The purpose of this guidebook is to provide ideas for how individual
faculty members and those who support them (e.g., librarians, instructional
designers, etc.) can research the effect of their adoption of open educational
resources (OER). Clearly educational research is a challenging enterprise;
this guidebook is not meant to replace the substantive courses and
experiences that a Ph.D. in educational research would provide. Rather,
our hope is to provide some straightforward suggestions that could be
implemented by OER adopters so as to help them identify what has
happened as a result of their OER adoption.

Principles of Sociological Inquiry: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods provides balanced coverage of qualitative and quantitative approaches by integrating a variety of examples from recent and classic sociological research. The text challenges students to debate and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches.

Finally, one of the most important goals of Principles of Sociological Inquiry: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods is to introduce students to the core principles of social research in a way that is straightforward and engaging. As such, the text reflects public sociology’s emphasis on making sociology accessible and readable.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Linking Methods With Theory
Chapter 3: Research Ethics
Chapter 4: Beginning a Research Project
Chapter 5: Research Design
Chapter 6: Defining and Measuring Concepts
Chapter 7: Sampling
Chapter 8: Survey Research: A Quantitative Technique
Chapter 9: Interviews: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
Chapter 10: Field Research: A Qualitative Technique
Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
Chapter 12: Other Methods of Data Collection and Analysis
Chapter 13: Sharing Your Work
Chapter 14: Reading and Understanding Social Research
Chapter 15: Research Methods in the Real World

This resource is intended as an easy-to-use guide for anyone who needs some quick and simple advice on quantitative aspects of research in social sciences, covering subjects such as education, sociology, business, nursing. If you area qualitative researcher who needs to venture into the world of numbers, or a student instructed to undertake a quantitative research project despite a hatred for maths, then this booklet should be a real help.

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. This book is based on my lecture materials developed over a decade of teaching the doctoral-level class on Research Methods at the University of South Florida. The target audience for this book includes Ph.D. and graduate students, junior researchers, and professors teaching courses on research methods, although senior researchers can also use this book as a handy and compact reference.