Marian Stamp Dawkins
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198569350
- eISBN:
- 9780191717512
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198569350.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This book introduces the power of observation prior to, and sometimes instead of, experimental manipulation in the study of animal behaviour. It starts with simple methods suitable for student ...
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This book introduces the power of observation prior to, and sometimes instead of, experimental manipulation in the study of animal behaviour. It starts with simple methods suitable for student projects, before going on to demonstrate the possibilities that now exist for far more sophisticated analyses of observational data. At a time when animal welfare considerations are attracting political as well as scientific debate, the potential for non-intrusive studies on animals is being increasingly recognized. Observation emerges as a valuable alternative approach, often yielding highly informative results in situations (such as in zoos, on farms, or for wild animals) where more invasive experimental techniques would be undesirable, unethical, or just plain impossible. However, to justify its place alongside experimentation as a rigorous scientific method, observation needs to be just as disciplined and systematic, and have just as much attention paid to project design in the way that observations are made and recorded. The book travels through all these stages, from the initial observations, to the formulation of hypotheses, and their subsequent testing with further systematic observations.Less
This book introduces the power of observation prior to, and sometimes instead of, experimental manipulation in the study of animal behaviour. It starts with simple methods suitable for student projects, before going on to demonstrate the possibilities that now exist for far more sophisticated analyses of observational data. At a time when animal welfare considerations are attracting political as well as scientific debate, the potential for non-intrusive studies on animals is being increasingly recognized. Observation emerges as a valuable alternative approach, often yielding highly informative results in situations (such as in zoos, on farms, or for wild animals) where more invasive experimental techniques would be undesirable, unethical, or just plain impossible. However, to justify its place alongside experimentation as a rigorous scientific method, observation needs to be just as disciplined and systematic, and have just as much attention paid to project design in the way that observations are made and recorded. The book travels through all these stages, from the initial observations, to the formulation of hypotheses, and their subsequent testing with further systematic observations.
Jorge Delva, Paula Allen-Meares, and Sandra L. Momper
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382501
- eISBN:
- 9780199777419
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382501.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
The purpose of the book is to provide researchers with a framework to conduct research in a culturally sensitive manner with individuals, families, and communities in diverse cultural settings in the ...
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The purpose of the book is to provide researchers with a framework to conduct research in a culturally sensitive manner with individuals, families, and communities in diverse cultural settings in the United States, as well as in a global context within the context of three aims: (1) To understand and describe the nature and extent to which a particular problem occurs; (2) To understand the etiology or potential factors associated with the occurrence of a particular problem; (3) To evaluate programs or interventions designed to ameliorate or eliminate a problem. For each of these three aims, applications of different research methods with various population groups are discussed with considerable detail. The work presented falls into different sides of the emic–etic continuum, with some studies taking a more emic perspective (i.e., Chapter 2, a mixed methods study with American Indian populations), others presenting more of an etic approach (i.e., Chapter 3, a multicountry study of drug use in Central America), and yet others presenting an emic–etic distinction that is less salient (i.e., Chapters 4–6, a longitudinal studies of ecological factors and drug use in Santiago, Chile; a longitudinal study of ecological factors and PTSD in the City of Detroit; and a randomized clinical trial and community-based participatory research project both also conducted in Detroit). Two central themes that guided this work are that culture is not static, rather it is fluid and changing, and that cross-cultural researchers should avoid making sweeping generalizations that risk taking on essentialist characteristics. The book concludes with a call for anyone conducting cross-cultural research to include an intersectionality lens, one that encompasses a broader range of multiple identities, into their work.Less
The purpose of the book is to provide researchers with a framework to conduct research in a culturally sensitive manner with individuals, families, and communities in diverse cultural settings in the United States, as well as in a global context within the context of three aims: (1) To understand and describe the nature and extent to which a particular problem occurs; (2) To understand the etiology or potential factors associated with the occurrence of a particular problem; (3) To evaluate programs or interventions designed to ameliorate or eliminate a problem. For each of these three aims, applications of different research methods with various population groups are discussed with considerable detail. The work presented falls into different sides of the emic–etic continuum, with some studies taking a more emic perspective (i.e., Chapter 2, a mixed methods study with American Indian populations), others presenting more of an etic approach (i.e., Chapter 3, a multicountry study of drug use in Central America), and yet others presenting an emic–etic distinction that is less salient (i.e., Chapters 4–6, a longitudinal studies of ecological factors and drug use in Santiago, Chile; a longitudinal study of ecological factors and PTSD in the City of Detroit; and a randomized clinical trial and community-based participatory research project both also conducted in Detroit). Two central themes that guided this work are that culture is not static, rather it is fluid and changing, and that cross-cultural researchers should avoid making sweeping generalizations that risk taking on essentialist characteristics. The book concludes with a call for anyone conducting cross-cultural research to include an intersectionality lens, one that encompasses a broader range of multiple identities, into their work.
