New Book on Online Research Methods

PACT Lab research on wireless technology activism is included in this forthcoming book on online social science research methods:

Hargittai, E. (ed.) (2009). Research Confidential: Solutions to Problems Most Social Scientists Pretend They Never Have. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Back Cover Description:
While the methods literature is extensive, rarely do authors discuss the practical issues and challenges they routinely confront in the course of their research projects. As a result, each new cohort is forced to reinvent the wheel, making mistakes that previous generations have already confronted and resolved. Research Confidential seeks to address this failing by supplying new researchers with the kind of detailed practical information that can make or break a given project. Written in an informal, accessible, and engaging manner by a group of prominent young scholars, many of whom are involved in groundbreaking research in online contexts, this collection promises to be a valuable tool for graduate students and educators across the social sciences.

We all know that the actual process of empirical research is a messy, complicated business that at best only approximates the models we impart to students. Research Confidential pulls back the curtain on this process, laying bare the sordid details of the research process, but doing so in a way that respects the ideals of social research and that provides useful lessons for young scholars. It should be required reading for our research methods courses.
--Michael X. Delli Carpini, Dean, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

A must-read for researchers embarking on new projects. Rather than the abstract descriptions of most methods textbooks, this volume provides rich accounts of the firsthand experiences of actual researchers. An invaluable resource of practical advice. Critically, it will make new researchers aware of the actual challenges that they are likely to face in their work.
--Christopher Winship, editor of Sociological Methods and Research and Professor of Sociology, Harvard University

Provisional Table of Contents

Doing Empirical Social Science Research
By Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern University

Spit, Sweat, and Tears: Gathering Biological Data in Naturalistic Settings
by Emma K. Adam, Leah D. Doane and Kathryn Mendelsohn, Northwestern University

Field Experiments: Clear and Convincing Evidence
By Devah Pager, Princeton University

Part of the Community: The Challenges of Balancing Participation and Research
By Laura Clawson, Dartmouth College

The Challenges of In-Depth Interviews with Disadvantaged Respondents
By Joan Walling, Azusa Pacific University

Surveying Bloggers Rigorously
By Gina Walejko, Northwestern University

Herding Cats Online
By Dmitri Williams and Li Xiong, University of Southern California

How Technical is Technological Research? Acquiring and Deploying Technical Knowledge in Social Research Projects
By Christian Sandvig, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

On Unexpected Events: Navigating the Sudden Research Opportunity of 9/11
By Karen Albright, Stanford University

WAT R U DOIN? Studying the Thumb Generation through Text Messaging
By Eszter Hargittai and Chris Karr, Northwestern University

Giving Mega Attention to Macro Research: The Rewards and Challenges of Quantitative Cross-National Data Collection and Analysis
By Nina Bandelj, University of California at Irvine

Secondary Analysis of Large Social Surveys
by Jeremy Freese, Northwestern University

Doing Archival Research: How to Find a Needle in a Haystack
By Jason Gallo, Northwestern University

More details are available at the University of Michigan Press web site.

Tags: methods, wireless   (See all possible tags)