The SAGE Handbook of Innovation in Social Research Methods

Malcolm Williams is Professor and Director of the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. Prior to joining Cardiff in 2010, he was Professor of Social Research Methodology and Head of the School of Psychosocial Sciences at the University of Plymouth where he taught for 16 years.Malcolm has designed and taught modules in the philosophy of social research for 18 years at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. In these he has introduced a number of innovative pedagogic techniques, such as Problem Based Learning and ‘Concept Speed Dating’, in which students take a key idea and move from table to table attempting to build conceptual links between ideas.Additionally he has taught many modules and short courses in social theory, research design, questionnaire design, scaling, sampling, scientific method and history of science.Williams has an extensive publishing record in philosophy of social research, including: Introduction to Philosophy of Social Research (with Tim May, Routledge, 1996), Knowing the Social World (with Tim May, OUP, 1998), Science and Social Science (Routledge, 2000), Making Sense of Social Research (SAGE, 2003), Philosophical Foundations of Social Research (SAGE, 2006), Teaching Quantitative Methods (with Geoff Payne, SAGE, 2011) Objectivity and Subjectivity in Social Research (with Gayle Letherby and John Scott, SAGE, 2012) and The SAGE Handbook of Innovations in Social Research (with W Paul Voght, SAGE, 2014).W. Paul Vogt is Emeritus Professor of Research Methods and Evaluation at Illinois State University where he won both teaching and research awards. He specializes in methodological choice and program evaluation and is particularly interested in ways to integrate multiple methods. His other books include: Tolerance & Education: Learning to Live with Diversity and Difference (Sage Publications, 1998); Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals (Allyn & Bacon, 2007); Education Programs for Improving Intergroup Relations (coedited with Walter Stephan, Teachers College Press, 2004). He is also editor of four 4-volume sets in the series, Sage Benchmarks in Social Research Methods: Selecting Research Methods (2008); Data Collection (2010); Quantitative Research Methods (2011); and, with Burke Johnson, Correlation and Regression Analysis (2012).His most recent publications include the coauthored When to Use What Research Design (2012) and Selecting the Right Analyses for Your Data: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2014).

This book speaks to researchers across the social sciences, irrespective of their methodological persuasion. It brings fresh new perspectives to some of the core concerns of social science research methods; it challenges conventions and accepted wisdoms and provides pointers to an exciting future.The editors have produced a collection of papers that bring together some of the most original and innovative thinking about research methods. The chapters run the gamut of the research process whilst moving seamlessly across methodological boundaries.The book provides new ways of thinking about research and new ways of doing research, providing the reader with valuable pointers to their own research.

• PART ONE: THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF RESEARCHIntroduction - Malcolm Williams and W Paul VogtObjectivity: A Reconceptualization - Martyn HammersleySetting Up Sociological Research - Geoff PayneFeminist Methodology - Gayle LetherbyWhat Is an Effect? Coming at Causality Backwards - David ByrnePART TWO: DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTIONIntroduction - Malcolm Williams and W Paul VogtNarratives of the Future: Complexity, Time and Temporality - Emma UprichardMapping Pathways - Wendy DyerCorrespondence Analysis: A Case for Methodological Pluralism? - Ian Rees-JonesCase-Oriented Theory-Building and Theory-Testing - Charles C Ragin and Garrett Andrew SchneiderInvestigating Human Communication and Language from Traces Left on the Web - Mike ThelwallInnovative Qualitative Data-Collection Techniques for Conducting Literature Reviews/Research Syntheses - Anthony J Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L Leech and Kathleen M T CollinsGrounded Theory - Antony Bryant and Kathy CharmazBack to Likert: Towards the Conversational Survey - Giampietro GoboMixed Methods for Construct Validation - John H Hitchcock and Bonnie K Nastasi Researching with Peer/Community Researchers: Ambivalences and Tensions - Rosalind Edwards and Claire AlexanderInnovations in Program Evaluation: Comparative Case Studies as an Alternative to RCTs - W Paul Vogt et alPART THREE: INTEGRATING THE ANALYSIS OF NEW DATA TYPESIntroduction - W. Paul Vogt and Malcolm WilliamsAdvances in Combining Regression Results in Meta-Analysis - Ariel M Aloe and Betsy Jane BeckerToward a New Era for Conducting Mixed Analyses: The Role of Quantitative Dominant and Qualitative Dominant Cross-Over Mixed Analyses - Anthony J Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L Leech and Kathleen M T CollinsOptimal Matching Analysis - Peter Martin and Richard D WigginsQuantitative Narrative Analysis - Roberto FranzosiLexicographic Index: A New Measurement of Resemblance among Sequences - Ivano BisonGeographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Analysis - Elizabeth Griffiths PART FOUR: SAMPLING, INFERENCE AND MEASUREMENTIntroduction - W Paul Vogt and Malcolm WilliamsRespondent-Driven Sampling: Operational Procedures, Evolution of Estimators and Topics for Future Research - Cyprian Wejnert and Douglas HeckathornAnalyzing Longitudinal Studies with Non-Response: Issues and Statistical Methods - James Carpenter and Ian PlewisStatistical Inference for Causal Effects, with Emphasis on Applications in Psychometrics and Education - Donald B RubinAutomatic Item Generation: An Innovation for Developing Complex Cognitive Tests - Susan E Embretson and Heather H. McIntyreConvergence of Structural Equation Modeling and Multilevel Modeling - Rex B KlineHierarchical Linear and Structural Equation Modeling Approaches to Mediation Analysis in Randomized Field Experiments - Keenan Pituch and Laura Stapleton