thinkPhD

Here is the list of recommended titles for the RSH courses:

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 9781412965576

Zikmund, W. (2003). Business research methods. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western ISBN: 9780030350849

Cozby, P. C. (2009) Methods in behavioral research. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education ISBN: 9780073370224

Trochim, W., & Donnelly, J. (2007) The research methods knowledge base. Mason, OH: Thomson Custom Publishing. ISBN: 9781592602919

Shank, G. D. (2006) Qualitative research: A personal skills approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0131719491

Schram, T. H. (2006) Conceptualizing and proposing qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, N.J. Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall 0131702866

Patton, M. Q. (2002) Qualitative research & evaluations methods Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. ISBN: 978-0761919711

Creswell, J. W. & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007) Designing and conducting mixed methods research + The mixed methods reader (bundle). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 9781412960229

Note: This is a bundle that includes a Mixed Method Reader. Be sure to use the ISBN number that gives you both the text and the reader.
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Here are some titles that I recommend:
Babbie, E. (1990). Survey research methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. ISBN: 0-534-12672-3

Vogt, W. P. (2007). Quantitative research methods for professionals. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 0-205-35913-2

Vogt, W.P. (2005). Dictionary of statistics & methodology: A nontechnical guide for the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA. ISBN: 978-0-7619-8855-7.

Black, T. R. (2009). Doing quantitative research in the social sciences: An integrated approach to research design, measurement and statistics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 978-0-7619-5353-1

A fellow student recommends:

Simon, M. (2005). Dissertation and scholarly research: A practical guide to start and complete your dissertation, thesis, or formal research project. ISBN: 0757525016

Do you have others to add to the list? Post them!

My essay, “10 Ways to Ensure Distance Learning Success” was published December 17 by eLearn Magazine.

Here is the direct link to that article:

http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=best_practices&article=62-1

In this article, I review some of the basic principles for online learners. The idea for the essay was an adaptation of a slide that I use for every class including campus-based. The slide has the 10 items, which I reveal one at at time, from the last to the first (#10, #9, #8, etc.), in the same way that David Letterman does his Top Ten Lists. By bringing humor into the classroom, students seem to remember the slide and these points much easier. If you would like a copy of the slide, please contact me at thinkphd at yahoo dot com and I will send you one.

Just like David Letterman, a little drum roll please before reading #1: Read the syllabus and use it as a roadmap!

I found a website that provides free information for the dissertation student. Free Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods is a list of links to websites with a home site of the International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication or ICAAP. Some of the resources explain what evaluation is and how it is used in social research. I found some useful information under the Methods – Qualitative link. My proposed topic is based on qualitative methods, and now that I am in RSH9102B, I am trying to find as much information that I can about this method. There are some links to free statistical software, training courses, and some related to sampling a population. Check out some of the study notes and links to tutorials, too.