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More About This Textbook
Overview
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
“My biggest frustration in my Research Methods course is the lack of a textbook that provides the necessary content in a manner that students can relate to. The challenge then is to work, work, and work on driving home the main themes that I want students to retain. The O’Sullivan text conveys course material in a more readable form, focuses on important concepts rather than taking a broad brush approach, and offers a number of end-of-chapter exercises that really distinguish this text.”
-David Shetterly, Troy University
Product Details
Table of Contents
Preface
SECTION I Research in Nonprofit and Public Programs: The Basics
Chapter 1 Research in Public and Nonprofit Programs: The Basics 1
Research and Effective Management 1
Defining the Research Question 2
The Building Blocks of Research 3
Variables, Values, and Constants 3
Hypotheses 4
Defining Research Subjects 8
The Organization of this Text 9
Exercises 11
1.1 Learning from Sarah's story 11
1.2 On Your Own 13
Chapter 2 Measurement 14
Conceptual and Operational Definitions 14
Reliability 17
Operational Validity 20
Sensitivity 24
Concluding Observations 24
Recommended Resources 25
Exercises 25
2.1 Good Nutrition Survey 25
2.2 Living Wage: From Idea to Measure 27
2.3 Selecting Job Applicants 28
2.4 On Your Own 33
Chapter 3 Ethical Treatment of Research Subjects 34
A Cornerstone of Ethical Research: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study 34
Principles of Ethical Treatment of Human Subjects 36
Informed Consent 37
Identifying and Weighing Costs, Risks, and Benefits 38
Selection of Subjects 39
Protecting Privacy and Confidentiality 40
Federal Policy on Protection of Human Subjects and Institutional Review Boards 43
Beyond Informed Consent and Confidentiality: Issues of Interest to Administrators 44
Ethical Values 46
Concluding Observations 47
Recommended Resources 47
Exercises 47
3.1 Learning about Teenaged Mothers 48
3.2 Evaluating a Debt Counseling Program 50
3.3 On Your Own 51
SECTION II Performance Measurement Systems: Their Design and Analysis 52
Chapter 4 Designing Performance Measures and Monitoring Systems 53
An Overview of Performance Measurement and Monitoring 54
Logic Models 54
Efficiency and Productivity 57
Data Sources 59
Administrative Records 59
Customer Feedback 59
Trained Observers and Rating Systems 59
Census Data 59
Government Records 60
Time Series 60
Concluding Observations 64
Recommended Resources 64
Exercises 64
4.1 Childhood Vaccination Program 65
4.2 Comparing Two Job Training and Placement Programs 66
4.3 Variations in Unemployment 67
4.4 On Your Own 67
Chapter 5 Analyzing Performance Measures 68
Measurement Scales 68
Entering Data on a Spreadsheet 71
Counting the Values: Frequency Distributions 72
Relative Frequency Distribution 73
Cumulative Relative Frequency Distribution 73
Presenting Data Visually 74
Pie Charts 74
Bar Graphs and Histograms 75
Time Series Graphs 77
Rates and Percentage Change 77
Rates 77
Percentage Change 79
Characteristics of a Distribution 80
Measures of Central Tendency 80
Measures of Variation and Dispersion 82
Concluding Observations 86
Recommended Resources 86
Exercises 87
5.1 Fresh Start Center 87
5.2 Purple Flower Neighborhood Association 89
SECTION III Citizen Surveys: Their Design and Analysis 91
Chapter 6 Selecting and Contacting Subjects 92
The Principles of Sample Design 92
Sampling Terminology 92
Probability Samples 94
Nonprobability Samples 98
Sample Size 99
For Qualitative Studies 99
For Probability Samples 100
Nonsampling Errors 100
Contacting People to Get Information 101
Mail Surveys 102
Internet Surveys 103
Telephone Surveys 104
In-Person Interviewing 105
Concluding Observations 106
Recommended Resources 106
Exercises 106
6.1 Learning from Practice 107
6.2 The Long Street History Museum 107
6.3 Health Care for Children and Adolescents 108
6.4 On Your Own 109
Chapter 7 Questions and Questionnaire for Surveys and Interviews 110
Questions for Surveys and Forms 111
Closed-ended Questions 113
Open-ended Questions 117
Reviewing the Questionnaire 119
Designing the questionnaire 119