Erica Bell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199549337
- eISBN:
- 9780191720635
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549337.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Individuals working in health research want to be able to use their findings to influence health policy. However, frequently, research evidence remains detached from practice, and there is a divide ...
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Individuals working in health research want to be able to use their findings to influence health policy. However, frequently, research evidence remains detached from practice, and there is a divide between research and policy. Research for Health Policy is an introduction to the emerging genre of applied research for policy decision-making, offering new research methods that go beyond the traditional classical experimental techniques and standard qualitative methods. This practical and practice-based book is relevant to researchers in different disciplines and countries, and will equip the reader with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to deliver policy-relevant research in the government, not-for-profit, and private sectors. As a book that helps its reader to develop the blend of strategic people skills, methodological inventiveness, research entrepreneurship, creative design, and policy writing know-how that is critical to delivering useful research evidence for policy, Research for Health Policy is essential reading for anyone doing, studying, or teaching health policy advocacy and research. It also has much to offer postgraduate and professional development students and their educators, who want to move beyond the common undergraduate focus on policy content areas and policy theory/process, to learn more advanced practical research skills for policy-making.Less
Individuals working in health research want to be able to use their findings to influence health policy. However, frequently, research evidence remains detached from practice, and there is a divide between research and policy. Research for Health Policy is an introduction to the emerging genre of applied research for policy decision-making, offering new research methods that go beyond the traditional classical experimental techniques and standard qualitative methods. This practical and practice-based book is relevant to researchers in different disciplines and countries, and will equip the reader with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to deliver policy-relevant research in the government, not-for-profit, and private sectors. As a book that helps its reader to develop the blend of strategic people skills, methodological inventiveness, research entrepreneurship, creative design, and policy writing know-how that is critical to delivering useful research evidence for policy, Research for Health Policy is essential reading for anyone doing, studying, or teaching health policy advocacy and research. It also has much to offer postgraduate and professional development students and their educators, who want to move beyond the common undergraduate focus on policy content areas and policy theory/process, to learn more advanced practical research skills for policy-making.
Bernadette McNary-Zak and Rebecca Todd Peters
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199732869
- eISBN:
- 9780199918522
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732869.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This book offers an introduction to the philosophy and practice of Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies and takes up several significant and ongoing questions related to it. It provides an ...
