Conjectures and Evidences

Auteur

Rakhahari Chatterji was Professor in Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calcutta. Books written by him include Working Class and the Nationalist Movement in India, Introduction to Comparative Political Analysis, Gandhi and the Ali Brothers-Biography of a Friendship (translated in Hindi and Marathi). Apart from editing a number of volumes he has contributed over a hundred papers to academic journals and newspapers. Currently, he is Honourary Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata.

Partha Pratim Basu is Professor of International Relations at Jadavpur University, and also Executive President, Jadavpur Association of International Relations, Kolkata. He has also served as Editor, Jadavpur Journal of International Relations; Coordinator, One-year PG Diploma Course on Human Rights; and Director, School of Media, Communication and Culture, Jadavpur University. He has long experience of teaching Research Methodology in M. Phil and PhD course work classes.

Jyotiprasad Chatterjee is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath College, West Bengal, India. His research interest includes social movements arising in and through the critical interface of democracy and development. As the Supervisor of West Bengal of CSDS- Lokniti-network, he has been associated with a number of survey based research projects and has developed a considerable expertise in managing and handling empirical data.

Suprio Basu is Assistant Course Director, Rural Awareness and Self Employment, Department of Sociology, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India. His research area includes democratic governance, policy research with a focus on democratic decentralisation, electoral behaviour and so on. Being the CSDS Lokniti's West Bengal State Coordinator for the last two decades he has provided able leadership to a number of empirical research and has developed a unique skill in quantitative data analysis

Texte du rabat

This book examines some of the major and most commonly used methods and statistics necessary for social science research. It is meant primarily for the beginners, and hence does not require any prior training in research methodology or statistics.

Contenu

Preface

List of Tables

List of Figures

PART I

1. Research Srategies: Quantitative and Qualitative

Theory, Epistemological Concerns and Ontological Questions

Trajectories of Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Data and Data Collection Techniques in Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Major Preoccupations of Quantitative and Qualitative Researchers

Critique of Quantitative and Qualitative Research

2. Research Methodology: Concepts Hypotheses and Variables

Why learn methodology?

Concepts, Hypotheses and Variables

3. Research Designs: Experimental and Quasi Experimental

J.S. Mill and the Experimental Method

The Experiment

Experimental Designs

Quasi-Experimental Designs

4. Aggregate Data Analysis

What are Aggregate Data?

Sources of Aggregate Data?

Uses of Aggregate Data

Analysis of Aggregate Data

5. Survey Research: Data and Analysis

Definition, Origin and Development of Survey Research

Techniques of Survey Research

Survey Data Analysis

Problems and Limitations of Survey Research

Conclusions: Some Solutions to the Problem of Survey Research

6. Content Analysis

History of Content Analysis

Definition and Nature of Content Analysis

Description of the Technique

Examples of Content Analysis

Qualitative-Quantitative Continuum in Content Analysis

Assessment of Content Analysis

7. The Logic and the Practice of Participant Observation

Meaning Understanding and Sociology

Meaning Understanding and Social Anthropology

Participation and Understanding the Political Process

Participant Observation: How to Practice It

8. Focus Group Research

History of Focus Group Research

Nature and Types of Focus Group Research

Description of the Technique

Examples of Focus Group Research

Focus Group Discussion as a Standalone Method?

Focus Group, Participant Observation and Interview: A Comparative Assessment

PART II

9. Measurement: the Cornerstone of Research

Levels or Scales of Measurement:

Nominal scale

Ordinal scale

Interval scale

Ratio scale

10. Organizing the Data: Frequency Distribution

Frequency Distribution of Nominal Data

Frequency Distribution of Ordinal Data

Frequency Distribution of Interval/Ratio Data

Cumulative Frequency and Cumulative Percentage

Application of the Method of Simple Interpolationxi

11. Measures of Central Tendency

Mode,

Median (Quartiles, Deciles, Percentiles)

Arithmetic Mean

Choosing an Appropriate Measure of Central Tendency

Exercise

12. Measures of Dispersion

Range

Mean Deviation

Quartile Deviation

Standard Deviation

Selecting the Best Measure of Dispersion

Relative Measures of Dispersion

Skewness

Exercise

13. Correlation and Regression

Strength of Association

Direction of Association

Correlation Coefficient

Regression

Properties of Linear Regression

Exercise

14. Nonparametric Measures of Correlation

Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient

Phi Correlation Coefficient

Chi Square

Contingency Correlation Coefficient

Cramer's V

Exercise

List of Important Formulas

Bibliography

Index