currently he is Associate Editor of International Journal of Forecasting and Associate Editor of French Politics.  In spring 2012, he held the position of Paul Lazersfeld University Professor at the University of Vienna. During the fall of 2012, he was Visiting Professor at Center for Citizenship and Democracy, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium.  In spring 2013, Professor Lewis-Beck was Visiting Scholar, Centennial Center, American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C.  During fall 2013, he served as Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. In spring, 2014, he was Visiting Scholar, Department of Political Science, University of Göteborg, Sweden.  For fall, 2014, he served as a Visiting Professor at LUISS University, Rome.  At present, he is co-authoring a book on how Latin Americans vote.

 

Alan Bryman is Professor of Organizational and Social Research, School of Management, University of Leicester, UK.

Tim Liao is Professor of Sociology & Statistics. His research interests include historical/comparative sociology, demography, and methodology. He is a former Deputy Editor of The Sociological Quarterly, (1992-2000) and the current Editor of Sage’s Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences series. He served on the council of the ASA Methodology Section (1998-2001) and on the council of the North America Chinese Sociological Association (2000-2002). He has been on the editorial board of Sociological Methods & Research since 1994 and on the editorial board of Sociological Methodology since 2003. He is the Chair-Elect of the Methodology Section of the American Sociology Association from August 2007 to August 2009.