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This book offers an introduction to the philosophy and practice of Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies and takes up several significant and ongoing questions related to it. It provides an overview of fundamental issues and pedagogical questions that relate to the practice of Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies and practical models for application in the classroom. It will also serve as a dialogue partner on emerging issues and insight into pertinent questions in the field based on the experience of recognized experts in the mentoring of Undergraduate Research. Individual chapters focus on select theoretical and practical topics including the nature of collaboration between faculty and students, what it means for undergraduate students to make an “original contribution” in their research, how to identify and shape a research project that is appropriate and manageable, the types of institutional and professional support systems needed to adequately support and reward faculty who participate in this kind of pedagogy, and procedures for adequate and appropriate assessment.Less
This book offers an introduction to the philosophy and practice of Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies and takes up several significant and ongoing questions related to it. It provides an overview of fundamental issues and pedagogical questions that relate to the practice of Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies and practical models for application in the classroom. It will also serve as a dialogue partner on emerging issues and insight into pertinent questions in the field based on the experience of recognized experts in the mentoring of Undergraduate Research. Individual chapters focus on select theoretical and practical topics including the nature of collaboration between faculty and students, what it means for undergraduate students to make an “original contribution” in their research, how to identify and shape a research project that is appropriate and manageable, the types of institutional and professional support systems needed to adequately support and reward faculty who participate in this kind of pedagogy, and procedures for adequate and appropriate assessment.
Carola M. Frege
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199208067
- eISBN:
- 9780191709159
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208067.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, HRM / IR
This chapter investigates the existence of national research patterns on the basis of a comparative study of research outputs prominent employment journals in the US, Britain, and Germany. It poses ...
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This chapter investigates the existence of national research patterns on the basis of a comparative study of research outputs prominent employment journals in the US, Britain, and Germany. It poses the question as to how the problems that employment scholars consider to be important are determined in each country, and which techniques they employ to seek deeper understanding of their subject matter. How does research formulate questions, structure discourse, and evaluate arguments and evidence in each country? What are the main paradigms in each scientific community? Finally, to what extent do economic globalization and the internationalization of academic interactions have an impact on the various national research styles? Despite the increasing convergence of employment institutions and practices throughout the advanced industrialized world and despite the increasing international communication and interaction among the research communities, this survey finds that distinctive national research patterns remain in Employment Relations, which seem astonishingly resistant to the processes of universalization or modernization. These enduring cross-country variations suggest that the current crisis is mainly shaped by specific methodological and epistemological research characteristics, which are not necessarily universal or inevitable, but rather specific to the Anglophone, in particular US, context.Less
This chapter investigates the existence of national research patterns on the basis of a comparative study of research outputs prominent employment journals in the US, Britain, and Germany. It poses the question as to how the problems that employment scholars consider to be important are determined in each country, and which techniques they employ to seek deeper understanding of their subject matter. How does research formulate questions, structure discourse, and evaluate arguments and evidence in each country? What are the main paradigms in each scientific community? Finally, to what extent do economic globalization and the internationalization of academic interactions have an impact on the various national research styles? Despite the increasing convergence of employment institutions and practices throughout the advanced industrialized world and despite the increasing international communication and interaction among the research communities, this survey finds that distinctive national research patterns remain in Employment Relations, which seem astonishingly resistant to the processes of universalization or modernization. These enduring cross-country variations suggest that the current crisis is mainly shaped by specific methodological and epistemological research characteristics, which are not necessarily universal or inevitable, but rather specific to the Anglophone, in particular US, context.
Cindy Dell Clark
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195376593
- eISBN:
- 9780199865437
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195376593.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Clinical Child Psychology / School Psychology
This book provides qualitative researchers with a guide to inquiry that learns from, with and about children. From fieldwork done during participant observation, to focus groups and depth ...
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This book provides qualitative researchers with a guide to inquiry that learns from, with and about children. From fieldwork done during participant observation, to focus groups and depth interviews, to the use of artwork, photography, play and metaphors, viable methods to foreground children’s views are featured. The tools for child-centered research and its interpretation are drawn from both academic and applied qualitative inquiry, providing broad instruction across a range of kid-attuned approaches. The book takes stock of a blossoming world-wide child-centered research movement, and its promise of better grasping children’s lives. Child-focused inquiry, the book insists, has relevance to both academic theory and practical application, including public policy.Less
This book provides qualitative researchers with a guide to inquiry that learns from, with and about children. From fieldwork done during participant observation, to focus groups and depth interviews, to the use of artwork, photography, play and metaphors, viable methods to foreground children’s views are featured. The tools for child-centered research and its interpretation are drawn from both academic and applied qualitative inquiry, providing broad instruction across a range of kid-attuned approaches. The book takes stock of a blossoming world-wide child-centered research movement, and its promise of better grasping children’s lives. Child-focused inquiry, the book insists, has relevance to both academic theory and practical application, including public policy.
