Across all social science disciplines, but in particular public administration, there is a shared concern about the costs of using traditional random samples to generate data, and its impact on researchers' ability to engage in "quality" research. As a result of these costs, more academics, practitioners, and students are turning to…

This chapter provides a guide to research logistics and ethics in studying immigrant families. The authors outline major pragmatic issues in research design and data collection to which all scholars must attend, although current practices often do not respond to the idiosyncratic issues related to vulnerable immigrant populations (e.g.,…

Suggest practical procedure for estimating number of subjects that need to be screened to obtain sample of fixed size that meets multiple correlated criteria. Procedure described is based on fact that least-squares regression provides good quadratic fit for Monte Carlo estimates of multivariate probabilities when they are plotted as function of…

Provides pointers regarding seven basic steps for writing a student body public opinion survey news story: selecting a topic, forming some hypotheses, designing a questionnaire, constructing a sample design, collecting the data, analyzing the data, and writing the news story. (GT)

Alphabet Math is an investigation of the order of usage of letters in the alphabet. Children collect individual data then compare and interpret it to make inferences. The inferences are compared to analyses of larger samples. How this is done is described. (MT)

Describes three methods of sample size determination, each having its use in investigation of social science problems: Attribute method; Continuous Variable method; Galtung's Cell Size method. Statistical generalization, benefits of cell size method (ease of use, trivariate analysis and trichotyomized variables), and choice of method are…

Outlines a method for establishing a depreciated value of a library collection and includes an example of applying the formula for calculating depreciation. The method is based on the useful life of books, other print, and audio visual materials; their original cost; and on sampling subsets or sections of the collection. (JKP)

Conceptualizes the process of conducting integrative research reviews as a data-gathering, empirically based procedure and offers guidelines for conducting such reviews. Introduces specific suggestions that were heretofore unaddressed. Maintains that efforts to standardize integrative review process and to ensure its scientific rigor in counselor…