Graham R. Walden - Böcker

This is the first annotated bibliography to thoroughly cover the research studies on public opinion polls and survey research for the period 1935-1979. In addition to examining the first 45 years of polling and survey research in the United States, Walden provides appendixes on acronyms, source journals, print and CD-ROM sources, organizations associated with the field, and author and selective keyword indexes.This is the first annotated bibliography to cover the research studies on public opinion polls and survey research for the first 45 years of polling and survey research in the United States. Nearly 7,000 entries are provided, making this the most comprehensive work on the subject. The work is organized by subject, and within each subject or subcategory, alphabetically by author. Use of this work is augmented by appendixes on acronmyms, source journals, print and CD-ROM sources, organizations associated with the field, and author and selective keyword indexes.Historians and others concerned with the development of polls and surveys will be the main users of this work. Others who will find the volume invaluable include sociologists of science. Collections on communications, modern American society, and politics will find the work of use as well.

Survey research is one of the most widely used research methodologies across the social and behavioral sciences. Two trends that have had a major impact on the development of survey methods over the last decade are (1) the application of techniques and theories from cognitive psychology to the understanding and reduction of survey measurement error, and (2) the application of new computer and telephony technologies to data collection and analysis. These trends and other emerging issues from the 1990's literature on survey research methods are captured here in 617 detailed annotations to monographs, journals, government documents, dissertations, and ERIC documents. Annotations include examples from business, criminology, education, health and medicine, law, library science, mass media, military science, political science, psychology, sociology, social work, religion, and women's studies.The bibliographic entries provide every useful element, including series names, complete subtitles, and overall text page numbers as well as chapter page numbers. The extensive annotations are more complete, and more detailed than is typical for annotated bibliographies. The descriptions include highlights of the study data and sufficient detail to enable the reader to make an informed choice as to whether to seek the full text. Appendices include journals cited and the major survey research organizations. The annotations are easily accessed through author and subject indexes.

This volume is the first of two volumes that address the most recent ten years (1997-2006) of focus group studies and research literature. Volume one provides coverage of the arts and humanities, social sciences, and the nonmedical sciences, and volume two concentrates on the medical and health sciences. These volumes cover the English-language academic literature (books, chapters in books, journal articles, and significant pamphlets) available in libraries via interlibrary loan and online.A variety of materials are included: instructional guides, handbooks, reference works, textbooks, and academic journal literature. In Focus Groups, Volume I, the following subject disciplines have been considered: in the arts and humanities—linguistics, music, religion, and sports and leisure studies; in the social sciences—anthropology, business, cartography, communication, demography, education, law, library science, political science, psychology, and sociology; and in the non-medical sciences—agriculture, biology, engineering, environmental sciences, and physics. The selected entries have a minimum of four pages, and include 29 books, 50 book chapters, 349 articles, and 10 pamphlets, for a total of 438 entries.An appendix includes the titles of the 245 journals cited, along with the appropriate entry numbers for each. Author and subject indexes provide access to the contents, with the subject index providing access to unique terms. The detailed contents pages are designed to enable the reader to quickly find appropriate entries through the use of extensive and detailed subheadings.

Focus groups are a popular, widely accepted, and legitimate research method to determine attitudes, experiences, perceptions, and knowledge on a wide range of topics in many fields of endeavour. For example, studies have been conducted to examine participants′ favourite pizza toppings, their quality of life following hip replacement surgery and how they feel about human cloning. Focus groups lead to the voicing of attitudes and insights not readily attainable from other qualitative forms of data collection. The spectrum of interest in focus groups covers virtually all disciplines, and the variety of the applications for this technique is extraordinary. In nine parts, Prof. Graham Walden explores what a focus group is, how they are best used, the strengths and weaknesses of focus groups and the ethical issues surrounding focus groups, amongst other things.