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Understanding research methods: An overview of the essentials,

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UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH METHODS

A perennial bestseller since 1997, this updated tenth edition of Understanding Research
Methods provides a detailed overview of all the important concepts traditionally covered
in a research methods class. It covers the principles of both qualitative and quantitative
research, and how to interpret statistics without computations, so is suitable for all students
regardless of their math background. The book is organized so that each concept is treated
independently and can be used in any order without resulting in gaps in knowledge—
allowing it to be easily and precisely adapted to any course.
It uses lively examples on contemporary topics to stimulate students’ interest, and engages
them by showing the relevance of research methods to their everyday lives. Numerous
case studies and end-of-section exercises help students master the material and encourage
classroom discussion.
The text is divided into short, independent topic sections, making it easy for you to
adapt the material to your own teaching needs and customize assignments to the aspect
of qualitative or quantitative methods under study—helping to improve students’ com-
prehension and retention of difficult concepts. Additional online PowerPoint slides and
test bank questions make this a complete resource for introducing students to research
methods.
New to this edition:

• New topic section on design decisions in research

• Additional material on production of knowledge and research methods
• Significant development of material on ethical considerations in research
• Fresh and contemporary examples from a wide variety of real, published research
• Topic-specific exercises at the end of each section now include suggestions for further
steps researchers can take as they build their research project.

Michelle Newhart teaches sociology as an adjunct professor and works as an instruc-

tional designer at Mt. San Antonio College, a large, two-year college in California. A
contributor to more than a dozen nonfiction books as either an author or editor, she holds
a BA in sociology from the University of Missouri and an MA and PhD in sociology from
the University of Colorado Boulder.
UNDERSTANDING
RESEARCH
METHODS
An Overview of the
Essentials
Tenth Edition
Mildred L. Patten and
Michelle Newhart
Tenth edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of Mildred L. Patten and Michelle Newhart to be identified as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Pyrczak 1997
Ninth edition published by Routledge 2013
Editorial assistance provided by William Dolphin
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Patten, Mildred L. | Newhart, Michelle.
Title: Understanding research methods : an overview of the essentials / Mildred L. Patten
and Michelle Newhart.
Description: Tenth edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016058231| ISBN 9780415790529 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780415790536
(hardback) | ISBN 9781315213033 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Research—Methodology.
Classification: LCC Q180.55.M4 P38 2017 | DDC 001.4/2—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016058231
ISBN: 978-0-415-79053-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-79052-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-21303-3 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9780415790529
CONTENTS

Prefacexii
Acknowledgmentsxiv

PART 1
Introduction to Research Methods 1
1. KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH METHODS 3

2. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 5

3. THE ROLE OF THEORY IN RESEARCH 8

4. EXPERIMENTAL AND NONEXPERIMENTAL

STUDIES12

5. CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE STUDIES 16

6. TYPES OF NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 19

7. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:

KEY DIFFERENCES 22

8. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

DECISIONS25

9. PROGRAM EVALUATION 29

10. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ETHICAL RESEARCH

STANDARDS32

11. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN RESEARCH 35

 vi Contents

PART 2
Reviewing and Citing Literature 39
12. WHY RESEARCHERS REVIEW LITERATURE 41

13. LOCATING LITERATURE IN ELECTRONIC DATABASES 44

14. STRUCTURING THE LITERATURE REVIEW 49

15. CONNECTING THE LITERATURE TO YOUR STUDY 52

16. PREPARING TO WRITE A CRITICAL REVIEW 56

17. CREATING A SYNTHESIS 59

18. WHY ACADEMICS USE CITATION 62

19. INTRODUCTION TO STYLE GUIDES 65

PART 3
Basic Concepts in Quantitative Research 69
20. DECISIONS IN QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN 71

21. VARIABLES IN NONEXPERIMENTAL STUDIES 74

22. VARIABLES IN EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES 78

23. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES 81

24. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES, PURPOSES, AND

QUESTIONS84

PART 4
Sampling87
25. BIASED AND UNBIASED SAMPLING 89
 Contents vii

26. SIMPLE RANDOM AND SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING 92

27. STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING 95

28. CLUSTER SAMPLING 98

29. NONPROBABILITY SAMPLING AND QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH100

30. SAMPLING AND DEMOGRAPHICS 104

31. SAMPLE COMPOSITION AND BIAS 107

32. SAMPLE SIZE IN QUANTITATIVE STUDIES 110

33. SAMPLE SIZE AND DIVERSITY IN QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH114

34. SAMPLING IN THE MODERN WORLD 118

PART 5
Measurement121
35. INTRODUCTION TO VALIDITY 123

36. JUDGMENTAL VALIDITY 126

37. EMPIRICAL VALIDITY 129

38. JUDGMENTAL-EMPIRICAL VALIDITY 133

39. RELIABILITY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO

VALIDITY136

40. MEASURES OF RELIABILITY 141

41. INTERNAL CONSISTENCY AND RELIABILITY 144

42. NORM- AND CRITERION-REFERENCED TESTS 147

 viii Contents

43. MEASURES OF OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE 150

44. MEASURES OF TYPICAL PERFORMANCE 153

45. MEASUREMENT IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 156

PART 6
Qualitative Research Design 159
46. INTERVIEWS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 161