Mark S. Aber, Kenneth I. Maton, and Edward Seidman (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195380576
- eISBN:
- 9780199864508
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380576.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This book combines a focus on understanding social settings as loci for empowering intervention with a focus on understanding and giving voice to citizens. The book illuminates advances in theory and ...
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This book combines a focus on understanding social settings as loci for empowering intervention with a focus on understanding and giving voice to citizens. The book illuminates advances in theory and method relevant to changing a broad spectrum of social settings (including programs, organizations, institutions, communities, and social policy) from a strengths-based perspective. Three cross-cutting concepts—a strengths-based approach to research and social action, empowerment, and narrative research methods—serve as integrating and foundational themes. Part I takes up issues of setting processes and outcomes of influence, research methods, and implications for setting and community change efforts and social policy. Part II examines how action scientists have sought to understand and amplify the voices of those individuals and communities who serve as the focus of their research and social change actions. Finally, the chapters in Part III seek to situate the rest of the volume's chapters in the context of decades of work on empowering settings, giving voice and social change.Less
This book combines a focus on understanding social settings as loci for empowering intervention with a focus on understanding and giving voice to citizens. The book illuminates advances in theory and method relevant to changing a broad spectrum of social settings (including programs, organizations, institutions, communities, and social policy) from a strengths-based perspective. Three cross-cutting concepts—a strengths-based approach to research and social action, empowerment, and narrative research methods—serve as integrating and foundational themes. Part I takes up issues of setting processes and outcomes of influence, research methods, and implications for setting and community change efforts and social policy. Part II examines how action scientists have sought to understand and amplify the voices of those individuals and communities who serve as the focus of their research and social change actions. Finally, the chapters in Part III seek to situate the rest of the volume's chapters in the context of decades of work on empowering settings, giving voice and social change.
Peter Lyons and Howard J. Doueck
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195373912
- eISBN:
- 9780199865604
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373912.003.0004
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
This chapter describes ethical issues in social research including discussion of the NASW Code of Ethics, Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes, and requirements for the protection of human ...
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This chapter describes ethical issues in social research including discussion of the NASW Code of Ethics, Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes, and requirements for the protection of human subjects. In addition, quantitative research methods; qualitative research methods; mixed-methods research designs; experimental, quasi-experimental, explanatory, exploratory, and descriptive research; program evaluation; and the relative merits of disparate models of research are also presented. The requirements of rigor in both quantitative and qualitative studies and evaluating the degree of fit between research strategies and problems under investigation are also discussed.Less
This chapter describes ethical issues in social research including discussion of the NASW Code of Ethics, Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes, and requirements for the protection of human subjects. In addition, quantitative research methods; qualitative research methods; mixed-methods research designs; experimental, quasi-experimental, explanatory, exploratory, and descriptive research; program evaluation; and the relative merits of disparate models of research are also presented. The requirements of rigor in both quantitative and qualitative studies and evaluating the degree of fit between research strategies and problems under investigation are also discussed.
Roger Undy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199544943
- eISBN:
- 9780191719936
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544943.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, HRM / IR
The widespread international interest in trade union mergers is established before describing the legally prescribed British merger process. Next, the research method, coverage of the study, and ...
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The widespread international interest in trade union mergers is established before describing the legally prescribed British merger process. Next, the research method, coverage of the study, and scale of British union mergers is examined. The interpretative framework employed throughout the book is established and its application to trade union mergers explained. Finally, the book's structure and remaining chapters are briefly summarized.Less
The widespread international interest in trade union mergers is established before describing the legally prescribed British merger process. Next, the research method, coverage of the study, and scale of British union mergers is examined. The interpretative framework employed throughout the book is established and its application to trade union mergers explained. Finally, the book's structure and remaining chapters are briefly summarized.