Introductions and First Questions 119
Filter Questions 121
Demographic Questions 121
Questions for Interviews and focus Groups 121
Planning, Pretesting, and Piloting Surveys and Interview Protocols 124
Concluding Observations 125
Recommended Resources 125
Exercises 126
7.1 The Long Street History Museum (Revisited) 126
7.2 Metro Citizen Kitchen and Food Pantry 126
7.3 On Your Own 128
Chapter 8 Analyzing Survey Data: Describing Relationships Among Variables 129
Analyzing Nominal and Ordinal Variables: Contingency Tables 129
Analyzing Ratio Variables: Linear Regression and Correlation 132
Multiple Regression: Regression and Correlation with More Than One Independent Variable 135
Concluding Observations 137
Recommended Resources 137
Exercises 137
8.1 Nonprofit Participation in Experimental Financial Assistance Program 138
8.2 Do Public Service Announcements Yield More Volunteers? 140
8.3 Physicians for Access 141
8.4 Fresh Start Center 142
Chapter 9 Generalizing from Survey Findings: Applying Inferential Statistics 145
Sampling Statistics 145
Sample Size 148
Tests of Statistical Significance 149
Stating the Null Hypothesis 150
Selecting an Alpha Level 152
Selecting and Computing a Test Statistic 153
Making a Decision 156
Alternatives to Tests of Statistical Significance 156
Concluding Observations 157
Recommended Resources 158
Exercises 158
9.1 Reviewing Polling Data 158
9.2 Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment: Are Men and Women Different? 159
9.3 What Is Going On in the Schools? 160
9.4 How Groups Work Together 161
Chapter 10 Analyzing Interviews and Open-Ended Questions 163
Preparing Data for Analysis 164
Conducting the Analysis 165
Reviewing the Data---Get to Know Your Data: Read, Reread 165
Coding the Data 166
Analyzing the Data: Second Level Coding 167
Interpreting the Data 168
Using Quotes to Support Your Points 168
Biases and Credibility 169
Computer-Assisted Data Analysis 170
Concluding Observations 170
Recommended Resources 171
Exercises 171
10.1 Nonprofit Lobbying 171
10.2 Learning from Others - Making a Public Apology 174
SECTION IV Programs and Communities 175
Chapter 11 Research to Evaluate Programs 176
How To Focus An Evaluation 177
Designs for Evaluation 178
Internal Validity 179
Experimental Designs 180
The Classical Experimental Design 181
Randomized Posttest Only Experimental Design 182
Quasi-Experimental Designs 183
Non-Experimental Designs 185
External Validity 186
Deciding that a Program Works: The Search for Evidence 186
Cost-Benefit Analysis 187
Concluding Observations 189
Recommended Resources 189
Exercises 189
11.1 An Antiflu Campaign 190
11.2 Prenatal Support Program 192
11.3 On Your Own 194
Chapter 12 Community Needs Assessment 197
Identifying Needs 197
Concept of Need 198
Describing Needs and Services 200
Collecting Information from Databases and Agencies 201
Collecting Information from Individuals 203
Concluding Observations 206
Recommended Resources 207
Exercises 207
12.1 Sustainable South Bronx 207
12.2 Learning from Practice---How a Needs Assessment Looks 208
12.3 On Your Own 208
Chapter 13 Working with Geographic Information Systems 210
GIS Basics 211
Selecting, Creating, and Using GIS Data 212
Basic GIS Analysis 212
Management and Ethical Issues Associated with GIS 214
General Issues About Maps 214
Privacy Issues in GIS 215
Common GIS Mapping Functions 215
Using GIS Functions: Examples of Applications 221
Concluding Observations 222
Recommended Resources 223
Exercises 223
13.1 Creating an After-School Program 224
13.2 Services for the Mobility Impaired 224
13.3 Learning from Practice: How Agencies Use GIS 225
13.4 NewLand 226
Chapter 14 Communicating Findings 227
Variations in Audiences and their Needs 227
Oral Presentations of Research Findings 228
Written Presentations 230
Background Information 230
Methodology Section 231
Findings 232
Discussion 233
Recommendations 233
Executive Summary 233
Ethical Issues 234
Research Misconduct 234
Handling Research Errors 236
Saving Data 237
Concluding Observations 237
Recommended Resources 238
Exercises 238
14.1 A Learning from Practice: From Written Report to Oral Presentation 239
14.2 Learning from Practice: Critiquing an Oral Presentation 240
Glossary 241
Index 247