47. OTHER METHODS FOR COLLECTING QUALITATIVE

DATA164

48. GROUNDED THEORY AND RESEARCH DESIGN 167

49. CONSENSUAL QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN 171

50. DESIGNING CASE STUDY RESEARCH 174

51. MIXED METHODS DESIGNS 177

PART 7
Designing Experimental Research 181
52. TRUE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS 183

53. THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY 186

54. THREATS TO EXTERNAL VALIDITY 189

55. PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS 192

56. QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS 195

57. CONFOUNDING IN EXPERIMENTS 198

 CONTENTS ix

PART 8
Analyzing Data: Understanding Statistics 201
58. DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL STATISTICS 203

59. SCALES OF MEASUREMENT AND STATISTICAL TESTS 207

60. DESCRIPTIONS OF NOMINAL DATA 210

61. SHAPES OF DISTRIBUTIONS 213

62. THE MEAN, MEDIAN, AND MODE 216

63. THE MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION 219

64. THE MEDIAN AND INTERQUARTILE RANGE 222

65. UNDERSTANDING PROBABILITY IN INFERENTIAL

STATISTICS 225

66. INTRODUCTION TO THE NULL HYPOTHESIS 228

67. THE PEARSON CORRELATION COEFFICIENT (r) 231

68. THE t-TEST 236

69. ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (F) 239

70. TWO-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE 242

71. INTRODUCTION TO THE CHI-SQUARE TEST (χ2) 245

72. THE BIVARIATE CHI-SQUARE TEST (χ2) AND TYPES

OF ERROR 249

73. REGRESSION BASICS 252

74. PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS 255

 x Contents

PART 9
Effect Size and Meta-Analysis 259
75. INTRODUCTION TO EFFECT SIZE (d )261

76. INTERPRETATION OF EFFECT SIZE (d )264

77. EFFECT SIZE AND CORRELATION (r )267

78. INTRODUCTION TO META-ANALYSIS 270

79. META-ANALYSIS AND EFFECT SIZE 273

80. META-ANALYSIS: STRENGTHS AND

WEAKNESSES276

PART 10
Preparing Research Reports 279
81. THE STRUCTURE OF A RESEARCH REPORT 281

82. WRITING ABSTRACTS 285

83. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW 288

84. DESCRIBING PARTICIPANTS 292

85. DESCRIBING MEASURES 295

86. REPORTING RESEARCH RESULTS 298

87. WRITING THE DISCUSSION 302

88. PREPARING THESES AND DISSERTATIONS 305

 Contents xi

APPENDIX A: ELECTRONIC DATABASES FOR LOCATING

LITERATURE308

APPENDIX B: E
 LECTRONIC SOURCES OF STATISTICAL
INFORMATION311

APPENDIX C: EXCERPTS FROM LITERATURE REVIEWS 315

APPENDIX D: S
 AMPLE ABSTRACTS OF RESEARCH
REPORTS322

APPENDIX E: AN INTRODUCTION TO APA STYLE 325

APPENDIX F: AN INTRODUCTION TO ASA STYLE 329

Index333
PREFACE

Understanding Research Methods provides an overview of basic research methods for use in
courses offered in departments of sociology, psychology, education, criminal justice, social
work, counseling, communications, and business, as well as closely related fields that would
benefit from a survey of methods used in the social sciences.

