Weekly Web Resources
New items are constantly being
added.
Week 1
Introduction to the Class and Social Research
Week 2 The
Ethics and Politics of Social Research
- Protection of Human Research
Subjects This is
the National Institues of Health site where EVERY CUNY
researcher has to go for computer based training in order
to do resarch with human subjects. When you finish the
training you get a certificate.
Week 3
Unobtrusive Research I. Using the Internet, Secondary Data
Analysis
- Internet
searching All of
these search methods provide information on how to use
them. Usually you need to click on the word help.
- Netscape tutorial Covers the important points. Hint:
At the bottom of each section there is an arrow pointing
to the left. Click on that (or the Netscape back button)
when you are done with a lesson. Start with basic
navigation and then go through each item in order.
- Don't forget to follow up on
some of the internet resources given on the theme pages.
Week 4
Unobtrusive Research II : Content Analysis and other approaches
Week 5
Secondary Data Analysis and Elementary Statistics
Week 6 Surveys
I Operationalization and measurement
- Here's a link to a question bank which will let you look at ways
different surveys have operationalized various concepts.
You might try searching for a particular topic. This is a
site that is under construction, so it doesn't always
have everything it promises on a given topic. The topics
marked "new" tend to be the most complete.
- Here's a good overview of validity issues. Click on the different
types of validity. In this unit we are particularly
focusing on construct validity. Also, another page from
the same place deals with measurement validity types in a more specific way. And, yes,
they also have a unit on reliability which goes into more depth than
Babbie.
- This issue of Social Research Update uses the problem of measuring fear
of crime to examine issues surrounding open and close
ended questions.
- The Blind Men and the Elephant is an Indian folktale that can
also teach us about multidimensionality and the problem
of developing reliable measurement procedures.
- Surveys involving diaries are one way that researchers can
study how people use their time. This article from Social
Research Update describes this approach and some
issues about its validity and reliability.
- Here's a link to the General Social Survey which Babbie discusses. If you
look at the codebook you can see the actual questions.
You can also create simple tables.
- Who Can
See the Wind? A
real poem that I think reflects some of the issues we
face in trying to measure things.
Week 7 Surveys
II Carrying out Survey Research
- Here are some links to major
polling organizations. On many of these you can fill out
a survey. Go ahead and do so. You can also try to think
about whether you would pose the questions in the same
way.
- Gallup Poll
- Harris Poll Online You can read about their on-line
polling uder "questions", "privacy"
and "how you benefit." (You can also sign up to
be on their panel.
- This page from the Business Research Lab
gives a lot of good advice about designing surveys and
carrying out surveys under their General Research Tips.
Browse through it and look at topics that interest you.
Week 8
Sampling
- This KnowledgeBase site goes through a lot of the sampling
basics in a pretty clear way. (William M. The Research
Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd Edition. Internet WWW page,
at
URL:<http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/index.htm>
(version current as of April 09, 1999))
Week 9 Field
Work and Qualitative Research I
- QualPage Contains lots of information and
resources on qualitative research of all types assembled
by Judith Norris.
- Market Research on the Web This has a nice introduction to
qualitative market research.
Week 10
Field Work and Qualitative Research II
Week 11
Field Work and Qualitative
Research III
- Focus groups are another qualitative method
featured in this issue of Social Research Update.
Week 12
Experiments, Evaluation Research, and Single System Design I
- Here's a detailed
KnowledgeBase page on experimental design. This is from: Trochim, William M.
The Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd Edition.
Internet WWW page, at
URL:<http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/index.htm>
(version current as of April 09, 1999)
Week 13
- Christine Marlow "Single
Subject Designs" in Research Methods for
Generalist Social Work
- Participatory Action Research These pages describe an approach
to research and evaluation that is somewhat at odds with
Babbie's presentation. It is very compelling, and
especially interesting to those interested in using
research to encourage change.
Week 14
Return to the Research Methods
home page.