Practical Problems in Research Methods

<p>• Each of the 53 cases presents a practical problem faced by a researcher and the solution he or she selected. </p><p>•The questions encourage students to evaluate the researcher’s solution and consider alternatives. </p><p>•All cases are drawn from the published literature. Your students will evaluate real problems faced by practicing researchers. </p><p>•All major topics in research methods are covered. Here are samples from the seven major sections of the book: •Sampling: Sampling Hispanic Adults by Telephone<br>•Measurement: Social Desirability<br>•Operational Definitions: Defining “Physical Abuse” of Children<br>•Procedures: Controlling the Distribution of a Questionnaire<br>•Experimental and Causal-Comparative Design: Forming Comparison<br>•Groups in Classroom Research on Reading<br>•Ethical Considerations: Prescreening Adolescents for Stress<br>•Interpretation of Results: Health Risk Behaviors of Adolescents</p><p>•The extensive instructor’s guide provides discussion points as well as samples of students’ answers obtained in the field tests. </p><p>•This supplementary book makes dry textbook principles come alive! Students learn that research is a dynamic process—that for many problems there are competing solutions, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. </p><p>•The 35 short cases are ideal for classroom discussions. The 18 longer ones make great homework assignments. </p> <p>SECTION I: Short Cases</p><p>Part A: Sampling</p><p>Case 1: Sampling Hispanic Adults by Telephone</p><p>Case 2: Using a Sample of Convenience</p><p>Case 3: Using Quota Sampling</p><p>Case 4: Using an Incentive to Increase Response Rate</p><p>Case 5: Obtaining a Sample of Psychotherapy Clients</p><p>Part B: Measurement</p><p>Case 6: Measuring the Attractiveness of Participants </p><p>Case 7: Measuring Social Desirability </p><p>Case 8: Measuring Students’ Distant Memories</p><p>Case 9: Evaluating an Acculturation Scale</p><p>Case 10: Determining the Validity of Self-Reports</p><p>Part C: Operational Definitions</p><p>Case 11: Defining “Physical Abuse” of Children </p><p>Case 12: Defining “Economic Well-Being” </p><p>Case 13: Defining “Substance Abuse” Among Pregnant Women </p><p>Case 14: Defining a “Social Interaction”</p><p>Case 15: Defining “Sex” in a National Survey </p><p>Part D: Procedures</p><p>Case 16: Controlling the Distribution of a Questionnaire in a Nutrition Study </p><p>Case 17: Identifying Duplicate Responses to an Anonymous Questionnaire </p><p>Case 18: Using a Simulated Setting to Evaluate Disciplinary Fairness Training </p><p>Case 19: Using Confederates in an Experiment </p><p>Case 20: Working with Severely Angry Participants </p><p>Part E: Experimental/Causal Comparative Designs</p><p>Case 21: Selecting Participants for a Comparison of Asian and White Americans </p><p>Case 22: Forming Experimental and Control Groups in a Study of Drug Prevention</p><p>Case 23: Forming Comparison Groups in Classroom Research on Reading </p><p>Case 24: Forming Comparison Groups for a Study of Postpartum Disorders </p><p>Case 25: Identifying Comparison Groups for a Study of Childhood Abuse</p><p>Part F: Protecting the Rights of Participants/Ethical Considerations</p><p>Case 26: Using Deception in a Study of Social Interactions </p><p>Case 27: Prescreening Adolescents for Stress </p><p>Case 28: Estimating HIV Rates Among Young Men </p><p>Case 29: Soliciting Professors for a Study of Their Intellect </p><p>Case 30: Hiding the Purpose of a Study from Employees</p><p>Part G: Interpretation of Results</p><p>Case 31: Interpreting Cause-and-Effect: Health Risk Behaviors of Adolescents</p><p>Case 32: Interpreting Results in Light of Social Desirability </p><p>Case 33: Evaluating Attrition in a Study on Hypnosis </p><p>Case 34: Interpreting Differences in Physical Victimization</p><p>Case 35: Interpreting Reported Differences in Husbands’ Marital Aggression</p><p>SECTION II: LONGER CASES</p><p>Case 36: Using Interviews to Measure Mothers’ Use of Physical Discipline<br>Descriptor: Measurement </p><p>Case 37: Defining Group Therapy Used with Elementary School Children <br>Descriptor: Operational Definition </p><p>Case 38: Getting Informed Consent for Research During an Emergency <br> Descriptor: Ethics </p><p>Case 39: Interpreting Data on Cigarette Smoking by Seventh Graders<br> Descriptor: Interpretation </p><p>Case 40: Encouraging Responses to a Mailed Survey<br>Descriptors: Sampling, Interpretation </p><p>Case 41: Interpreting Limitations in a Study of Childhood Cancer and Stress <br>Descriptors: Sampling, Interpretation </p><p>Case 42: Studying the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages to Minors <br>Descriptors: Sampling, Procedures, Ethics </p><p>Case 43: Identifying Heroin Addicts Who Falsify Information <br> Descriptors: Sampling, Measurement, Ethics </p><p>Case 44: Observing Children’s Aggressiveness on the Playground<br> Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics, Interpretation </p><p>Case 45: Introducing Participants to a Study on Lie Telling<br>Descriptors: Measurement, Operational Definitions, Procedures </p><p>Case 46: Measuring Sex-Role Stereotyping Among Children<br>Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics </p><p>Case 47: Studying Suicide Ideation and Acculturation Among Adolescents <br>Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics </p><p>Case 48: Encouraging Truthfulness in Telephone Interviews<br> Descriptors: Measurement, Interpretation </p><p>Case 49: Estimating the Credibility of Young Children’s Reports <br> Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics, Interpretation </p><p>Case 50: Designing an Experiment on Cross-Cultural Training<br>Descriptors: Measurement, Experimental Design, Ethics, Interpretation</p><p>Case 51: Designing an Experiment on Worrying Among the Elderly<br> Descriptors: Operational Definition, Experimental Design, Interpretation </p><p>Case 52: Designing an Experiment on Reducing the Risk of Bulimia <br>Descriptors: Operational Definition, Experimental Design </p><p>Case 53: Interpreting a “Natural Experiment” on Anonymous Testing for HIV <br> Descriptors: Causal Comparative Design, Interpretation </p>