WHY SHOULD STUDENTS HAVE AN OVERVIEW OF

RESEARCH METHODS?
• Leaders in all fields rely on the results of research to make important decisions, such as
how to adjust work environments to improve employee productivity and satisfaction,
how to best address the problems of those who depend on social services, and which
types of educational programs produce the best results. If students hope to become
decision makers in their fields, they must understand research methods in order to
effectively sort through conflicting claims found in the research literature and arrive
at sound decisions.
• Many students will be expected to conduct simple but important research on the job.
For instance, clinical psychologists are expected to track improvements made by their
clients, teachers are expected to experiment with new methods in the classroom, social
workers are expected to collect data on their clients, and many types of businesses use
Internet or other data to track traffic and learn about their customers.
• All students will make lifestyle decisions that are at least in part based on research reported
in the media. Should an individual take vitamin supplements? Which make of auto-
mobile is superior if the buyer’s primary concern is safety? What are the best ways to
promote healthy child development in one’s children? Many types of answers are offered
online, on television, or in print through social media, newspapers and newscasts, and
in-depth articles. As a result of studying research methods, students can improve their
ability to identify research-based claims and consume information crucially.
• Students may need to read and report on published research in other classes. They will be
more skilled at doing this if they have a solid understanding of basic methods of research.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE TEXT

In order to make this textbook meaningful, the following distinct features have been
incorporated. Learning tools include the following:

• Material is divided into short “topics” instead of long chapters. These short topics help
students take small steps through the exciting but highly technical field of research
methods. Long chapters used in other research methods books prompt students to take
big gulps, which often are not easily digested.
 Preface xiii

• Topics build on one another. When a topic relies on previously covered material, it
begins with a reminder of what students should have mastered already. This helps stu-
dents connect material, review appropriately, and make smooth transitions from one
topic to the next.
• Technical jargon is defined in plain English and numerous examples make abstract research
concepts concrete. In field tests, students agreed that this book is comprehensible.
• Exercises at the end of each topic encourage students to pause and make sure they have
mastered the concepts before moving on. This is important because much of the mate-
rial in this book is cumulative. Mastering an earlier topic is frequently a prerequisite
for mastering a later topic.
• Three types of exercises are offered at the end of most topics to suit different teaching
and learning needs. A set of questions tests comprehension of factual material. Discus-
sion questions give students a chance to interpret and apply the material and work well
to stimulate classroom discussions. Research planning questions provide direction and
activities to help students plan a research project.
• Statistical material is presented at the conceptual level. It shows students how to inter-
pret statistical reports but does not include computational details.

NEW TO THIS EDITION

In addition to its key hallmarks, the tenth edition incorporates new content and features:

• Several new topics have been added that help to contextualize research:
• Topic 1: Knowledge and Research Methods
• Topic 11: Ethical Principles in Research
• Topic 15: Connecting the Literature to your Study
• Topic 18: Why Academics Use Citation
• Topic 20: Decisions in Quantitative Research Design
• Topic 34: Sampling in the Modern World
• Topic 45: Measurement in Qualitative Research
• Topic 50: Designing Case Study Research
• Topic 51: Mixed Methods Designs
• Topic 65: Understanding Probability in Inferential Statistics
• Topic 73: Regression Basics
• Several topics have been reordered and revised to create more coherence within the
different parts of the book and to represent different dimensions of the research
process.
• Qualitative aspects of design and analysis have been more consistently threaded
throughout sections to ensure the topic is covered from start to finish.
• New examples from recently published research have been added throughout to keep
this bestseller up to date.
• New figures and graphs have been added throughout to offer more visual aids to learn-
ing research methods.
• The appendices on electronic databases and electronic sources for statistics have been
updated and citation guidance for psychology and sociology has been moved from the
text to Appendices E and F.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Anne Hafner and Dr. Robert Morman, both of California State University, Los Angeles,
provided many helpful comments on the first draft of this book.
New material for subsequent editions was reviewed by Dr. Robert Rosenthal of Harvard
University and the University of California, Riverside; Dr. Deborah M. Oh of ­California
State University, Los Angeles; Dr. Richard Rasor of American River College; and Dr.
George W. Burruss, Dr. Nicholas A. Corsaro, and Dr. Matthew Giblin, all of Southern
Illinois University, Carbondale.
In preparation for the tenth edition, we received guidance from the following individu-
als: Daniel Choi, California State University, Fullerton; Richard C. Meyer, University of
Nebraska at Kearney; Janice H. Laurence, College of Education, Temple University; and
Julie A. Bardin, Florida State University. Special thanks to William Dolphin for his edito-
rial assistance in preparing the tenth edition.
All of these individuals made important contributions to the development of this book.
Errors and omissions, of course, remain the responsibility of the authors. The tenth edi-
tion welcomes new coauthor and sociologist Dr. Michelle R. Newhart. It is our hope that
our combined disciplinary expertise and background across quantitative, qualitative, and
mixed methods research will expand the usefulness of this book for beginning researchers.

