Methods of Research on Human Development and Families

Theodore N. Greenstein is a father, husband, teacher, author, and researcher.  He is currently Associate Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University.  He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington State University and has been teaching sociology of the family, research methods, and statistics since 1976.  His research program focuses on the intersection of work and family.  His publications on the division of household labor, marital stability, and the effects of maternal employment on child well-being have appeared in Social Forces, the Journal of Marriage and Family, the Journal of Family Issues, and the Journal of Comparative Family Studies.  He is a member of the American Sociological Association, the Southern Sociological Society, the Council on Contemporary Families, and the National Council on Family Relations. Professor Davis was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. She received her BA in Sociology in 1997 with distinction as an Undergraduate Research Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.  She received her Ph.D. in Sociology in 2004 from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University.  She also spent two years as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Professor Davis′ research has two foci.  One vein of her work focuses on the creation of families and the negotiation of family life.  Specifically, she is interested in how family members negotiate the intersection of paid and unpaid work in their daily lives and how gender inequality is reproduced in families.  Recently, she began investigating the ways married couples are responding to the recent economic recession, and how these responses facilitate and undermine gender equality.

• PrefaceThe Goal of This TextTo the StudentTo the InstructorOrganization of This TextAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsChapter 1 Why Do Research on Families and Children?What Are the Stages of Social Research?How Is Research on Families and Children Different?The Benefits of Well-Conducted ResearchStudy QuestionsChapter 2 The Ethics of Research on Families and ChildrenThe Rights of Participants in Research on Families and ChildrenWhat Is the Role of the Institutional Review Board?Fraud in Research on Families and ChildrenThe Value of Ethically Sound ResearchStudy QuestionsChapter 3 Causal Inference in Research on Families and ChildrenVariablesUnits of AnalysisThinking CausallyFraming the HypothesisCausal Inference in Qualitative ResearchStudy QuestionsChapter 4 Searching and Reading the LiteratureReading a Journal ArticleWhere Do I Go From Here?How Do Journal Articles Get Published?Research MonographsEdited VolumesOther Types of PublicationsStudy QuestionsChapter 5 Sampling IssuesDefining the PopulationSampling DesignsHow Large Does the Sample Need to Be?How Do We Go About Choosing a Sampling Technique?Study QuestionsChapter 6 How Do We Measure Concepts?Characteristics of a Good Measurement ProcedureLevels of MeasurementWhat Are Reliability and Validity?Some Thoughts on Reliability and ValidityStudy QuestionsChapter 7 Working With Scales and IndicesTypes of Scales and IndicesUsing Existing Scales and IndicesHow Do We Evaluate Scales and Indices?How Do We Deal With Missing Data in Scales and Indices?Study QuestionsChapter 8 Studying Families: Methods for Quantitative DataStudying Families Through ExperimentsStudying Families Through Survey MethodsStudying Families and Children Through Nonreactive TechniquesTypes of Nonreactive Research“Big Data” in the Study of Families and ChildrenSecondary Analysis of Sample SurveysEthics and Quantitative MethodsSome Limitations of Quantitative MethodsStudy QuestionsChapter 9 Studying Families: Methods for Qualitative DataQualitative Research Compared to Quantitative ResearchTypes of Qualitative StrategiesStudying Families Through ObservationEthics and Qualitative ResearchEvaluating Qualitative ResearchStudy QuestionsChapter 10 Studying Families: Mixed MethodsMixed-Method Approaches to Family ResearchMixed-Model Studies in Family ResearchSome Closing Thoughts on Choosing a Research StrategyStudy QuestionsChapter 11 Using Other People’s DataAdvantages and Disadvantages of Secondary AnalysisData on ChildrenData on AdolescentsData on Older AdultsData on Families and HouseholdsSources of Secondary Data SetsFuture Trends in Secondary Data AnalysisStudy QuestionsChapter 12 Analyzing Data on Families and ChildrenDescriptive StatisticsInterpreting Cross-Classification TablesInferential StatisticsCommonly Reported Tests of Statistical SignificanceSome Thoughts About Statistical AnalysisStudy QuestionsChapter 13 Advanced Topics in Family Data AnalysisThe Idea of Nested EntitiesAnalyzing Nested DataIndividual Change Over TimeFinal Thoughts on Nested EntitiesStudy QuestionsChapter 14 Evaluating Programs in Human Development and Family ScienceNeeds and Social Impact Assessment: What Is the Problem?Outcome Assessment: Does It Work?Process Research: How Does It Work?Some Thoughts About Randomization in Evaluation ResearchThe Relationship Between Applied and Basic ResearchStudy QuestionsChapter 15 Politics of Research on Families and ChildrenPolitical Concerns in Research on Families and ChildrenSome Closing ThoughtsGlossaryReferencesIndex