Research Methods

This kind of research is focused on the gathering and interpretation of numerical data such as statistics and percentages--things that can be quantified. Example methods are below.

"Constructing a survey instrument is an art in itself. There are numerous small decisions that must be made – about content, wording, format, placement – that can have important consequences for your entire study. While there’s no one perfect way to accomplish this job, we do have lots of advice to offer that might increase your chances of developing a better final product." ~ Constructing the Survey by Prof William M.K. Trochim

Building a Survey

• Types of Survey Questions
• Question Content
• Response Format
• Question Wording
• Question Placement

In most social research the data analysis involves three major steps, done in roughly this order:

• leaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data Preparation)
• Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)
• Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential Statistics)

adapted from Research Methods Knowledge Base by Prof William M.K. Trochim hosted by Conjointly

• A statistical primer: understanding descriptive and inferential statistics.
• Straightforward statistics : understanding the tools of research / Glenn Geher and Sara Hall.
• Understanding Statistics : An Introduction
• Understanding Multivariate Research : A Primer For Beginning Social Scientists