What is a literature review?
In brief, the lit review is the part of a scholarly paper that discusses the relevant research, theoretical and methodological contributions on the topic. Watch these videos to learn more!
Research Methods in General
Here are some books that are useful in learning about and improving the research process.
Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods by
In conjunction with top survey researchers around the world and with Nielsen Media Research serving as the corporate sponsor, the Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods presents state-of-the-art information and methodological examples from the field of survey research. Although there are other "how-to" guides and references texts on survey research, none is as comprehensive as this Encyclopedia, and none presents the material in such a focused and approachable manner. With more than 600 entries, this resource uses a Total Survey Error perspective that considers all aspects of possible survey error from a cost-benefit standpoint.
From Research to Manuscript by
Observations Plus Recipes It has been said that science is the orderly collection of facts about the natural world. Scientists, however, are wary of using the word 'fact. ' 'Fact' has the feeling of absoluteness and universality, whereas scientific observations are neither ab- lute nor universal. For example, 'children have 20 deciduous [baby] teeth' is an observation about the real world, but scientists would not call it a fact. Some children have fewer deciduous teeth, and some have more. Even those children who have exactly 20 deciduous teeth use the full set during only a part of their childhood. When they are babies and t- dlers, children have less than 20 visible teeth, and as they grow older, children begin to loose their deciduous teeth, which are then replaced by permanent teeth. 'Children have 20 deciduous [baby] teeth' is not even a complete scientific sta- ment. For one thing, the statement 'children have 20 deciduous teeth' does not tell us what we mean by 'teeth. ' When we say "teeth," do we mean only those that can seen be with the unaided eye, or do we also include the hidden, unerupted teeth? An observation such as 'children have 20 deciduous teeth' is not a fact, and, by itself, it is not acceptable as a scientific statement until its terms are explained: scientifically, 'children have 20 deciduous teeth' must be accompanied by definitions and qualifiers.
Research Design by
This best-selling text pioneered the comparison of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research design. For all three approaches, John W. Creswell and new co-author J. David Creswell include a preliminary consideration of philosophical assumptions, key elements of the research process, a review of the literature, an assessment of the use of theory in research applications, and reflections about the importance of writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry. The Fifth Edition includes more coverage of: epistemological and ontological positioning in relation to the research question and chosen methodology; case study, PAR, visual and online methods in qualitative research; qualitative and quantitative data analysis software; and in quantitative methods more on power analysis to determine sample size, and more coverage of experimental and survey designs; and updated with the latest thinking and research in mixed methods. SHARE this Comparison of Research Approaches poster with your students to help them navigate the distinction between the three approaches to research.
Research Methods in Social Science
Here are some books that discuss researching methods specifically for the social sciences in general, and African American studies in particular.
The A-Z of Social Research by 
The Practice of Social Research by
A straightforward, comprehensive, and approachable guide to research as practiced by social scientists, the Fourteenth Edition of this �gold-standard� book gives readers the tools they need to apply research concepts practically, as both a researcher and a consumer. The author emphasizes the process by showing readers how to design and construct projects, introducing the various observation modes in use today, and answering critical questions about research methods-such as how to conduct online surveys and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data.
Understanding Social Science Research by
The ability to read published research critically is essential and is different from the skills involved in undertaking research using statistical analysis. This New Edition of Thomas R Black's best-selling text explains in clear and straightforward terms how students can evaluate research, with particular emphasis on research involving some aspect of measurement. The coverage of fundamental concepts is comprehensive and supports topics including research design, data collection and data analysis by addressing the following major issues: Are the questions and hypotheses advanced appropriate and testable? Is the research design sufficient for the hypothesis? Is the data gathered valid, reliable and objective? Are the statistical techniques used to analyze the data appropriate and do they support the conclusions reached? Each of the chapters from the New Edition has been thoroughly updated, with particular emphasis on improving and increasing the range of activities for students. As well, coverage has been broadened to include: a wider range of research designs; a section on research ethics; item analysis; the definition of standard deviation with a guide for calculation; the concept of `power' in statistical inference; calculating correlations; and a description of the difference between parametric and non-parametric tests in terms of research questions. Understanding Social Science Research: An Introduction 2nd Edition will be key reading for undergraduate and postgrduate students in research methodology and evaluation across the social sciences.
