In addition to hundreds of new references features new to this edition include: a comprehensive introduction to qualitative methods including a review of existing computer applications for collecting and analyzing data; the latest information about the use of computers and online research techniques, including the use of the Internet to locate actual research instruments and journal articles; updated coverage on new scales, internal and external validity, and new analytic techniques with extensive references on each; abstracts, citations and subject groupings by measurement tool of the last five years of the American Sociological Review, Social Psychology Quarterly, and the American Journal of Sociology; extensive coverage of how to prepare manuscripts for publication, including a list of all journals covered by Sociological Abstracts along with the editorial office address and URL for each entry; new coverage of ethical issues; expansion of social indicators to include international coverage; discussion of the importance of policy research with presentation and discussion of specific models as an adjunct to both applied and basic research techniques; and the addition of an index to facilitate the reader's ability to quickly locate a topic.

Elements of Research Design

Elements of Research Design

When selecting a problem for possible research consideration, the complete research design and all its elements must be considered and formally evaluated. Table 2.1 lists dimensions of the research design that need to be considered throughout the process of selecting a problem, asking the question, framing the hypothesis, and completing the experiment. The following pages provide guides for many of these design decisions. The choice of a research design is of great importance because it influences all the outcomes of the study.

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