From an expert in the research methods field, Research Methods: The Concise Knowledge Base was written specifically for undergraduates. Trochim streamlined and clarified explanations of fundamental, yet difficult, concepts in his familiar, engaging style. With this text, students will learn about the relationship between theory and practice, which will help them become better researchers and better consumers of research. From an expert in the research methods field, Research Methods: The Concise Knowledge Base was written specifically for undergraduates. Trochim streamlined and clarified explanations of fundamental, yet difficult, concepts in his familiar, engaging style. With this text, students will learn about the relationship between theory and practice, which will help them become better researchers and better consumers of research.

In this first book of the series Survey Methods in Educational Research, we have brought together leading authors and scholars in the field to discuss key introductory concepts in the creation, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of survey instruments and their resultant findings. While there are other textbooks that might introduce these concepts adequately well, the authors here have focused on the pragmatic issues that inevitably arise in the development and administration process of survey instruments. Drawing from their rich experiences, the authors present these potential speed bumps or road blocks a survey researcher in education or the social sciences might encounter. Referencing their own work and practice, the authors provide valuable suggestions for dealing with these issues “your advisor never told you about.” And all of the recommendations are aligned with standard protocols and current research on best practices in the field of research methodology. This book is broken into four broad units on creating survey items and instruments, administering surveys, analyzing the data from surveys, and stories of successful administrations modeling the entire research cycle. Each chapter focuses on a different concept in the survey research process, and the authors share their approaches to addressing the issues. These topics include survey item construction, scale development, cognitive interviewing, measuring change with self-report data, translation issues with surveys administered in multiple languages, working with school and program administrators when implementing surveys, a review of current software used in survey research, the use of weights, response styles, assessing validity of results, and effectively communicating your results and findings … and much more. The intended audience of the volume will be practitioners, administrators, teachers as researchers, graduate students, social science and education researchers not experienced in survey research, and students learning program evaluation. In brief, if you are considering doing survey research, this book is meant for you.

Students and graduate students who are beginning to do research often have many difficult questions and concerns. This book is designed to give a comprehensive, reader-friendly overview of all the key aspects of conducting and presenting research. It includes chapters on topic selection, time management, using the information highway, getting your research published, and more. Humorous, research-related illustrations enhance the text. Students, as well as the faculty who work with them, will find this book to be an invaluable research tool.

This book is a companion piece to research texts, intended to guide readers through a personal path of inquiry that will enable them to better understand the concepts and facts that go into planning, carrying out, and finalizing a research. This unique book asks readers to think about questions that are interesting to them and which stimulate their interest and curiosity,which, in turn, provides an opportunity to create new questions and to explore all aspects of their research. The Little Book provides succinct questions and invites pauses for reflections, designed to focus and expedite the research process so that your research experience will be rewarding and provide pathways for future research endeavors.

This guide introduces students to the important components of the information-seeking process. It focuses on basic concepts, strategies, tools, and tactics for research in both electronic and print formats.

This open access book presents the foundations of the Big Data research and innovation ecosystem and the associated enablers that facilitate delivering value from data for business and society. It provides insights into the key elements for research and innovation, technical architectures, business models, skills, and best practices to support the creation of data-driven solutions and organizations. The book is a compilation of selected high-quality chapters covering best practices, technologies, experiences, and practical recommendations on research and innovation for big data. The contributions are grouped into four parts: · Part I: Ecosystem Elements of Big Data Value focuses on establishing the big data value ecosystem using a holistic approach to make it attractive and valuable to all stakeholders. · Part II: Research and Innovation Elements of Big Data Value details the key technical and capability challenges to be addressed for delivering big data value. · Part III: Business, Policy, and Societal Elements of Big Data Value investigates the need to make more efficient use of big data and understanding that data is an asset that has significant potential for the economy and society. · Part IV: Emerging Elements of Big Data Value explores the critical elements to maximizing the future potential of big data value. Overall, readers are provided with insights which can support them in creating data-driven solutions, organizations, and productive data ecosystems. The material represents the results of a collective effort undertaken by the European data community as part of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the European Commission and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) to boost data-driven digital transformation.