Mildred L. Patten
Michelle R. Newhart
PART 1
Introduction to Research
Methods
What is meant by research methods? Part 1 gives an overview of research methods and
explains the types of research conducted in the social sciences and education. Topics 1
through 3 introduce research methods as a way of generating knowledge. Topics 4 through
9 describe common approaches to research, and Topics 10 and 11 introduce ethical con-
siderations that underlie all types of research.
 TOPIC 1
KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH
METHODS

Research methods are the building blocks of the scientific enterprise. They are the “how”
for building systematic knowledge. Let’s take a moment to think about knowledge. How
do you “know” things? One way you know things is through your own personal experi-
ences. Even as personal experiences are rich in depth and detail, and create a lot of mean-
ing in life, they are also quite limited in scope. If you try to generalize what is true for you,
it is easy to overgeneralize and arrive at misleading conclusions for everyone.
Another fundamental way to gain knowledge is through the authority of others—your
parents, teachers, books you have read, shows you have watched, news and articles from
social media. This “second-hand” knowledge includes many diverse sources, and often
this knowledge is more than one step removed from where it originated. Life is made
simpler by inheriting knowledge from humanity’s vast collection, instead of relying only
on what you can discover for yourself. In fact, most people spend years attending school
to acquire a basic set of knowledge that seems relevant for living and working in today’s
world. Even though it can still take a long time to learn even a small proportion of the
knowledge that is available, the efficiency of being able to gain a lot of knowledge in
this way benefits us and allows us to continue to build and further what is collectively
known. However, not all information that is passed along is of equal value. While some
of the things that we learn on the authority of others is based on scientific research, cer-
tainly there is much more information that is based simply on opinion, common sense,
misinterpretation, or skewed information. It takes critical thinking skills to sort this out.
By learning about research, reading samples of research, and practicing research it is pos-
sible to expand your ability to think through knowledge and its acquisition in new ways.
When you learn the rules on which research is based, you are learning to generate knowl-
edge in the tradition and practice of science. Regardless of the method selected, social science
research methods are designed to be systematic and to minimize biases. The goal is to
produce findings that represent reality as closely as possible, overcoming some of the hidden
biases that influence our conclusions when we are not systematic. As you will soon learn,
research involves making many careful decisions and documenting both the decisions and
their results. Decisions are important throughout the practice of research and are designed to
help researchers collect evidence that includes the full spectrum of the phenomenon under
study, to maintain logical rules, and to mitigate or account for possible sources of bias. In
many ways, learning research methods is learning how to see and make these decisions.
These days, research is everywhere. Whether you pursue an academic career or enter
an applied field, research skills are likely to have a valuable application. In academic
research, the application is obvious. Academic writing nearly always describes research
methods because academic work is judged first on the merits of its methods. Findings
must be supported by how the information was collected, and whether it was thorough
and unbiased, and addressed the research question appropriately. Outside of academia,
 4 Introduction to Research Methods

more and more careers call on people to understand data, to design ways to solicit feed-
back or information, to actually collect the information, and to figure out through
analysis what the responses mean. For instance, people in many fields and sectors of the
job market want to understand who is using their products or services, how well they are
carrying out internal or market objectives, how well their employees are performing, and
who is interacting with their website or following them on social media. It is possible to
specialize in research and become an expert in answering questions of this type, but even
knowing some basic principles of research can help you to make intelligent and mean-
ingful contributions. Knowing about research methods can also empower you in your
personal life because it can make you a wiser, more critical consumer of all information.
It can help you ask better questions about the information you encounter and ultimately
act as a better informed citizen.
The accumulation of knowledge through research is by its nature a collective endeavor.
Each well-designed study provides evidence that may support, amend, refute, or deepen
the understanding of existing knowledge. However, individual studies, no matter how
compelling, are rarely enough evidence to establish findings as “fact.” It is through the
ability to find similar findings across studies, and the variability that studies may find when
they ask questions in different ways and of different groups, that theories (covered in
Topic 3) grow to be established as our working knowledge. Much like language, scientific
knowledge is a living conversation in which new studies and new inquiries allow what we
know to grow and change over time.

■ TOPIC REVIEW
1. What are three ways we “know” things?
2. What makes scientific knowledge different from other types of knowledge?
3. What makes knowledge biased?
4. Why do research reports include a section describing research methods?
5. What is the goal of research in the social sciences?
6. What makes research a collective endeavor?

■ DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Think about everything you know about schools. How much can you sort what you
know from personal experience? From the authority of others? If you were to do
research on schooling, what would you study?
2. Consider your chosen career path, or if you are not yet sure, bring to mind one career
path you are considering. How do you think knowledge of research methods could
help you in that career?

■ RESEARCH PLANNING
Think about a research interest that you have as you begin this book/course. Generate a
list of questions that interest you about this topic. Are there any aspects of this research
interest that seem especially prone to researcher bias?

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