Research Practice for Cultural Studies by
'This is an Excellent textbook and a valuable addition to the growing field of 'how to' books providing advice and guidance for practitioners and students wishing to undertake fieldwork of an ethnographic nature.... this books deserves to be high on your reading list' - Active Learning in Higher Education `Gray's book tells us an important story, starting from the epistemological and methodological background of a number of key studies in the Birgmingham tradition, it explores how to make use of these research experiences and how to deploy "experience" as a tool for research' - Roberta Sassatelli, School of Economic and Social Studies, University of East Anglia How is culture `lived'? What are the best ways of investigating cultural life? This timely, assured and accessible book has three objectives. First, it seeks to give a critical selective account of the main ethnographic methods that have influenced cultural studies. Second, it offers practical guidance on the craft of research, from formulating a topic to presenting it in written form. Third, it provides help with key questions of evaluative criteria and values in the research process. This is one of the first cultural studies books to address the question of the research process in detail. Students who want to do empirical research will find the book to be an indispensable resource that will enable them to focus on the correct issues and ask the right questions for effective research. The book develops a set of research practices that are appropriate to a critical understanding of culture, power and everyday life. It will rapidly establish itself as the lecturer's stand-by and the student's friend for all issues relating to qualitative research in cultural studies.
Critical Praxis Research by
Critical Praxis Research (CPR) is a teacher research methodology designed to bridge the divide between practitioner and scholar, drawing together many strands to explain the research process not just as something teacher researchers do, but as a fundamental part of who teacher researchers are. Emphasizing the researcher over the method, CPR embraces and amplifies the skills and passions teachers naturally bring to their research endeavours. Emerging from the tradition of critical pedagogy, Critical Praxis Research: Breathing New Life into Research Methods for Teachers transcends longstanding debates over quantitative vs. qualitative and scholar vs. practitioner research. The text examines the histories and current applications of common methodologies and re-conceptualizes the ways that these methodologies can be used to enhance teachers' identities as practitioners and researchers. It also provides a critical examination of the role of Institutional Review Boards, and explores the complexity and ethics of data collection, data analysis, and writing. Through guiding questions and writing prompts, the author encourages readers to think through the process of design and conducting CPR. The text is theoretically rich, but written in an accessible style infused with metaphor, irony, and humour. Critical Praxis Research: Breathing New Life into Research Methods for Teachers is both instructive and uplifting, sending the message that research is difficult but also joyful, like life itself.
Doing Research - Reading Research by
With education high on the political agenda, it is vital for education professionals to have the capability both to engage critically with research, and to produce high quality, professionally relevant research. Now in its second edition, this book aims to provide the strategies and resources to facilitate this.
Doing Research on Sensitive Topics by
This book is a comprehensive guide to the methodological, ethical and practical issues involved in undertaking research on sensitive topics. Raymond M Lee explores the reasons why social research may be politically or socially contentious: its relation to issues of social or political power; its capacity to encroach on people's lives; and its potentially problematic nature for the researcher. Issues examined include: the choice of methodologies for sensitive research; problems of estimating the size of hidden populations; questions of sampling, surveying and interviewing; and sensitivity in access and the handling of data. The book also discusses the political and ethical issues at stake in the relations between the researcher and the researched, and in the disclosure, dissemination and publication of research.
