Doing Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences

Thomas R Black teaches research methods and statistics in the School of Educational Studies, University of Surrey and is also author of the best-selling Doing Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH DESIGN The Nature of Enquiry Beginning the Design Process Initial Sources of Invalidity and Confounding Basic Designs Identifying Populations and Samples Additional Sources of Confounding by the Measurement Process and Interactions Refining the Designs PART TWO: MEASUREMENT DESIGN Principles of Measurement and Collecting Factual Data Measuring Attitudes, Opinions and Views Measuring Achievement Evaluating Data Quality Determining Instrument Reliability and Validity PART THREE: TURNING DATA INTO INFORMATION USING STATISTICS Descriptive Statistics Using a Spreadsheet Probability and Statistical Significance Power, Errors and Choosing a PART FOUR: EX POST FACTO, EXPERIMENTAL AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS: PARAMETRIC TESTS Comparing Two Groups t-Test One-Way Analysis of Variance Factorial Designs Randomized Block Designs and Analysis of Covariance PART FIVE: NONPARAMETRIC TESTS: NOMINAL AND ORDINAL VARIABLES Nonparametric Tests One and Two Samples Nonparametric Tests Multiple and Related Samples PART SIX: DESCRIBING NON-CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS Correlation and Association Regression

`There is much that is excellent about this book. If all educational researchers had studied it thoroughly, especially the sections on research design, representative samples and confounding variables, then there might be less publication of sweeping statements based on insufficient evidence' - British Educational Research Journal