Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning
by Thomas H. Davenport
from Harvard Business School Press
You have more information at hand about your business environment than ever before. But are you using it to “out-think” your rivals? If not, you may be missing out on a potent competitive tool.
In Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning , Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris argue that the frontier for using data to make decisions has shifted dramatically. Certain high-performing enterprises are now building their competitive strategies around data-driven insights that in turn generate impressive business results. Their secret weapon? Analytics: sophisticated quantitative and statistical analysis and predictive modeling.
Exemplars of analytics are using new tools to identify their most profitable customers and offer them the right price, to accelerate product innovation, to optimize supply chains, and to identify the true drivers of financial performance. A wealth of examples—from organizations as diverse as Amazon, Barclay’s, Capital One, Harrah’s, Procter & Gamble, Wachovia, and the Boston Red Sox—illuminate how to leverage the power of analytics.
Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2nd Edition)
by John W. Creswell
from Sage Publications, Inc
"Creswell's Research Design is an accessible and useful book that stimulates students through walk through experiences, use of exercises, and production of actual writing samples. It is a book that models the types of issues that best suit different approaches and allows students to understand when to use mixed methods. Furthermore, its focus on theory and paradigms is done in a way that helps students decode their meaning."
--MARTHA MONTERO-SIEBURTH, University of Massachusetts, Boston
"One of the most formidable challenges of research design is stating your purpose. Creswell's approach takes the guesswork out of the process."
--STEVE GUERRIERO, Organization & Management, Antioch New England Graduate School
The Second Edition of the bestselling Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches offers a unique comparison of three key approaches to inquiry. This comparison begins with preliminary consideration of knowledge claims for all three approaches, a review of the literature, and reflections about the importance of writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry. The book also addresses the key elements of the process of research: writing an introduction; stating a purpose for the study; identifying research questions and hypotheses; using theory; defining, delimiting and stating the significance of the study; and advancing methods and procedures for data collection and analysis.
Key Features:
- Provides a clear presentation of how to implement a mixed methods design in your proposal or plan as well as show how to implement qualitative and quantitative approaches
- Presents the ethical issues that may arise in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies
- Offers extensive writing tips to help get your research plan started in the right direction
- Contains the latest developments in qualitative inquiry—including advocacy, participatory, and emancipatory approaches
This book is ideal for readers who seek assistance in designing a full research study or planning a proposal for a scholarly journal article, dissertation or thesis. The book is an invaluable reference on the basics of research design as well as an effective text for graduate courses in Research Methods, Research Design, and related topics. The book serves a broad audience of social and human scientists in fields of marketing, management, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, K-12 education, higher and post-secondary education, nursing, health sciences, urban studies, and family research.
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Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods
by Michael Quinn Patton
from Sage Publications, Inc
"On dissertation proposals on which I have served, Patton is by far the most cited qualitative research text."
Ian Baptiste, Penn State University
The book that has been a resource and training tool for countless applied researchers, evaluators, and graduate students has been completely revised with hundreds of new examples and stories illuminating all aspects of qualitative inquiry. Patton has created the most comprehensive, systematic, and up-to-date review of qualitative methods available.
"I am dazzled by the extent of the material that this book describes and clarifies. Patton has shifted the focus of the text to qualitative inquiry in general, which includes qualitative evaluation. New examples from his own work and that of others serve to clarify and deepen understanding of qualitative research topics and processes. New discussion of many current issues and debates in qualitative scholarship (autoethnography, ethical issues of informed consent and confidentiality, focus group/group interviews, computer-assisted analysis, the complexity of creating criteria for judging the quality of qualitative research, etc.) will bring readers up-to-date with the variety in perspectives about (and the variety within) qualitative inquiry. Most of the chapters in the book have been substantially reorganized in ways that augment the reader’s understanding. When anyone asks me about conducting qualitative inquiry, I will say: ‘Get Patton’s book’."
Corrine Glesne, author of Becoming Qualitative Researchers
The Third Edition has retained and expanded upon the exhibits, which highlight and summarize major issues, guidelines, the summative sections, tables, and figures as well as the sage advice of the Sufi-Zen master, Halcolm. This revision will help readers integrate and make sense of the great volume of qualitative works published in the past decade.
"Clearly, this is a vastly improved, much more comprehensive, cogently systematic, and timely review-a tour de force, one might say-of the field of qualitative research, in terms of the theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and normative dimensions/foundations of qualitative research. This is one of the strengths of the volume. It seeks to bring together theory and practice/methods without overburdening one or the other--this is as rare as it is commendable, not to mention extremely useful, not only for the professional researcher, but for the "non-professional" as well."
