Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods

Did you know that:

- The triangulation of methods and measures can enhance validity and compensate for the fallibility of any single method or measure in applied research?

- All aspects of research are interdependent and that any weakness in one area will affect the quality of the data collected?

- Both qualitative and quantitative tools may be needed to research a topic thoroughly and provide results that can be used?

Applied researchers are often given multiple questions to answer from real-world settings and so must often use multiple research methods. How do you decide which techniques best fit the research question, context, and resources at hand? The Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods provides a complete resource to guide your decisions for all your applied research questions. The book′s emphasis is on finding the tools that best fit the research question given the constraints of deadlines, budget, and available staff. It shows you how to make intelligent and conscious tradeoffs so that you can refine and hone the research question as new knowledge is gained, unanticipated obstacles are encountered, or contextual shifts take place - all key elements in the iterative nature of applied research. With examples and illustrations from the authors′ own experiences, this book gives readers a practical guide to conducting applied research that is sensitive to the constraints and opportunities in program and policy environments yet can deliver rigorous and useful research information.

Leonard Bickman, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Public Policy. He is director of the Center for Evaluation and Program Improvement and Associate Dean for Research at Peabody College. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology (social) from the City University of New York, his master′s degree in experimental psychopathology from Columbia University and his bachelor′s from the City College of New York. Professor Bickman is a nationally recognized leader in program evaluation and mental healthservices research on children and adolescents. He has published more than 15 books and monographs and 180 articles and chapters and has been principal investigator on over 25 major grants from several agencies. He is co-editor of the Applied Research Methods Series published by Sage Publications since 1980. He is also co-editor of the Handbook of Applied Social Research and is collaborating on a new International Handbook of Social Research. He is the co-author of the very popular book Applied Research Design: A Practical Guide.


Debra J. Rog, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Associate with the Center for Evaluation and Program Improvement (CEPI), and directs its Washington office. She has over 25 years of experience in program evaluation and applied research and has directed numerous multi-site evaluations and research projects involving issues of poverty, homelessness, housing and services for vulnerable populations including children and families, mental health, and others. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator of a Coordinating Center for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration′s Homeless Families Initiative, and two foundation-funded cross-site evaluations of local collaboratives focused on violence prevention. Dr. Rog has to her credit numerous publications on evaluation methodology, housing, homelessness, poverty, mental health, and program and policy development and has edited numerous substantive and methodological volumes, including the Applied Social Research Methods Series and the Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Evaluation Association, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Public Health Association. She completed an appointment on the Advisory Committee of Women′s Services for the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and has been recognized for her evaluation work by the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Evaluation Association, the Eastern Evaluation Research Society, and the Knowledge Utilization Society.