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Practicing Research: Discovering Evidence That Matters [Pehme köide]

  • Formaat: Paperback / softback, 400 pages, kõrgus x laius: 254x177 mm, kaal: 680 g
  • Ilmumisaeg: 12-Feb-2008
  • Kirjastus: SAGE Publications Inc
  • ISBN-10: 1412937701
  • ISBN-13: 9781412937702
Teised raamatud teemal:
  • Formaat: Paperback / softback, 400 pages, kõrgus x laius: 254x177 mm, kaal: 680 g
  • Ilmumisaeg: 12-Feb-2008
  • Kirjastus: SAGE Publications Inc
  • ISBN-10: 1412937701
  • ISBN-13: 9781412937702
Teised raamatud teemal:
Provides methods for determining the validity of evidence and how to justify an acceptable level of "proof" based on science, experience, and values


Practicing Research: Discovering Evidence That Matters provides students, practitioners, and researchers with guidance on best practices. The book's eight chapters correspond to the skills that research consumers need to discover evidence that matters. Author Arlene Fink pays special attention to facilitating student learning by offeringing over a hundred examples, exercises, tables, figures, and checklists, as well as an extensive glossary. All the examples are taken from existing research and programs and grounded in the practitioner's reality.

Key Features

  • Provides methods for determining the validity of evidence and how to justify an acceptable level of "proof" based on science, experience, and values
  • Offers practical frameworks to guide the research process and take the student from needs assessment to program implementation and evaluation through to implementation of results
  • Shows how to engage diverse stakeholders (communities, teachers) in the research process
  • Accompanied by a companion Web site at www.sagepub.com/finkstudy that consists of Web exercises for students for each chapter

Intended Audience

This text is intended to be the core text or one of the primary texts for applied research courses at the graduate level in Education, Social Work, Public Administration and Policy, Evaluation, Health, Nursing, and Criminal Justice. Readers should have a passing familiarity with the idea of research, but no special research expertise is necessary.



Arvustused

"Fink excels in [ her] introduction to research design and includes a useful discussion on threats to internal and external validity, [ ...] a particular strength of the work." -- Jason P. Browning * NACADA Journal *