Basic Research Methods by
This book offers a comprehensive and well-rounded view of research as a tool for problem-solving in the wide range of the social sciences. It is built on the foundation of philosophical pragmatism, postulating that the value of knowledge and research methodologies lie in their usefulness in engaging with the real world. The book synthesizes both positivist and non-positivist methodologies. It is meant for students who are undertaking their first research course or project. The techniques, while basic in nature, are used in many masters and doctoral research studies. The book uses engaging language, real-life examples from various subject areas and follows an inductive approach. With the help of this book, from an experiential base, students should be able to build a more advanced conceptual and theoretical understanding of research through further reading and practice. This book discusses a policy-applied-pure-action model of research covering both quantitative and qualitative methods for case study, survey and experimental designs. It pays considerable attention to measurement principles and to data analysis techniques that make practical use of Microsoft Excel for analysis of both words and numbers. It includes a building block approach to writing, as well as the author's thoughts on application of research in the real world.
The social work student's research handbook by 
Researching Black Communities by Search Strategies
1. Use the following keywords to identify qualitative research.
These keywords will search the titles, abstracts and keywords of records held in the databases. Use quotations to search as a phrase:
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2. Use controlled vocabulary
Databases use controlled vocabulary to categorize each record stored. The terms they use are known as thesaurus terms orsubject headings. The thesaurus terms vary for each database according to their indexing system.
For example, qualitative research is indexed in PubMed as "Qualitative Research" or "Nursing Methodology Research", while inCINAHL their subject heading "Qualitative Studies" is complemented by more detailed terms, including "Phenomenological Research" and "Grounded Theory".
Tutorials for searching subject headings:
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| PubMed uses Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) | CINAHL uses CINAHL Headings |
3. Use qualitative research filters
Qualitative research filters are pre-formulated search strategies that have been constructed by librarians to help you retrieve articles in databases that deal with qualitative research. You can use the filter and then combine the results with your subject.
Modify your search strategy accordingly by using thesaurus terms, such as qualitative research, grounded theory, interviews, observation methods, etc.
Designing Qualitative Research by
This popular text provides useful and pragmatic guidance for developing and successfully defending proposals for qualitative inquiry. The Fifth Edition addresses the advances and challenges presented by developments and new applications while providing direct guidance. Focusing on the proposal stage of research, this edition allows the reader to have a clear plan for data analysis and for the challenging varieties of final reports of qualitative inquiries. The new edition includes expanded coverage of ethics, analysis processes, and approaches, and is full of updated vignettes that illustrate the methodological challenges that face today's qualitative researcher. This edition also includes discussions about distance-based research (such as email interviews and online discussion groups), the implications of postmodern turns, integrating archival material in qualitative research, and creative ways of presenting the research. This text is an invaluable resource to teachers and students of research methods across disciplines and is a must for the library of those using qualitative approaches.
Foundations of Qualitative Research by
Foundations of Qualitative Research introduces key theoretical and epistemological concepts in an accessible and non-intimidating style replete with historical and current real-world examples employed to bring these otherwise difficult concepts to life.
The Handbook of Qualitative Research by
Once again, editors Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S Lincoln have put together a volume that represents the state of the art for the theory and practice of qualitative inquiry. Built on the foundation of the landmark first edition, published in 1994, the second edition is both the bridge and the roadmap to the territory that lies ahead for researchers across the disciplines. The Second Edition is a significant revision; in fact, it is virtually a new work. It features six new chapter topics, including, among others, auto-ethnography, critical race theory, applied ethnography, queer theory, and testimonies. Another fifteen chapters are written by new contributors. And every chapter in the book has been thoroughly revised and updated. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is necessary to re-engage the promise of qualitative research as a generative form of inquiry. The Second Edition of the Handbook reveals how the discourses of qualitative research can be used to imagine and create a free and democratic society. Ground-breaking, thought-provoking, comprehensive and featuring the contributions of a virtual "Who's Who" in the human sciences, Handbook of Qualitative Research, Second Edition is absolutely an essential text for the library of any scholar interested in the art and science of research.
Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods by
The book that has been a resource and training tool for countless applied researchers, evaluators, and graduate students has been completely revised with hundreds of new examples and stories illuminating all aspects of qualitative inquiry. Patton has created the most comprehensive, systematic and up-to-date review of qualitative methods available. Patton has retained and expanded upon the Exhibits that highlight and summarize major issues and guidelines, the summative sections, tables, and figures as well as the sage advice of the Sufi Master, Halcolm. This revision will help readers integrate and make sense of the great volume of qualitative works published in the past decade.
