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Encyclopedia of Research Design

Introduction

The Encyclopedia of Research Design is a collection of entries written by scholars in the field of research design, the discipline of how to plan and conduct empirical research, including the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods. A simple review of the Reader's Guide shows how broad the field is, including such topics as descriptive statistics, a review of important mathematical concepts, a description and discussion of the importance of such professional organizations as the American Educational Research Association and the American Statistical Association, the role of ethics in research, important inferential procedures, and much more. Two topics are especially interesting and set this collection of volumes apart from similar works: (1) a review of important research articles that have been seminal in the field and have helped determine the direction of several ideas and (2) a review of popular tools (such as software) used to analyze results. This ...