Multivariate Analysis Techniques in Social Science Research: From Problem to Analysis

Starting with a number of real research examples in the social sciences, the author clearly demonstrates how a researcher chooses the appropriate technique when using multivariate analysis. A wide selection of topics is examined from a range of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, economics, political science, and international comparative research. Multivariate Analysis Techniques in Social Science Research provides the reader with a clear and nontechnical overview of the different types of research problems and the range of multivariate methods available to the researcher. The book also gives a series of detailed examples based on real data from published empirical research that enables the reader to see how the content of the research relates to the multivariate technique used. Author Jacques Tacq covers all the classical multivariate techniques and provides a step-by-step analysis using SPSS that provides a clear explanation of the output so the reader can work through each of the examples. Also included are a useful introduction and summary of all the necessary statistical concepts that enable the reader to deal with the more advanced techniques. Multivariate Analysis Techniques in Social Science Research will appeal to all students and researchers in the social sciences who use and need to understand how to select multivariate methods for their research problems.

Jacques Tacq is Assistant Professor of Methodology at Erasmus University, Rotterdam in The Netherlands, and Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of Brussels, Belgium. He is also Visiting Professor at the Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis, University of Essex.