Researching Black Communities: A Methodological Guide

Experts from a range of disciplines offer practical advice for conducting social science research in racial and ethnic minority populations. Readers will learn how to choose appropriate methods—longitudinal studies, national surveys, quantitative analysis, personal interviews, and other qualitative approaches—and how best to employ them for research on specific demographic groups. The volume opens with a brief introduction to the difficulty of defining a population and designing a research program and then moves to illustrative examples drawn from the contributors’ own studies of Blacks in the United States, the Caribbean, and South Africa. Case studies cover research on the media, mental health, churches, work, marital relationships, education, and family roles.

James S. Jackson is the Daniel Katz Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education, and the Director and Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

Cleopatra Howard Caldwell is Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education and Co-Associate Director of the Program for Research on Black Americans at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

Sherrill L. Sellers is Professor in the Department of Family Studies and Social Work at Miami University in Ohio.