NCJ Number
61380
Date Published
1979
Length
250 pages
Annotation
THIS BOOK WAS DEVELOPED FOR A 12-WEEK COURSE ON THE EVALUATION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH; THE RATIONALE BEHIND THE EVALUATION PROCESS IS ALSO VALID IN OTHER CONTEXTS.
Abstract
THE FOCUS IS ON QUESTIONS OF FACT RATHER THAN VALUE OR THEORY. FACTUAL QUESTIONS ABOUT PEOPLE, INSTITUTIONS, INTERACTIONS, AND BEHAVIOR ARE EMPHASIZED, AS WELL AS THE VALIDITY OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH. IN WORKING THROUGH THE BOOK, INDIVIDUALS WILL BE LEARNING (1) TO ASK ANSWERABLE QUESTIONS ABOUT CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS, EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL VARIABLES, BIASES AND OMISSIONS IN DATA GATHERING AND SAMPLE SELECTION, CORRELATION ASSUMPTIONS, ETC.; (2) TO USE LIBRARY RESOURCES TO FIND FACTS ABOUT QUESTIONS; AND (3) TO USE STANDARDS OF EVIDENCE EMPLOYED BY SOCIAL SCIENTISTS IN JUDGING STATEMENTS OF FACT. EACH CHAPTER IN THE BOOK IS DEVOTED TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF RELATED SKILLS. THE STUDENT'S GOAL IS NOT TO MEMORIZE TERMS AND DEFINITIONS BUT RATHER TO LEARN THE USE OF CONCEPTS WHEN EVALUATING SCIENTIFIC WORKS. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS ARE INCLUDED TO ALLOW THE STUDENT TO PRACTICE UNTIL SKILLS ARE WELL ESTABLISHED. TOPICS COVERED IN THE BOOK ARE SCIENTIFIC AND NONSCIENTIFIC STATEMENTS OF FACT, METHODS OF GATHERING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, THE EVALUATION OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, AND THE REVIEW OF LITERATURE. AN APPENDIX PRESENTS INFORMATION TO AID IN ASKING ANSWERABLE QUESTIONS AND FINDING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. REFERENCES AND AN INDEX ARE INCLUDED.