List of Figures and Tables
xiii
Preface xvii
The Evaluation Research and Evidence-Based Practice Partnership
1(32)
Chapter Objectives
2(1)
Evaluation Research: What It Is and What It Is Not
2(14)
So the Evidence Is Valid, but Does It Matter?
16(2)
Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM): Some History and Definitions
18(5)
The History
18(2)
The Definitions: Research Evidence, Clinical Expertise, and Patient Values
20(3)
Cietting It Done: The Steps to EBM
23(2)
EBM and EBP: Perfect or Not So?
25(1)
Getting It Together: Evaluation Research, EBM/EBP, and the Research Consumer
25(2)
Summary of
Chapter 1: Evaluation Research and Evidence-Based Practice Partnership
27(1)
Words to Remember
27(1)
The Next
Chapters
28(1)
Exercises
29(3)
Further Reading
32(1)
The Research Consumer as Detective: Investigating Program and Bibliographic Databases
33(32)
Looking in All the Right Places: Finding the Evidence
34(2)
Trolling the Web
36(4)
Other Places, Other Programs: Expanding the Search
40(3)
The Literature: The Research Consumer's Support
43(1)
The Consumer as Reviewer: Eight Literature Reviewing Tasks
44(1)
Choosing an Online Bibliographic Database
45(2)
A Note on Online or Electronic Journals
47(1)
What Are Your Questions?
47(3)
Research Questions and Descriptors and Key Words
50(2)
Even More Search Terms: Authors, Titles, Title Words, and Journals and Then Some---Limiting the Search
52(1)
How Do You Ask for Information? Searching With Boolean Operators
53(2)
Pausing During the Search
55(1)
Supplementing the Online Search
55(1)
Reviewing References
56(1)
Is Everything Worthwhile Published?
57(1)
Calling All Experts
58(2)
Summary of
Chapter 2: The Research Consumer as Detective
60(1)
Words to Remember
60(1)
The Next
Chapters
61(1)
Exercises
62(2)
Further Reading
64(1)
The Practical Research Consumer
65(26)
The Research Consumer's Practical Side
67(1)
The Practical Screen, Part 1: Language, Design, the Program, Timeliness, and Sponsorship
67(6)
The Practical Screen, Part 2: Outcomes and Participants
73(1)
Effectiveness Is a Comparative Concern: Outcomes
73(4)
Population Matters
77(3)
Money Matters
80(1)
Program Activities and Resources
81(1)
Evaluation Report or Something Else?
81(3)
Are Evaluation Reports All There Is?
84(1)
Summary of
Chapter 3: The Practical Research Consumer
85(1)
Words to Remember
85(1)
The Next
Chapters
86(1)
Exercises
87(4)
The Designing Research Consumer
91(54)
Research Design: Creating the Structure
92(2)
The Randomized Controlled Trial: Going for the Gold
94(18)
Randomized Controlled Trial or True Experiment: Variations on a Theme
96(1)
Concurrent Controls: Do It at the Same Time
96(1)
Wait-List Control: Do It Sequentially
97(7)
Doing It Randomly
104(1)
Doing It in Clusters
105(2)
Enhancing Chance
107(2)
Doing It Blindly
109(3)
Quasi-Experimental Evaluation Designs
112(6)
Nonrandomized Controlled Trials: Concurrent Controls
112(3)
Time-Series Designs
115(1)
Self-Controlled or Pretest-Posttest Designs
116(1)
Historical Controls
117(1)
Interrupted or Single Time-Series Designs
117(1)
Observational Designs
118(9)
Cohort Designs
119(1)
Prospective Cohort Design
119(2)
Case-Control Designs
121(2)
Cross-Sectional Designs
123(4)
Observational Designs and Controlled Trials
127(1)
The Bottom Line: Internal and External Validity
128(1)
Internal Validity Is Threatened
128(2)
External Validity Is Threatened
130(9)
The Problem of Incomparable Participants: Statistical Methods to the Rescue
134(1)
Analysis of Covariance
135(1)
Propensity Score Methods
136(3)
Summary of
Chapter 4: The Designing Research Consumer
139(1)
Words to Remember
139(1)
The Next
Chapter
140(1)
Exercises
141(4)
The Research Consumer Reviews the Measures
145(40)
Evaluation's Main Measures
146(3)
Gathering the Data: Weighing the Options
149(21)
Self-Administered Surveys
149(3)
Advantages of Self-Administered Surveys (Questionnaires)
152(1)
Disadvantages
152(1)
Forced-Choice Achievement Tests
153(1)
Advantages of Achievement Tests
154(1)
Disadvantages
154(1)
Record Reviews
155(2)
Advantages of Records
157(1)
Disadvantages
157(1)
Observations
158(2)
Advantages of Observations
160(1)
Disadvantages
161(1)
Interviews
161(2)
Advantages of Interviews
163(1)
Disadvantages
163(1)
Large Databases and Data Sets From Previous Studies
164(3)
Advantages of Existing Databases and Data Sets
167(1)
Disadvantages
167(2)
Vignettes
169(1)
Advantages of Vignettes
169(1)
Disadvantages
169(1)
Physical Examinations
170(1)
When One Measure Is Not Sufficient Measurement
170(3)
Responses and Ratings: Choices for Participants and Evaluators
173(1)
Content Analysis
174(1)
Not Quite Free to Choose: Data Collection With Preset Choices
175(2)
Response Choices: Getting the Data From the Questions
177(5)
Summary of
