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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $99.99

Format:
Paperback
160 pp.
11 b&w figures, 20 b&w tables, 1 b&w photo, 8" x 10"

ISBN-13:
9780195426588

Copyright Year:
2009

Imprint: OUP Canada


The Methods Coach

Learning Through Practice

Lance W. Roberts, Karen Kampen and Tracey Peter

An ideal companion to any core research methods text, The Methods Coach: Learning Through Practice helps students to bridge the gap between knowing and doing. The coaching program encourages students to not only understand research methods, but to do research methods for themselves. Lab exercises are organized into three parts-a 'tune-up', applications, and constructive feedback-to optimize students' ability to apply the theories, concepts, and techniques found in introductory research methods courses. With this hands-on, lab-based approach, The Methods Coach offers far more than conventional study guides.

Readership : Sociology majors from universities and university-colleges at the second- and third-year levels will use this companion volume alongside their core texts in introductory research methods. After introductory sociology, introductory research methods is the next compulsory course (along with introductory statistics) required of sociology majors as a degree prerequisite.

'You Play the Way you Practice': A Preface for Students
Lab 1: The Building Blocks: Variables and Hypotheses
Lab 2: Errors in Reasoning
Lab 3: Conceptual and Operational Definitions
Lab 4: Levels of Measurement
Lab 5: Quantitative Sampling Considerations
Lab 6: Survey Design Issues
Lab 7: Content Analysis-Instrument Pre-testing
Lab 8: Content Analysis-Collecting the Data
Lab 9: Content Analysis-Processing the Data
Lab 10: Qualitative Field Observation
Lab 11: Using Existing and Official Statistics
Lab 12: Causal Thinking
Notes
About the Authors
Index

Instructor's Manual
Lab instructions and tips for students

Lance Roberts is a Professor in the Sociology Department and a Fellow of St John's College at the University of Manitoba. He recently completed a term as Director of the Winnipeg Area Study, a survey research unit. For over three decades he has taught undergraduate and graduate methods and statistics courses and is the author of several books and dozens of articles on topics related to social trends, ethnic relations, education, and inequality.

Karen Kampen is a Doctoral Candidate in the Sociology Department's PhD program at the University of Manitoba, where she holds the position of Lab Instructor. Her main areas of interest are environmental sociology and research methods. She has spent 15 years working in universities as a Research Associate, collecting and analyzing data for long-term projects such as a health-care program evaluation and books on social trends and poverty. She also serves as an Instructor for introductory sociology and undergraduate methods courses.

Tracey Peter is an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Manitoba. Her areas of specialization include data analysis and syntax programming, skills she advanced during her tenure as a Research Associate and Programming Manager with a nationally based evaluation research company. She currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in research methods and statistics and is working on several projects in mental health and violence, suicide prevention, education, and immigration research.

Social Research Methods - Alan Bryman and James Teevan
The Research Process - Gary D. Bouma, Rod Ling and Lori Wilkinson
Approaches to Social Research - Royce A. Singleton, Jr. and Bruce C. Straits
Making Sense in the Social Sciences - Margot Northey, Lorne Tepperman and Patrizia Albanese

Special Features

  • Versatile. With a diverse selection of lab exercises meant to reinforce fundamental concepts, The Methods Coach can easily supplement any introductory research methods text, giving instructors flexibility when choosing their core text.
  • Innovative structure. Based on the three-component 'coaching' model (a 'tune-up', lab application, and constructive feedback), the text is organized to solidify student understanding of key concepts and principles through guided application.
  • Practical approach. Encourages students to do research methods for themselves, helping to build practical skills and confidence in the discipline.
  • Built-in assignments. Perforated pages allow labs to be torn out and submitted by students as assignments, saving the instructor time in creating graded exercises.
  • Helpful learning aids. Answers to lab applications are provided on a companion website so students can get feedback on their work, and tips for each lab are provided at the back of the book for quick-reference guidance.