Erica Bell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199549337
- eISBN:
- 9780191720635
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549337.003.04
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter highlights some key approaches in designing research methods for health policy; the critical issues of validity and credibility, as well as key features of innovative approaches to ...
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This chapter highlights some key approaches in designing research methods for health policy; the critical issues of validity and credibility, as well as key features of innovative approaches to health policy decision support.Less
This chapter highlights some key approaches in designing research methods for health policy; the critical issues of validity and credibility, as well as key features of innovative approaches to health policy decision support.
Jorge Delva, Paula Allen-Meares, and Sandra L. Momper
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382501
- eISBN:
- 9780199777419
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382501.003.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
In this chapter, we define cross-cultural research, describe the framework that overall guides our work and that, in particular, guided our work, and provide an overview of the various research ...
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In this chapter, we define cross-cultural research, describe the framework that overall guides our work and that, in particular, guided our work, and provide an overview of the various research methods that are discussed in the book, including the populations studied. These projects fall into different points of the emic–etic continuum, with some studies taking a more emic approach, others a more etic approach, and yet others presenting an emic–etic distinction that is less salient. We also present the central themes that influenced the writing of this book. These themes consider culture as a fluid and changing entity and invite cross-cultural researchers to avoid making sweeping generalizations that risk taking on essentialist characteristics. In this chapter we set the stage for a discussion about cross-cultural research needing to include an intersectionality lens, one that encompasses a broader range of multiple identities, to better understand the complexity and diversity of human behavior.Less
In this chapter, we define cross-cultural research, describe the framework that overall guides our work and that, in particular, guided our work, and provide an overview of the various research methods that are discussed in the book, including the populations studied. These projects fall into different points of the emic–etic continuum, with some studies taking a more emic approach, others a more etic approach, and yet others presenting an emic–etic distinction that is less salient. We also present the central themes that influenced the writing of this book. These themes consider culture as a fluid and changing entity and invite cross-cultural researchers to avoid making sweeping generalizations that risk taking on essentialist characteristics. In this chapter we set the stage for a discussion about cross-cultural research needing to include an intersectionality lens, one that encompasses a broader range of multiple identities, to better understand the complexity and diversity of human behavior.
Tony Elger and Chris Smith
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199241514
- eISBN:
- 9780191714405
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199241514.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
This chapter outlines the logic of the research design and the research methods used to study the operations of five Japanese subsidiaries in Britain. It reviews the different limitations of ...
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This chapter outlines the logic of the research design and the research methods used to study the operations of five Japanese subsidiaries in Britain. It reviews the different limitations of survey-based research and single case research, and advocates theoretically informed multiple case studies to illuminate both the processual dynamics of subsidiary operations and the importance of evolving social contexts. It explains the basis for the selection of the case-study enterprises and outlines the role of extensive interviews with managers and workers, combined with observation and documentary sources, in developing a cumulative understanding of patterns of social relations in each case-study establishment. Finally, it considers the strengths and weaknesses of a particular focus on non-unionized Japanese enterprises in Britain as a basis for contributing to the analysis of the overseas operations of multinational firms more generally.Less
This chapter outlines the logic of the research design and the research methods used to study the operations of five Japanese subsidiaries in Britain. It reviews the different limitations of survey-based research and single case research, and advocates theoretically informed multiple case studies to illuminate both the processual dynamics of subsidiary operations and the importance of evolving social contexts. It explains the basis for the selection of the case-study enterprises and outlines the role of extensive interviews with managers and workers, combined with observation and documentary sources, in developing a cumulative understanding of patterns of social relations in each case-study establishment. Finally, it considers the strengths and weaknesses of a particular focus on non-unionized Japanese enterprises in Britain as a basis for contributing to the analysis of the overseas operations of multinational firms more generally.
