Research Design and Methods

Interviews (click here for resource page)

Recommended Readings (from books on reserve)

Danermark, B., M. Ekstrom, et al. (2002). Explaining society : critical realism in the social sciences. London ; New York, Routledge.

• Part Two: Methodological Implications
• 4. Generalization, Scientific Inference and models for Explanatory Social Science
• 5. Theory in the Methodology of Social Science
• 6. Critical Methodological Pluralism
• 7. Social Science and Practice
• 8. Conclusion

Lofland, J. and L. H. Lofland (1995). Analyzing social settings : a guide to qualitative observation and analysis. Belmont, Calif., Wadsworth.

• Part Two: Focusing Data
• 6. Thinking Topics
• 7: Asking Questions
• 8: Arousing Interest
• Part Three: Analyzing Data
• 9: Developing Analysis
• 10: Writing Reports

2. Reader on Reserve in Geisel Library (Selected Readings)

From Learning from the Field. @1984: pp. 97-127 "Interviewing Strategy and Tactics", by William F. Whyte. [pp. 48-63 in the Reader] .

List of SRP interview questions prepared by a student in last years Senior Sequence [pp. 95-98 in the Reader].

From Writing. Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines, @1992: pp.213-230 " Advocacy and Neutrality: A Contradiction in the Discourse of Urban Planners " , by Louise Dunlap ED: Anne Herrington and Charles Moran. [pp. 65-74 in the Reader] .

Examples of completed research in published format (journal articles and book chapters). The comments that preface each of these examples were prepared by Parke Troutman (thanks Parke!) during his tenure as a TA for the Senior Sequence (2003-2004). Review these to get a feel for how you should be writing up your own work. [pp. 99-179 in the Reader]

• From Journal of the American Planning Association, @1994: pp. 483-500 "Planners' Attitudes Toward Growth", by Nico Calavita and Roger Caves .
• From City: Rediscovering the Center, @1988: pp. 103-123 and "The Design of 159 Spaces", by William Whyte.
• From Con Respeto: Bridging the Distances Between Culture and Schools, @1996: pp.1-13 "Introduction: Between Two Worlds", by Guadalupe Valdez.
• From Talk and Social Structure, @1992: pp. 81-90 "The Generation of Macro Structure in Social Interaction " , by Hugh Mehan.
• From American Joumal of Sociology ' @1976: pp. 309-311 "The City as a Growth Machine " , by Harvey Molotch.
• From Urban Fortunes: the Political Economy of Place, @1987: pp. 1-15 Ch. 1 "The Social Construction of Cities", by John Logan. From Annual Review of Sociology' @1984: p. 393 " Park Place and Main Street ", by Roger Friedland. 207
• From American Journal of Sociology 86(6), @1981: pp. 1387-1389 "Community Power and Population Increase", by Larry Lyon et al ..
• From Rural Sociological v. 58-2, @1993: pp. 175-177 "Growth Promotion Activities in Rural Areas: Do They Make a Difference," by Craig R. Humphry and Kenneth P . Wilkinson.
• From The Urban Growth Machine: Critical Perspectives Two Decades Later @1999: p. 177, by Kenneth Basset.
• From Social Science Quarterly V. 69:3, @1988: pp. 737-739 "The 'Growth Machine' Revisited", by Kim Quaile Hill and Roger Durand.
• From Journal of Politics v. 55:3, @1993: pp. 720-723 "The Antigrowth Entrepreneur " , by Mark Schneider and Paul Teske. From Urban Studies 24, @1993: pp. 587-588 " A Ghost in the Growth: the Aftermath of rapid population growth in Houston , by Andrew Kirby and A. Karen Lynch.

We also have examples of student SRPs for you to review. Below are three SRP written by Students who completed the Senior Sequence in 2004. The first one (by Barlow) also has the research proposal that preceded the SRP. [pp. 210-305 in the reader]

• Barlow, R. M. (2002). SRP Proposal / Healing and the Hmong: A Study of Cross-cultural Issues in Healthcare Delivery. Urban Studies and Planning. La Jolla , UC San Diego : 11.
• Barlow, R. M. (2003). Healing and the Hmong: A Study of Cross-cultural Issues in Healthcare Delivery. Urban Studies and Planning. La Jolla , UC San Diego : 27.
• Brady, R. J. (2003). The "De- Fiscalization" of Land Use: Lessons from Carlsbad , California . Urban Studies and Planning. La Jolla , UC San Diego : 29.
• Teres , S. (2003). Grassroots Initiatiatives in Educational Restructuring: The Case of Centers of Learning by the Sea. Urban Studies and Planning. La Jolla , UC San Diego : 26.

