"This volume provides valuable guidelines and information to the family studies research. Each chapter contains thought provoking exercises and a reference list. Anyone considering a family study needs to read this volume before beginning. While no single volume can provide a complete roadmap, this text provides a good outline and points out major roadblocks. However, one should not get the idea this volume is for the researcher only. Anyone who works in the family therapy arena will benefit from the insights provided, especially as they read the literature to keep current."--Evaluation Practice "Studying Families is a very practical, down-to-earth book about how to study families from a psychological perspective. ... The authors present insightful discussions of research issues involved when studying multiple members of the same family and when the objective is to measure properties of the family as a group. There is a well-balanced presentation of the advantages, disadvantages, and techniques of using observations and self-reports to collect data from family members. ... We recommend Studying Families as a useful supplemental text for psychologists who need to teach about or research the family."--Contemporary Psychology "I assigned Studying Families as a text for a graduate class in Family Research Methods. My students and I gave the book rave reviews; it was extremely readable, concise, and thorough. It introduced us to a state-of-the-art thinking in family research. It often helped us to clarify confusing concepts we were struggling with from other family readings. This book should be extremely helpful to anyone engaged in the process of thinking about family research methods." --Leslie Brody, Boston University "In Studying Families, Anne Copeland and Kathleen White present a concise, well-written, and extremely interesting discussion of several distinct issues related to family research. Their appraoch is rather characteristic, in that rather than reviewing basic social science research methodology, they have chosen to outline very succinctly the unique (and often problematic) aspects of methodology relevant to the study of families. ... Each chapter concludes with a set of challenging exercises and a list of suggested readings. This book, along with the supplementary readings, would be excellent in a course on family research methods, in which students had already completed a basic social science research methods course. It also will make a valuable addition to every family researcher's collection of resource materials." --The Journal of Marriage and the Family By exploring the special issues and problems related to research on families, Copeland and White show the reader how the techniques needed to study families differ from the standard methods used to study individuals. In addition to covering such techniques as self- report and observational methods, the book includes suggestions for the use of existing data and an evaluation of the problems with secondary data use, as well as the considerations necessary for aggregating data and performing analyses. Through a focus on the issues involved in assessing individuals, their relationships, and families, Studying Families offers a guide through the complex challenges inherent in doing family research.

Gale Researcher Guide for: Studying Families is selected from Gale's academic platform Gale Researcher. These study guides provide peer-reviewed articles that allow students early success in finding scholarly materials and to gain the confidence and vocabulary needed to pursue deeper research.

In the 3rd edition of Methods of Family Research, authors Theodore N. Greenstein and Shannon N. Davis continue to help students better understand the research results they encounter in doing family research. Using real-life examples to illustrate important concepts that family researchers encounter regularly, the text covers traditional quantitative methods, qualitative methods, and the mixed-method approach. Written in a clear, concise style, this book differs from other research methods texts, which focus on teaching students how to produce research, by teaching them how to consume research in a sophisticated, effective manner. The book introduces the basic concepts of social science research methods without excessive technical details.

This is the first multidisciplinary text to address the growing scholarly connection between religion and family life. The latest literature from family studies, psychology, sociology, and religion is reviewed along with narratives drawn from interviews with 200 racially, religiously, and regionally diverse families which bring the concepts to life. Written in a thought-provoking, accessible, and sometimes humorous style by two of the leading researchers in the field, the book reflects the authors’ firsthand experience in teaching today’s students about religion’s impact on families. Prior to writing the book, the authors read the sacred texts of many faiths, interviewed religious leaders, and attended religious services for a wide array of faiths. The result is an accurate and engaging account of why and how families are impacted by their religion. The pedagogical features of the text include boldfaced key terms defined in the glossary, text boxes, chapter conclusions, summary points, and review questions. Religion and Families: Examines several denominations within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Reviews findings from racially and ethnically diverse families, from traditional and diverse family forms, and examines gender and life-course issues. Addresses the impact of one’s religious involvement on longevity, divorce rates, and parenting styles. Considers demographic, family-, couple-, and individual-level data that relate to prayer and other sacred practices. Presents a balanced treatment of the latest research and a new model for studying family and religion. Explores the "whys," "hows," and processes at work in the religion-family connection. The book opens with a discussion of why religion and family connections matter. Chapter 2 defines religion and presents a new conceptualization of religion. Empirical research connections between religion and marriage, divorce, family, and parent-child relationships are explored in chapters 3 through 6. The interface between religion and the family in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are reviewed in chapters 7, 8, and 9. Chapter 10 explores the unique challenges that religion presents for diverse family forms. Prayer as a coping mechanism for life’s challenges such as death and disability are explored in chapter 11. Chapter 12 examines forgiveness in the context of marriages and families. The book concludes with a review of the book’s most important themes and findings. Intended as a text for undergraduate courses in family and religion, the psychology or sociology of the family, the psychology or sociology of religion, pastoral/biblical counseling, or family and youth ministry, taught in human development and family studies, psychology, sociology, religion, social work, pastoral counseling, and sometimes philosophy. This book also appeals to family therapists and counselors.

This book offers an up-to-the-moment assessment of the condition of the American family in an era of growing inequality.

Key Concepts in Family Studie's individual entries introduce, explain and contextualize the key topics within the study of the family. Definitions, summaries and key words are developed throughout with careful cross-referencing allowing students to move effortlessly between core ideas and themes. Each entry provides clear definitions, lucid accounts of key issues, up-to-date suggestions for further reading, and informative cross-referencing. Relevant, focused and accessible this book will provide students with an indispensible guide to the central concepts of family studies.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.