This bibliography was curated by Prof. Keith Morrison, and it is especially aimed at those students engaged in a Ph.D. program who should have a very clear understanding of research methods and how to conduct academic research. Particularly useful texts are asterisked; single asterisks are ‘recommended’; double asterisks are ‘strongly recommended’. A substantial part of these resources are available through USJ Library printed or digital resources, and in some cases, the resources might be freely available online. For every item available a link to the full-text version or the catalogue record will be provided.
1. Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2018) Research Methods in Education (eighth edition). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-138-20988-6.
Note: Though this book is written for educational researchers, many of the issues apply well to other social sciences, and the chapters on quantitative and qualitative data analysis (with SPSS) may be useful. (https://goo.gl/Do1eg9)
2. Cooper, D. C. and Schindler, P. S. (2013) Business Research Methods (twelfth edition). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Note: Though this book is written for researchers in business, many of the issues apply well to other social sciences.
3. Creswell, J. W. (2013) Research Designs: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (fourth edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
4. Gorard, S. (2013) Research Design: Creating Robust Approaches for the Social Sciences. London: Sage. ISBN: 9781446249024.
Note: This book is a straightforward text on research design.
1. Argyrous, G. (2011) Statistics for research: With a guide to SPSS (third edition). London: Sage Publications. ISBN: 978-1-84920-595-5
2. Ellis, P. D. (2010). The essential guide to effect sizes: Statistical power, meta-analysis, and the interpretation of research results. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Note: The standard text on effect size, and easy to read.
3. Field, A. (2013) Discovering Statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (fourth edition). London: Sage Publications Ltd. 978-1446249185.
Note: This is an international best-selling book, easy to read and informative.
4. Pallant, J. (2013) SPSS Survival Manual (5th edition). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. ISBN: 9780335262588.
Note: This will be referred to during the readings and the course. It is probably the most straightforward text of its kind for SPSS, and is very strongly recommended. Many students find it an invaluable and easy guide to SPSS; it is practical and very easy to follow.
1. Babbie, E. R. (2010) The Practice of Social Research (eleventh edition). New York: Thompson.
2. Beney , T. ( 2011 ) Distinguishing Evaluation from Research. Available from: http://www.uniteforsight.org/evaluation-course/module10. [Accessed 4 February 2016].
3. Breakwell, G. M., Hammond, S., Fife-Shaw, C. and Smith, J. A. (2006) Research Methods in Psychology (third edition). London: Sage.
4. Byrne, D. and Callaghan, G. (2014) Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
5. Creswell, J. W. (2002) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. New Jersey: Merrill Prentice-Hall.
6. Denscombe, M. (2009) Ground Rules for Social Research: Guidelines for Good Practice (second edition). Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
*7. Denscombe, M. (2014) The Good Research Guide (fourth edition). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
8. Hammersley, M. (2011) Methodology: Who Needs It? London, UK: Sage.
9. Hammersley, M. (2014) The Limits of Social Science: Causal Explanation and Value Relevance. London, UK: Sage.
*10. Howitt, D. and Cramer, D. (2014) Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology (fourth edition). Harlow, UK: Pearson.
11. Pawson, R. (2006) Evidence-based Policy: A Realist Perspective. London: Sage.
*12. Pawson, R. (2013) The Science of Evaluation: A Realist Manifesto. London: UK: Sage.
13. Punch, K. F. (2005) Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches (second edition). London: Sage.
14. Robson, C. (2002) Real World Research (second edition). Oxford: Blackwell.
1. Aiken, L. R. (2003) Psychological Testing and Assessment (eleventh edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Group Inc.
2. Bannister, D. (ed.) (1970) Perspectives in Personal Construct Theory. London: Academic Press.
3. Bannister, D. and Mair, J.M.M. (1968) The Evaluation of Personal Constructs. London: Academic Press.
4. Butt, T. (2008) George Kelly: The Psychology of Personal Constructs. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
5. Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) (2009) Systematic reviews: CRD’s guidance for undertaking reviews in health care. Availablefrom: http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/index_guidance.htm. [Accessed 30 Stptember, 2011].
6. Coe, R., Fitz-Gibbon, C. T. and Tymms, P. (2000) Promoting Evidence-Based Education: the Role of Practitioners. Roundtable paper presented at the British Educational Research Association, University of Cardiff, UK, 7-10 September.
7. Cooper, H. M., and Hedges, L. V. (2009). Research synthesis as a scientific process. In M. Harris et al. (eds.) (2009) The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis (second edition). ) New York, NY: The Russell Sage Foundation, pp. 3-16.
8. Dale, A., Arber, S. and Procter, M. (1998) Doing Secondary Analysis. London: Unwin Hyman.
**9. Donaldson, S. I., Christie, C. A. and Mark, M. M. (2009) What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice? Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
10. Heath, D. (2009) The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It. Health Sciences Writing Center, University of Toronto (2010 Literature Reviews. Available from: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review. [Accessed 6 February 2009].
11. Kline, P. (2016) A Handbook of Test Construction: Introduction to Psychometric Design. New York, NY: Routledge.
12. Petticrew, M., and Roberts, H.. (2006) Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
13. Ridley, D. (2010) The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students (second edition). London: Sage.
14. Smith, M. (2013) Evidence-based education: is it really that straightforward? The Guardian, 26 March 2013. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2013/mar/26/teachers-research-evidence-based-education. [Accessed 10 June 2016].
15. Vartanian, T. P. (2011) Secondary Data Analysis. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.