Andrew Sturdy, Karen Handley, Timothy Clark, and Robin Fincham
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199212644
- eISBN:
- 9780191707339
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212644.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Knowledge Management
The assumptions, methods, practices, and contexts of the research are set out as a reference point for the analysis in subsequent chapters. In particular, the issues involved in obtaining research ...
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The assumptions, methods, practices, and contexts of the research are set out as a reference point for the analysis in subsequent chapters. In particular, the issues involved in obtaining research access for an observational and exploratory study of client‐consultant relations are discussed before providing overviews of each of the case study projects and their key participants. The methods of data collection used (e.g. observation, interviews and documents) are then described along with those of data analysis such as data coding techniques. Finally, the process through which core topics of boundary complexity, sector knowledge, challenge and humour were selected along with the use of data to develop them is set out.Less
The assumptions, methods, practices, and contexts of the research are set out as a reference point for the analysis in subsequent chapters. In particular, the issues involved in obtaining research access for an observational and exploratory study of client‐consultant relations are discussed before providing overviews of each of the case study projects and their key participants. The methods of data collection used (e.g. observation, interviews and documents) are then described along with those of data analysis such as data coding techniques. Finally, the process through which core topics of boundary complexity, sector knowledge, challenge and humour were selected along with the use of data to develop them is set out.
William Hoppitt and Kevin N. Laland
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691150703
- eISBN:
- 9781400846504
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691150703.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
Many animals, including humans, acquire valuable skills and knowledge by copying others. Scientists refer to this as social learning. It is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of ...
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Many animals, including humans, acquire valuable skills and knowledge by copying others. Scientists refer to this as social learning. It is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of behavioral research and sits at the interface of many academic disciplines, including biology, experimental psychology, economics, and cognitive neuroscience. This book provides a comprehensive, practical guide to the research methods of this important emerging field. It defines the mechanisms thought to underlie social learning and demonstrate how to distinguish them experimentally in the laboratory. It presents techniques for detecting and quantifying social learning in nature, including statistical modeling of the spatial distribution of behavior traits. It also describes the latest theory and empirical findings on social learning strategies, and introduces readers to mathematical methods and models used in the study of cultural evolution. This book is an indispensable tool for researchers and an essential primer for students.Less
Many animals, including humans, acquire valuable skills and knowledge by copying others. Scientists refer to this as social learning. It is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of behavioral research and sits at the interface of many academic disciplines, including biology, experimental psychology, economics, and cognitive neuroscience. This book provides a comprehensive, practical guide to the research methods of this important emerging field. It defines the mechanisms thought to underlie social learning and demonstrate how to distinguish them experimentally in the laboratory. It presents techniques for detecting and quantifying social learning in nature, including statistical modeling of the spatial distribution of behavior traits. It also describes the latest theory and empirical findings on social learning strategies, and introduces readers to mathematical methods and models used in the study of cultural evolution. This book is an indispensable tool for researchers and an essential primer for students.
Neil Conway and Rob B. Briner
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199280643
- eISBN:
- 9780191700125
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280643.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, HRM / IR, Organization Studies
This chapter describes the main methods used to research the psychological contract and briefly considers their strengths and weaknesses. It examines the weaknesses of the questionnaire survey, the ...