Qualitative Research Methods by 
Research Design by 
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods by
Qualitative research is designed to explore the human elements of a given topic, while specific qualitative methods examine how individuals see and experience the world. Qualitative approaches are typically used to explore new phenomena and to capture individuals' thoughts, feelings, or interpretations of meaning and process. Such methods are central to research conducted in education, nursing, sociology, anthropology, information studies, and other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and health sciences. Qualitative research projects are informed by a wide range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods presents current and complete information as well as ready-to-use techniques, facts, and examples from the field of qualitative research in a very accessible style. In taking an interdisciplinary approach, these two volumes target a broad audience and fill a gap in the existing reference literature for a general guide to the core concepts that inform qualitative research practices. The entries cover every major facet of qualitative methods, including access to research participants, data coding, research ethics, the role of theory in qualitative research, and much more--all without overwhelming the informed reader. Key Features Defines and explains core concepts, describes the techniques involved in the implementation of qualitative methods, and presents an overview of qualitative approaches to research Offers many entries that point to substantive debates among qualitative researchers regarding how concepts are labeled and the implications of such labels for how qualitative research is valued Guides readers through the complex landscape of the language of qualitative inquiry Includes contributors from various countries and disciplines that reflect a diverse spectrum of research approaches from more traditional, positivist approaches, through postmodern, constructionist ones Presents some entries written in first-person voice and others in third-person voice to reflect the diversity of approaches that define qualitative work Key Themes Approaches and Methodologies Arts-Based Research, Ties to Computer Software Data Analysis Data Collection Data Types and Characteristics Dissemination History of Qualitative Research Participants Quantitative Research, Ties to Research Ethics Rigor Textual Analysis, Ties to Theoretical and Philosophical Frameworks The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods is designed to appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, practitioners, researchers, consultants, and consumers of information across the social sciences, humanities, and health sciences, making it a welcome addition to any academic or public library.
Quantitative Research for the Behavioral Sciences by
Using an informal approach, this is an introduction to a broad range of research methods; presumes no prior experience with statistics and emphasizes theoretical underpinnings and practical applications. Topics include the philosophy of science, the theory of measurement, a concise overview of statistical analysis, the effects of social science on individuals and society, how to go about writing a research report. Along with examples of actual research, each chapter ends with a summary, a CheckPoint and exercises that encourage students to think more deeply about issues just covered.
Quantitative Social Research Methods by
Quantitative Social Research Methods explores the entire spectrum of quantitative social research methods and their application, with special reference to the development sector. It provides detailed coverage of all statistical research and analysis method with an emphasis on multivariate analysis techniques, such as regression discriminant analysis, logistic regression, factor, factor, cluster, correspondence and conjoint analysis. The book is thematically arranged in two sections: the first section introduces development research techniques, explores the genesis and scope of social research, research processes and then goes on to explain univariate, bivariate and multivariate data analysis with the help of software packages such as SPSS and STATA. The second focuses on the application of social and development research methods in the development sector. It explores research method application and the issues relevant to aspects of development such as population, health and nutrition, poverty and rural development, education, water and sanitation, and environment and natural resource management.
Reasoning with Statistics by 
SAGE Quantitative Research Methods by
For more than 40 years, SAGE has been one of the leading international publishers of works on quantitative research methods in the social sciences. This new collection provides readers with a representative sample of the best articles in quantitative methods that have appeared in SAGE journals as chosen by W. Paul Vogt, editor of other successful major reference collections such as Selecting Research Methods (2008) and Data Collection (2010). The volumes and articles are organized by theme rather than by discipline. Although there are some discipline-specific methods, most often quantitative research methods cut across disciplinary boundaries. Volume One: Fundamental Issues in Quantitative Research Volume Two: Measurement for Causal and Statistical Inference Volume Three: Alternatives to Hypothesis Testing Volume Four: Complex Designs for a Complex World
New Scholarship in Critical Quantitative Research by 