Also in your Reader are articles you will find helpful from the perspective of sorting out your critical standpoint (your normative views or what we we refer to in class as your "critical voice." We label these readings under the heading "Advocacy, engaged research and the public intellectual." [pp. 306-352 in the Reader]

• Calavita , K. (2002). "Engaged research, "goose bumps," and the role of the public intellectual." Law & Society Review36(1): 5-20.
• Domhoff , G. W. (2002). Who rules America ? : power and politics . Boston , McGraw Hill: 199-211.
• Sandercock , L. (1998). Making the invisible visible : a multicultural planning history. Berkeley , University ofCalifornia Press: 12-13.
• Seidel, G., and Laurent Vidal (1997). The implications of 'medical,' 'gender in development' and ' culturalist ' discourses for HIV/AIDS policy in Africa . Anthropology of policy : critical perspectives on governance and power. C. Shore and S. Wright. London ; New York , Routledge: 59-87.

Additional Sources

We created a guide to doing critical research. You may find some of the literature on this guide useful. One section of particular importance to finding your critical voice is section 4.2 - Intellectual life and civic engagement. The most important readings of section 4.2 are listed below:

• Calavita, K. - "Engaged research, "goose bumps," and the role of the public intellectual
• Krumholz, N. - "Advocacy and Equity Planning"
• Markusen, A. - "The activist intellectual"
• Pezzoli, K. - On-line links: Empowering people through research-driven civic engagement
• Silka, L. - "Addressing the challenge of community collaborations"
• Sismondo, S. - "Standpoint Theory, in Science"
• Sonnert, G. and Holton, G. J. - Chapter 1 from Ivory Bridges: connecting science and society
• Thiel, C. - "Normative Aspects of Social and Behavioral Science"

From the on-line guide, Section 5.2 Guides and handbooks

• Andranovich, G. and G. Riposa (1993). Doing urban research. Newbury Park, Calif., Sage Publications.
• Berg, B. L. (2004). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Boston, Pearson.
• Bennett, A. Case Study: Methods and Analysis. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences.
• Denzin, N. K. and Y. S. Lincoln (2000). Handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications.
• Denzin, N. K. and Y. S. Lincoln (2003). The landscape of qualitative research : theories and issues. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage.
• Domhoff, G. W. (2002). Appendix A: How to do research on power. Who rules America? : power and politics. Boston, McGraw Hill: 199-210.
• Feagin, J. R., A. M. Orum, et al. (1991). A Case for the case study. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.
• Fetterman, D. M. (1998). Ethnography : step by step. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage.
• Gray, A. (2003). Collaboration in public services : the challenge for evaluation. New Brunswick, NJ, Transaction Publishers.
• Hajer, M. A. and H. Wagenaar (2003). Deliberative policy analysis : understanding governance in the network society. Cambridge, UK ; New York, USA, Cambridge University Press.
• Jensen, M. E. and P. S. Bourgeron (2001). A guidebook for integrated ecological assessments. New York, Springer.
• Lennon, M. C. and T. Corbett (2003). Policy into action : implementation research and welfare reform. Washington, D.C., The Urban Institute Press.
• Lofland, J. and L. H. Lofland (1995). Analyzing social settings : a guide to qualitative observation and analysis. Belmont, Calif., Wadsworth.
• Marshall, C. (1997). Feminist critical policy analysis. London ; Washington, D.C., Falmer Press.
• Marshall, C. and G. B. Rossman (1999). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications.
• Miller, D. C. and N. J. Salkind (2002). Handbook of research design & social measurement. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications.
• Mirovitskaya, N. S. and W. Ascher (2001). Guide to sustainable development and environmental policy. Durham, NC, Duke University Press.
• Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social research methods : qualitative and quantitative approaches. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
• Ristock, J. L., and Joan Pennell (1996). Chapter 1: Empowerment as a framework for community research. Community research as empowerment : feminist links, postmodern interruptions. J. L. Ristock and J. Pennell. Toronto ; New York, Oxford University Press: 1-15.
• Seale, C. (2004) Social research methods: a reader. Routledge student readers. New York: Routledge.
• Seale, C. (2004) Qualitative research practice. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE.
• Walliman, N. and B. Baiche (2001). Your research project : a step-by-step guide for the first-time researcher. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications.
• Weinberg, D. (2002). Qualitative research methods. Malden, MA, Blackwell Publishers.
• Wildavsky, A. B. (1987). Speaking truth to power : the art and craft of policy analysis. New Brunswick, USA, Transaction Books.
• Yin, R. K. (2003). Applications of case study research. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications.
• Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research : design and methods. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications.