Preface

Goals and Approach of the Book

The purpose of this book is to introduce post-secondary students in Canada to a variety of social research methods as framed by research questions and objectives, rather than preferred qualitative, quantitative, mixed, or multiple method approaches. Students are more apt to want to learn about research methods and practice them if they are personally relevant and interesting. By introducing research topics within a Canadian context and drawing upon research conducted by Canadian scholars at universities and research institutes in Canada, students will be able to better identify with the learning material. While primarily directed at students in second-, third-, or fourth-year sociology classes who have yet to conduct research, this book is of equal benefit to students in anthropology, criminology, social work, psychology, or political science who are interested in learning more about social research through examples drawn from their disciplines. Also, given its emphasis on current ethical standards, this book is also instrumental for anyone who plans to carry out research and write research proposals or reports as part of an honours program, independent study, or graduate school requirement.

Through our teaching experiences, we have discovered there is substantial variation in the way individuals learn. Accordingly, we have incorporated multiple learning strategies into this textbook. We hope our passion for teaching is evident and the pedagogy in this book helps readers succeed in research methods. We firmly believe that one of the best ways to learn about research methods is to practice them. Reading about recommendations for how to structure survey questions may help you prepare a draft survey, but a pilot test will confirm whether you are asking the right questions and whether people understand them. Similarly, while you can create an interview guide with key questions to indicate what you plan to do for an in-depth interview, it is only through experience that you will learn how to actively listen and create impromptu follow-up questions while the interview unfolds. Although this book provides you with steps for applying different methods, please appreciate that research is a process, and as such, it seldom conforms to ideal types in the real world. Again, it is only through experience that you will begin to understand the subtleties that underlie research processes.

We are first to admit we have learned more about research from being engaged in it than reading about it. The Learning through Practice exercises and step-by-step instructions for planning and designing studies provide a starting point for inexperienced researchers. Beyond this book, you can continue to develop your research skills through educational pursuits such as a thesis-based master’s program or through work-related experiences such as a research assistantship.

Changes in the Third Edition

Major revisions include the redevelopment of Research Methods: Exploring the Social World in Canadian Contexts into an open textbook using Pressbooks software. This new edition features more dynamic content, including interactive self-assessment activities using H5P and embedded videos. Along with saving students the cost of a textbook for an introduction to research methods course, the open textbook format allows students to access this material in a variety of formats, including both web and PDF versions, and with accessible features for students with disabilities. This textbook is also licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license enabling other instructors to adapt this content to meet unique needs tied to their own instruction, extending the potential reach and impact of this work. Additional revisions include updated Canadian research resources and research carried out by Canadian scholars.

Organization

Part I: Preparing for Research

The first part of the book prepares you for research by outlining considerations and processes that take place in the planning stage prior to the collection of data.

• Chapter 1 is on research foundations, and it begins with a consideration of the various strategies we have for finding things out. Chapter 1 also discusses the limitations to alternatives to social research methods and the common errors associated with reasoning processes. Finally, chapter 1 introduces you to social research, helps you to understand the goals of social science research, and distinguishes between qualitative and quantitative approaches to research.
• Chapter 2 details the importance of theory, beginning with the main assumptions of positivist, interpretive, critical, and pragmatic paradigms, and then explaining why decolonization is necessary for learning about Indigenous knowledges. This chapter differentiates between theoretical frameworks and theories as well as between deductive and inductive forms of reasoning. Chapter 2 helps you to formulate research questions and explains the importance of existing literature for framing research assumptions. Finally, this chapter teaches you how to locate appropriate literature and evaluate sources of information found on the internet.
• Chapter 3 introduces you to research ethics through historical examples of the unethical treatment of humans in military and medical cases, along with the regulatory outcomes. This chapter also discusses classic research examples to help you understand how ethical considerations arise in studies that include human participants. Ethical issues that relate to social science research are discussed in detail in this chapter, along with the core principles of the current Tri-Council Policy Statement TCPS 2 (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al., 2022) on ethically responsible research.
• Chapter 4 covers the main components of a research design and explains conceptualization and operationalization processes. In addition, this chapter differentiates between levels of measurement, explores techniques used to assess reliability and validity, and identifies sources of measurement error. Finally, this chapter explores means for achieving rigour in qualitative research.
• Chapter 5 teaches you about sampling techniques including when and under what circumstances a researcher might choose a probability or a non-probability-based sampling method. This chapter distinguishes between probability-based methods including simple random sampling, systematic random sampling, stratified random sampling, and cluster sampling, and it also explores non-probability methods including convenience sampling, snowball sampling, purposive sampling, and quota sampling.

