Julian Simon was known for his methodical, and often controversial, writings challenging conventional beliefs about overpopulation, pollution, disappearing farmland, and the scarcity of energy sources and raw materials. But throughout his works is a common theme: that responsible, unbiased research and examination of the data is indispensable to formulating a well-informed and accurate opinion. The Art of Empirical Investigation teaches student, professor, researcher, and those interested in ascertaining the truth about social issues just how to proceed. The Art of Empirical Investigation is a textbook on the basics of social-scientific research. It discusses all the important empirical methods used in social science, and its examples, drawn from a wide variety of academic and applied fields, illustrate the use of each method in its most appropriate context. The actual decisions a researcher must make at every stage of a project are emphasized, as well as obstacles to knowledge--such as observer bias, deception, unreliability of data, and sampling costs--and how to overcome them. Presupposing nothing, the book introduces the reader to the foundations of empirical social-science research, regardless of a specific field. It also makes an important contribution to beginning researchers' understanding of an operational definition of causality, which cuts through philosophical obscurity and teaches the researcher how to decide whether or not a given relationship is causal.

Julian Simon was known for his methodical, and often controversial, writings challenging conventional beliefs about overpopulation, pollution, disappearing farmland, and the scarcity of energy sources and raw materials. But throughout his works is a common theme: that responsible, unbiased research and examination of the data is indispensable to formulating a well-informed and accurate opinion. "The Art of Empirical Investigation" teaches student, professor, researcher, and those interested in ascertaining the truth about social issues just how to proceed. "The Art of Empirical Investigation" is a textbook on the basics of social-scientific research. It discusses all the important empirical methods used in social science, and its examples, drawn from a wide variety of academic and applied fields, illustrate the use of each method in its most appropriate context. The actual decisions a researcher must make at every stage of a project are emphasized, as well as obstacles to knowledge--such as observer bias, deception, unreliability of data, and sampling costs--and how to overcome them. Presupposing nothing, the book introduces the reader to the foundations of empirical social-science research, regardless of a specific field. It also makes an important contribution to beginning researchers' understanding of an operational definition of causality, which cuts through philosophical obscurity and teaches the researcher how to decide whether or not a given relationship is causal. James E. Katz contributes an introduction written for this new edition, in which he explains why, after over three decades, this remains one of the best books on research methods around. Written in a clear, informal style, "The Art of Empirical Investigation" is a must for the student and teacher of the social sciences, researchers, and journalists. Julian L. Simon (1932-1998) was professor of business administration at the University of Maryland and Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute. His books, as author or editor, include "Population Matters, Hoodwinking the Nation," and "The Economics of Population: Key Classic Writing," all available from Transaction. James E. Katz is professor of communication at the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers University. He is the author of "Machines That Become Us" and "Connections," both available from Transaction.

This impressive Handbook presents the quantitative techniques that are commonly employed in empirical finance research together with real-world, state-of-the-art research examples. Written by international experts in their field, the unique approach describes a question or issue in finance and then demonstrates the methodologies that may be used to solve it. All of the techniques described are used to address real problems rather than being presented for their own sake, and the areas of application have been carefully selected so that a broad range of methodological approaches can be covered. The Handbook is aimed primarily at doctoral researchers and academics who are engaged in conducting original empirical research in finance. In addition, the book will be useful to researchers in the financial markets and also advanced Masters-level students who are writing dissertations.

Directions in Empirical Literary Studies is on the cutting edge of empirical studies and is a much needed volume. It both widens the scope of empirical studies and looks at them from an intercultural perspective by bringing together renowned scholars from the fields of philosophy, sociology, psychology, linguistics and literature, all focusing on how empirical studies have impacted these different areas. Theoretical issues are discussed and solid methods are presented. Some chapters also show the relation between empirical studies and new technology, examining developments in computer science and corpus linguistics. This book takes a global perspective, with contributors from many different countries, both senior and junior researchers. Broad in scope and interdisciplinary in nature, it contributes with the state-of-the-art developments in the field.

Students can easily misstep when they first begin to do research. Leanne C. Powner’s new title Empirical Research and Writing: A Student′s Practical Guide provides valuable advice and guidance on conducting and writing about empirical research. Chapter by chapter, students are guided through the key steps in the research process. Written in a lively and engaging manner and with a dose of humor, this practical text shows students exactly how to choose a research topic, conduct a literature review, make research design decisions, collect and analyze data, and then write up and present the results. The book′s approachable style and just-in-time information delivery make it a text students will want to read, and its wide-ranging and surprisingly sophisticated coverage will make it an important resource for their later coursework.

The performing arts around the world need to develop their audiences, and arts marketing in the current mode has a limited ability to help. This book provides guidance about understanding and researching your audience. The book provides international best-practice case studies of projects that employ innovative methods to build knowledge of their audience. The collection presents internationally renowned scholars' current research on contemporary practices, framed by newly emerging theory. 'The Audience Experience' identifies a momentous change in what it means to be part of an audience for a live arts performance. Together, new communication technologies and new kinds of audiences have transformed the expectations of performance, and 'The Audience Experience' explores key trends in the contemporary presentation of performing arts.