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This chapter describes the main methods used to research the psychological contract and briefly considers their strengths and weaknesses. It examines the weaknesses of the questionnaire survey, the most common research method, along with other methodological and design limitations of typical studies in the field. The cross-sectional questionnaire survey is designed to detect associations between attitudes at a very general level and will be of little use in studying the occurrence, experience, consequence, and evolution of psychological contract content and breach. Daily diaries are proposed as an alternative approach that can be used to overcome many of the limitations of current research methods. This chapter then looks at a number of important areas of the psychological contract that have received relatively little research attention.Less
This chapter describes the main methods used to research the psychological contract and briefly considers their strengths and weaknesses. It examines the weaknesses of the questionnaire survey, the most common research method, along with other methodological and design limitations of typical studies in the field. The cross-sectional questionnaire survey is designed to detect associations between attitudes at a very general level and will be of little use in studying the occurrence, experience, consequence, and evolution of psychological contract content and breach. Daily diaries are proposed as an alternative approach that can be used to overcome many of the limitations of current research methods. This chapter then looks at a number of important areas of the psychological contract that have received relatively little research attention.
Brent D. Slife, Jeffrey S. Reber, and James E. Faulconer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753628
- eISBN:
- 9780199950027
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753628.003.0019
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter describes a theoretical meta-analysis in which the literature of psychological science itself provides the data that ground its examination. Specifically, it focuses on one portion of ...
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This chapter describes a theoretical meta-analysis in which the literature of psychological science itself provides the data that ground its examination. Specifically, it focuses on one portion of the implicit scientific reasoning or assumptions that psychologists use in conducting their scientific investigations—their ontological reasoning. We chose to focus on ontological reasoning for two reasons. First, ontological assumptions are often viewed as even more fundamental than epistemological assumptions, and thus are considered more fundamental in the implicit reasoning of scientists. Second, the ontological reasoning we identify in psychology’s research methods has been highly criticized. In fact, we outline what seems to be a growing consensus, across a diverse set of contexts, that this particular ontology is deeply problematic. Yet, because many psychologists are generally unaware of it, they frequently embrace this ontology as if it were problem-free.Less
This chapter describes a theoretical meta-analysis in which the literature of psychological science itself provides the data that ground its examination. Specifically, it focuses on one portion of the implicit scientific reasoning or assumptions that psychologists use in conducting their scientific investigations—their ontological reasoning. We chose to focus on ontological reasoning for two reasons. First, ontological assumptions are often viewed as even more fundamental than epistemological assumptions, and thus are considered more fundamental in the implicit reasoning of scientists. Second, the ontological reasoning we identify in psychology’s research methods has been highly criticized. In fact, we outline what seems to be a growing consensus, across a diverse set of contexts, that this particular ontology is deeply problematic. Yet, because many psychologists are generally unaware of it, they frequently embrace this ontology as if it were problem-free.
Arthur Aron
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195377798
- eISBN:
- 9780199864522
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377798.003.0015
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology, Clinical Psychology
This chapter serves as a useful reminder of the multiple roles served by behavior in social psychological research. All too often, behavior is considered important only as a key dependent variable. ...
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This chapter serves as a useful reminder of the multiple roles served by behavior in social psychological research. All too often, behavior is considered important only as a key dependent variable. But behavior is also often used as a criterion variable for validating self-report measures. Moreover, at times behavior is used as a means of operationalizing a specific affective, cognitive, or motivational state, at the individual level, dyad level, or group level. Behavior also may be seen as playing a mediating role, providing the necessary middle step(s) in a process involving multiple steps (and, often, multiple actors). The author also reminds us of the classic role of behavior as an experimental manipulation. Finally, the author describes how neuroscience methods often serve the same function for social psychologist studying neural activity as traditional behavior measures do.Less
This chapter serves as a useful reminder of the multiple roles served by behavior in social psychological research. All too often, behavior is considered important only as a key dependent variable. But behavior is also often used as a criterion variable for validating self-report measures. Moreover, at times behavior is used as a means of operationalizing a specific affective, cognitive, or motivational state, at the individual level, dyad level, or group level. Behavior also may be seen as playing a mediating role, providing the necessary middle step(s) in a process involving multiple steps (and, often, multiple actors). The author also reminds us of the classic role of behavior as an experimental manipulation. Finally, the author describes how neuroscience methods often serve the same function for social psychologist studying neural activity as traditional behavior measures do.
Christine Ingleton and Sue Davies
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198530251
- eISBN:
- 9780191729980
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198530251.003.0012
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Palliative Medicine Research, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making
This chapter provides a guide to evaluating palliative care services. It focuses mostly on mixed method research and includes a brief overview of the most commonly used approaches for evaluation. It ...
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This chapter provides a guide to evaluating palliative care services. It focuses mostly on mixed method research and includes a brief overview of the most commonly used approaches for evaluation. It also presents examples of how applying mixed methods in evaluation and case study research can lead to a new field of study and further help researchers understand issues that are relevant to palliative care in a constantly changing context.Less
This chapter provides a guide to evaluating palliative care services. It focuses mostly on mixed method research and includes a brief overview of the most commonly used approaches for evaluation. It also presents examples of how applying mixed methods in evaluation and case study research can lead to a new field of study and further help researchers understand issues that are relevant to palliative care in a constantly changing context.
William Hoppitt and Kevin N. Laland
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691150703
- eISBN:
- 9781400846504
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691150703.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This chapter describes research methods for investigating social learning in the laboratory. In recent decades laboratory experiments have been conducted to explore the population-level aspects of ...
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This chapter describes research methods for investigating social learning in the laboratory. In recent decades laboratory experiments have been conducted to explore the population-level aspects of social transmission; an example is the investigation of aspects of tradition, diffusion, and innovation. This chapter discusses traditional social learning experimental designs, studies of linear transmission chains and replacement transmission chains, and controlled diffusion studies. It also considers some recent neuroscientific analyses of social learning, which extend the study of social learning beyond the behavioral level. In particular, it examines innovation, the biological bases of social learning, neuroendocrinological studies, social learning of fear, and neural mechanisms of observational learning.Less
This chapter describes research methods for investigating social learning in the laboratory. In recent decades laboratory experiments have been conducted to explore the population-level aspects of social transmission; an example is the investigation of aspects of tradition, diffusion, and innovation. This chapter discusses traditional social learning experimental designs, studies of linear transmission chains and replacement transmission chains, and controlled diffusion studies. It also considers some recent neuroscientific analyses of social learning, which extend the study of social learning beyond the behavioral level. In particular, it examines innovation, the biological bases of social learning, neuroendocrinological studies, social learning of fear, and neural mechanisms of observational learning.
Julianne S. Oktay
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753697
- eISBN:
- 9780199932627
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753697.003.0006
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
This chapter addresses how grounded theory is affected by a variety of recent developments in social work research. These include a discussion of why it is sometimes difficult to conduct a grounded ...
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This chapter addresses how grounded theory is affected by a variety of recent developments in social work research. These include a discussion of why it is sometimes difficult to conduct a grounded theory study today, and what to do when you want to develop theory but it is impractical to apply the grounded theory method. The chapter also considers ethical and institutional review board issues in grounded theory research. Attention is given to the practical considerations of publishing formats for grounded theory studies, with illustrations from exemplar grounded theory studies. It also discusses the use of computer software programs in grounded theory analysis. It considers the use of grounded theory in mixed method research. Finally, it discusses “formal grounded theory,” the grounded theory model for synthesizing qualitative studies. Exercises designed to help readers apply the material in the chapter to their own research are provided.Less
This chapter addresses how grounded theory is affected by a variety of recent developments in social work research. These include a discussion of why it is sometimes difficult to conduct a grounded theory study today, and what to do when you want to develop theory but it is impractical to apply the grounded theory method. The chapter also considers ethical and institutional review board issues in grounded theory research. Attention is given to the practical considerations of publishing formats for grounded theory studies, with illustrations from exemplar grounded theory studies. It also discusses the use of computer software programs in grounded theory analysis. It considers the use of grounded theory in mixed method research. Finally, it discusses “formal grounded theory,” the grounded theory model for synthesizing qualitative studies. Exercises designed to help readers apply the material in the chapter to their own research are provided.