Part II: Approaches to Research

With the who, what, where, when, and why components of research covered, part II centres on how to collect data using a variety of research methods beginning with quantitative approaches.

• Chapter 6 explores the rationale underlying an experimental method and teaches you about the criteria needed to establish causality and how to test hypotheses using experimental designs. This chapter also examines potential threats to internal and external validity.
• Chapter 7 focuses on asking questions through survey methods. This chapter examines the key methodological considerations that precede survey research, describes the two main survey methods used by quantitative researchers, and provides survey construction guidelines.
• Chapter 8 introduces four indirect methods used to gather information about people: physical trace analysis, archival analysis, content analysis, and secondary analysis of existing data. These methods are unobtrusive because the source of data is something created by or for people, as opposed to information obtained directly from people. Chapter 8 ends with a discussion of digital media and how the internet has changed the nature of social research and the methods used to examine social issues.
• Chapter 9 moves into qualitative approaches for learning about people through a direct method called qualitative interviewing. This chapter describes the structure of qualitative interviews and explains how to conduct an in-depth interview. In addition, this chapter outlines focus groups and how they differ from qualitative interviews.
• Chapter 10, on ethnography, outlines the main features of ethnographic studies and explains the main roles of ethnographers engaged in fieldwork. In addition, this chapter looks at techniques used by ethnographers to blend into a group under investigation and the ethical issues raised in fieldwork.
• Chapter 11 examines the merit of including both qualitative and quantitative approaches within a single study and introduces you to mixed-methods research designs. In addition, this chapter shows how researchers can combine multiple methods to collect information on people and organizations using case study research, evaluation research, and action research.

Part III: Writing Up Research and the Dissemination of Findings

Finally, chapter 12 explains how to write research proposals and reports. The book concludes with an appendix containing a sample research report and poster to illustrate research dissemination.

• Assuming you have a firm understanding of the preliminary chapters and have settled on the most appropriate method or methods needed to answer a research question of interest, chapter 12 helps you translate your research ideas into a technical plan that can be submitted to a research ethics board or your supervisor for approval or grading. If you have already carried out research as part of a class project or thesis requirement, the chapter also provides guidance and suggestions for how to structure and write a report that can later be submitted to a journal for consideration.
• The appendix includes a research report written by a student as part of her course work in social research methods. The report demonstrates that students can and do carry out research projects. Readers benefit from being able to follow the same topic through the stages of basic research, report writing, and the dissemination of findings in a published journal article and poster presentation.

Pedagogy

Opening Quotes

Each chapter begins with a selected quote or overview by a methodologist, scholar, or research-based organization to provide you with focal insight into the material covered in the chapter.

Canadian Content

Students and instructors at Canadian colleges and universities will be pleased to learn this book is written from the ground up with intentional emphasis on Canadian content. In most cases, research examples are based on empirical research carried out in Canada by Canadian scholars.

Learning Objectives

Each chapter begins with a brief set of learning objectives, consisting of statements that spell out the core skills or knowledge students should be able to demonstrate after carefully reviewing the chapter.

Interactive Activities

Interactive activities are embedded throughout the book where students can test their knowledge and receive immediate feedback.

Test Yourself

Test Yourself questions are built-in open-ended review questions designed to help students gauge their understanding of a learning objective before proceeding to the next section of the book.

Research on the Net

Research on the Net boxes contain information on recommended websites and online resources useful for understanding key concepts and expanding on key ideas in the chapter.

Research in Action

Research in Action boxes include descriptions of research, documentaries and feature films, news stories, YouTube videos, and other examples that illustrate the relevance of methods and research concepts in everyday life.

Key Terms

Throughout each chapter, key terms are indicated in boldface font and defined by clicking on the term or referring to the Glossary at the end of the textbook.

Chapter Summary

Chapter summaries consist of brief statements that are illustrative of the kinds of responses students should be able to provide as evidence that they have achieved the learning objectives.

Research Reflection

Research reflection questions provided at the end of the chapter are designed to help students think critically about the material. Reflection questions can be used in any number of ways, including as a basis for class discussion, for use by instructors as short assignment questions, and/or by students to help them prepare for short-answer and essay questions on exams.

Learning through Practice

Each chapter contains a practice exercise designed to help students understand the chapter material through direct engagement. Some instructors may assign this exercise as a short laboratory assignment, a research assignment, a class demonstration, or part of group work.

Research Resources

References to articles, book chapters, books, and websites that provide a more in-depth understanding of the key concepts and issues are included as recommended resources at the end of each chapter.