Lester Edwin J. Ruiz, New York Theological Seminar
New to this Edition
- Integrates and makes sense of the great volume of qualitative works published in the past decade
- Offers strategies for enhancing quality and credibility of qualitative findings by presenting a new framework for differentiating five contrasting and competing sets of standards for judging the quality and utility of findings
- Unravels the complexities of mixed methods and triangulation
- Explains the new issues and approaches to fieldwork as well as providing detailed analytical guidelines, including software and computer-assisted options
- Explores, compares and contrasts 16 different theoretical and philosophical approaches to qualitative inquiry
- Examines alternative interviewing strategies and approaches, including focus group interviews, group interviews, and cross-cultural interviews
- Identifies the latest Internet resources
Pedagogical Features to Enhance the Reader’s Understanding of the Material:
- Exhibit Boxes: Summarize and illuminate major points within chapters
- Chapter Opening Stories by Halcolm: Use wit and humor to engage the reader in reflecting upon the puzzles and lessons of qualitative research
- Foundational Questions: Orient the reader to the "meat" of the material being presented
- End of Chapter Appendices: Provide excerpts of detailed examples of particular techniques, such as open-ended interviews, case studies, etc.
- Comparison Tables: Organize, compare and contrast different approaches, strategies, and paradigms
- Original Cartoons: Created from the book’s material, illuminate and poke fun at chapter concepts
Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics
by Neil J. Salkind
from Sage Publications, Inc
Order the Latest Edition of the Bestselling Statistics TODAY!
The bestselling Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics is now in its Third Edition! This text teaches an often intimidating and difficult subject in a way that is informative, personable, and clear. Author Neil J. Salkind takes students through various statistical procedures, beginning with correlation and graphical representation of data and ending with inferential techniques and analysis of variance. In addition, the text covers SPSS, and includes reviews of more advanced techniques, such as reliability, validity, introductory non-parametric statistics, and more. Pedagogical features include sidebars offering additional technical information about the topics presented and points that reinforce major themes in the book. This new edition also includes more examples than ever before, an expanded set of exercises at the end of each chapter, and a more comprehensive glossary.
Key Features of the Third Edition
- Gives updated examples from a variety of disciplines, and more of them than ever before
- Contains more Time to Practice exercises, with answers in the back of the book
- Presents additional coverage of general research methods basics
- Includes expanded coverage of power
An Instructor’s Resource CD (ISBN: 978-1-4129-5152-4) is available to qualified adopters of the text. It includes:
- A downloadable (PDF) pamphlet on How to Teach Statistics
- Sample syllabi
- Extensive lecture outlines (PowerPoint)
- Art from the book for use as overheads
- An additional set of practice problems (with answers)
- Answers to questions about the SAGE Journal articles that appear on the Companion Web Site
- Data sets in SPSS and Excel
- A test bank placed into Diploma 6.3 (Brownstone)
To request the IRCD for this book please contact Customer Care at 1.800.818.7243 or by emailing info@sagepub.com with course name and enrollment and your university mailing address to expedite the process.
The companion Web site located at www.sagepub.com/salkindstudy offers:
- Practice quizzes
- Flashcards
- Access to SAGE Journal articles related to each chapter (whenever possible)
- An in-depth review of SPSS
- Data sets in SPSS and Excel
- A list of useful Web links
- A link to Neil’s blog statforpeople.blogspot.com
In addition, for only $25 extra on top of the price of the textbook, students can purchase the text as a bundle that includes a copy of SPSS Student Version 15 (ISBN: 978-1-4129-5151-7)! Â
Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis
by Kathy Charmaz
from Sage Publications Ltd
`Grounded theory is a highly influential way of working with qualitative data and Kathy Charmaz is a major player, both innovative and fluent. This book is a model student text: lively, carefully argued and full of vivid illustrations. Beginning students and professional researchers will find it to be required reading' - David Silverman, Professor Emeritus, Sociology Department, Goldsmiths College and Visiting Professor, Management Department, King's College, University of London
Kathy Charmaz is one of the world's leading theorists and exponents of grounded theory. In this important and essential new textbook, she introduces the reader to the craft of using grounded theory in social research, and provides a clear, step-by-step guide for those new to the field.
Using worked examples throughout, this book also maps out an alternative vision of grounded theory put forward by its founding thinkers, Glaser and Strauss. To Charmaz, grounded theory must move on from its positivist origins and must incorporate many of the methods and questions posed by constructivists over the past twenty years to become a more nuanced and reflexive practice.
Essential reading for students, new researchers and seasoned social scientists alike, this book is one of those rare things, a textbook that is both accessible to those new to the field but also one that has important things to say about the nature of social enquiry itself.
Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method 2007 Update with New Internet, Visual, and Mixed-Mode Guide
by Don A. Dillman
from Wiley
A crucial resource for increasing response rates and obtaining high-quality feedback from mail, electronic, and other surveys
Don Dillman's Mail and Internet Surveys, Second Edition has been the definitive guide for creating and conducting successful surveys using both traditional and new media channels. Now, this special 2007 Update of the classic text features major additions covering the latest developments in online survey design and administration.
Like its predecessor, this resource lays out a complete, start-to-finish guide for determining the needs of a given survey, designing it, and effectively administering it. Drawing on social science, statistics, and proven best practices, Dillman's text discusses surveys for a variety of purposes, audiences, and situations.
New and updated material covers both the principles behind and directions for how to:
- Conduct Web surveys
- Visually design questionnaires
- Use paper mailed surveys
As insightful and practical as its classic original, Mail and Internet Surveys, Second Edition, 2007 Update is a crucial resource for any researcher seeking to increase response rates and obtain high-quality feedback from mail, electronic, and other self-administered surveys.
Survey of Economics (3rd Edition) (MyEconLab Series)
by Arthur O'Sullivan
from Prentice Hall
Covering both Micro and Macroeconomics in one concise paperback volume, this book shows readers how to think and act like an economist by showing them how to use economic concepts in their everyday lives and careers. Organized around the Five Key Principles of Economics–The Principle of Opportunity Cost, The Marginal Principle, The Principle of Diminishing Returns, The Spillover Principle, and The Reality Principle. For economists and those making financial decisions and analyses.
Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences (6th Edition)
by Bruce L. Berg
from Allyn & Bacon
This book offers the most comprehensive coverage of qualitative techniques of any book on the market today and does it in a way that is easy to read and follow. The author's central purpose remains a desire to instruct inexperienced researchers in ways of effectively collecting, organizing, and making sense of qualitative data, while stressing the importance of ethics in research and in taking the time to properly design and think through any research endeavor. After reading this book, fledgling researchers should be able to design, collect, and analyze data and then present their results to the scientific community. Considers seven different data collection strategies in detail. Describes focus group interviewing, one of the fastest growing styles of data collection, in detail (Ch. 5), including a new Moderator's Guide that provides the inexperienced focus group facilitator with a step-by-step guide to how the interview should be conducted. Maintains the emphasis on ethics in research (Ch. 3) including a new section on the President's apology for the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. For anyone in the social sciences who needs to develop research methodology.
How to Measure Training Results : A Practical Guide to Tracking the Six Key Indicators
by Jack Phillips
from McGraw-Hill
How to Measure Training Results presents practical tools for collecting and measuring six types of data critical to an overall evaluatin of training. This timely resource:
- Includes dozens of reproducible tools and processes for training evaluation
- Shows how to measure both financial and intangible/non-financial results
How to Measure Training Results is a handbook for trainers and HR managers who want to save their jobs or advance their careers by showing how the training they provide directly benefits their organization's bottom line or strategic goals.
Political Science Research Methods
by Janet Buttolph Johnson
from CQ Press
Don t let an introduction to research methods be your students least favorite (and most intimidating) political science course. Relevant, timely, insightful, comprehensive, and always mindful of their student audience, the authors have revamped their popular text so that the sixth edition is friendlier and more intuitive than ever the perfect gateway to understanding not just the how but also the why behind research into politics.
Covering the discipline s major methods, the authors lead students step-by-step through the logic of research design. Building block chapters on hypothesis formation and testing, variables, and measurement are right up front; the introduction to research design, sampling, and literature reviews now come with more explanation as to why a researcher would pursue different kinds of methods; the stats chapters begin with a common-sense primer that walks students through foundational ideas and practices. Throughout the text, updated examples of contemporary research problems keep readers engaged.
Each chapter has bolded key terms that are also listed in a glossary at the end of each chapter and the end of the text. Helpful hints feature boxes give students nuts-and-bolts reminders they can refer to when they conduct their own research or assess the work of others.
NEW TO THIS EDITION
- New examples of political science research in Chapter 1, including a case on judicial decision making and current research into public opinion on the war in Iraq.
- Expanded discussion of theory in Chapter 2, showing how competing paradigms can be applied to the same topic of study.
- Substantially updated discussion of survey research including coverage of Internet polling and a fuller description of interviewing.
- Computational formulas and calculations are now featured in How It s Done boxes allowing students to separate lengthy calculations from substantive discussion of the meaning or interpretation of statistical results.
- Greater coverage of newer developments in applied statistics, including exploratory data analysis and descriptive and inferential statistics for counts and functions of counts. In general, less emphasis on computation, and more on interpretation.
- Reorganized statistics chapters for better comprehension with regression analysis and logistic regression in their own chapters.
- A new overview of statistical analysis, including discussion of data preparation, description, modeling, inference, interpretation, and the communication of results.
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