Chapter 5: The Research Consumer Reviews the Measures
182(1)
Words to Remember
182(1)
The Next
Chapter
183(1)
Exercises
184(1)
The Research Consumer Evaluates Measurement Reliability and Validity
185(28)
Reliability and Validity: A Team Approach
187(1)
Reliability
188(7)
Within Measure Reliability
189(1)
Test-Retest Reliability
189(1)
Internal Consistency Reliability
190(2)
Split-Half Reliability
192(1)
Between Measures Reliability
193(1)
Intra- and Inter-Rater Reliability
193(2)
Measurement Validity
195(3)
Content Validity
195(1)
Predictive Validity
196(1)
Concurrent Validity
196(1)
Construct Validity
196(2)
Sensitivity and Specificity
198(1)
Needing It All or Just Needing Some of It: Reliability, Validity, Sensitivity, and Specificity
198(2)
Triangulation
200(1)
Reliability and Validity Within and Across Evaluations
200(1)
Missing in Action: Where Are the Data?
201(2)
In the Final Analysis, What Data Are Available?
203(2)
Outcomes With High Hopes Versus Reality That Modifies Them
205(2)
Data Collection and Evidence That Matters
207(1)
Summary of
Chapter 6: The Research Consumer Evaluates Measurement Reliability and Validity
208(2)
Words to Remember
208(2)
The Next
Chapters
210(1)
Exercises
211(2)
Getting Closer: Grading the Literature and Evaluating the Strength of the Evidence
213(52)
Doing It Right: Reviewing the Literature From Locating Articles to Reporting Results
215(1)
The Spotlight Is on Quality
215(4)
RCTs: Consorting With the Best
219(4)
To Agree or Disagree: Defining Terms
223(3)
Observational or Nonrandomized Studies: Trend and Quality
226(1)
Scoring and Grading: Distinguishing Good From Poor Quality
227(3)
Quality, Quantity, and Consistency = Strength of Evidence
230(4)
The Evidence Makes the Grade: Time for Abstraction
234(2)
Bringing It Together: The Data Table
236(1)
Making the Grade: How to Identify Evidence That Matters
236(6)
Resources
241(1)
Decision-Making Needs
241(1)
Quality of the Literature
241(1)
Research Limitations
242(1)
Reliable and Valid Reviews
242(4)
Measuring Review Reliability: The Kappa Statistic
244(2)
Reviewing Other Reviews: Narrative Reviews and Systematic Reviews
246(3)
Systematic Reviews: Meta-Analysis
249(5)
Effect Size
249(1)
How Many People and What Effect?
250(1)
Effect Size and Sample Size
250(1)
Effect Size, Odds and Risks
251(3)
A Checklist of Seven Questions to Guide in Evaluating the Quality of a Meta-Analysis
254(6)
Funding and Support: The Role of Sponsor
260(1)
Summary of
Chapter 7: Getting Closer
260(2)
Words to Remember
260(2)
The Next
Chapter
262(1)
Exercises
263(2)
The Ethical Research Consumer Assesses Needs and Evaluates Improvement
265(46)
Identifying Needs, Preferences, and Values
266(2)
Techniques for Assessing Needs
268(15)
Key Informant
269(1)
Public or Community Forum
270(1)
Focus Groups
270(1)
Nominal Group Process
271(1)
Delphi Technique
272(2)
The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method
274(1)
Surveys
275(8)
Facing Uncertainty and Coming to Consensus
283(2)
Improvement Evaluations: How Are We Doing? Can We Do Better?
285(3)
Improvement and Effectiveness Evaluations: Two Purposes for One Discipline
288(4)
Research and Ethics: An Indomitable Connection
292(1)
Research and the Institutional Review Board
292(5)
Three Guiding Principles
293(1)
Obtaining Informed Consent
294(2)
The Special Case of Evaluations That Are Exempt From IRB Approval
296(1)
Limits to Confidentiality
296(1)
Research Misconduct
297(4)
Practicing Research and Ethics
301(2)
Summary of
Chapter 8: The Ethical Research Consumer Assesses Needs and Evaluates Improvement
303(4)
Words to Remember
303(4)
Exercises
307(4)
Appendix: Answers to Exercises 311(18)
Glossary 329(24)
References 353(8)
Index 361(12)
About the Author 373
Arlene Fink (PhD) is Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the Langley Research Institute. Her main interests include evaluation and survey research and the conduct of research literature reviews as well as the evaluation of their quality. Dr. Fink has conducted scores of evaluation studies in public health, medicine, and education. She is on the faculty of UCLAs Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and is a scientific and evaluation advisor to UCLAs Gambling Studies and IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling & Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer) programs. She consults nationally and internationally for agencies such as Linstitut de Promotion del la Prévention Secondaire en Addictologie (IPPSA) in Paris, France, and Peninsula Health in Victoria, Australia. Professor Fink has taught and lectured extensively all over the world and is the author of more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and 15 textbooks.