Exponential random graph models (ERGMs) are increasingly applied to observed network data and are central to understanding social structure and network processes. The chapters in this edited volume provide a self-contained, exhaustive account of the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of ERGMs, including models for univariate, multivariate, bipartite, longitudinal and social-influence type ERGMs. Each method is applied in individual case studies illustrating how social science the...

This book is the outcome of an Australian Research Council (ARC)-funded project titled Assessing the Australian Football League’s Racial and Religious Vilification Laws to Promote Community Harmony, Multiculturalism and Reconciliation,which investigated the impact of the Australian Football League’s anti-vilification policy since its introduction in 1995. With key stakeholders the Australian Football League, the AFL Players’ Association and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (pre...

The ego-net approach to social network analysis, which takes discrete individual actors and their contacts as its starting point, is one of the most widely used approaches in the field. This is the first textbook to take readers through each stage of ego-net research, from conception, through research design and data gathering to analysis.It starts with the basics, assuming no prior knowledge of social network analysis, but then moves on to introduce cutting edge innovations, cover...

Behavioral scientists – including those in psychology, infant and child development, education, animal behavior, marketing and usability studies – use many methods to measure behavior. Systematic observation is used to study relatively natural, spontaneous behavior as it unfolds sequentially in time. This book emphasizes digital means to record and code such behavior; while observational methods do not require them, they work better with them. Key topics include devising coding schemes, tr...

Automatic item generation (AIG) represents a relatively new and unique research area where specific cognitive and psychometric theories are applied to test construction practices for the purpose of producing test items using technology. The purpose of this book is to bring researchers and practitioners up-to-date on the growing body of research on AIG by organizing in one volume what is currently known about this research area. Part I begins with an overview of the concepts and topics nece...

We live in a world that is paradoxically both small and vast; each of us is embedded in local communities and yet we are only a few ′links′ away from anyone else in the world.This engaging book represents these interdependencies′ positive and negative consequences, their multiple effects and the ways in which a local occurrence in one part of the world can directly affect the rest. Then it demonstrates precisely how these interactions and relationships form.This is a book f...

Many theories in the social sciences predict spatial dependence or the similarity of behaviors at neighboring locations. Spatial Analysis for the Social Sciences demonstrates how researchers can diagnose and model this spatial dependence and draw more valid inferences as a result. The book is structured around the well-known Galton's problem and presents a step-by-step guide to the application of spatial analysis. The book examines a variety of spatial diagnostics and models through a seri...

Including new developments and publications which have appeared since the publication of the first edition in 1995, this second edition:*gives a comprehensive introductory account of event history modeling techniques and their use in applied research in economics and the social sciences;*demonstrates that event history modeling is a major step forward in causal analysis. To do so the authors show that event history models employ the time-path of changes in states and relate c...

This book explains the principles and theory of statistical modelling in an intelligible way for the non-mathematical social scientist looking to apply statistical modelling techniques in research. The book also serves as an introduction for those wishing to develop more detailed knowledge and skills in statistical modelling. Rather than present a limited number of statistical models in great depth, the aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the statistical models currently adopted ...

Contemporary Psychometrics features cutting edge chapters organized in four sections: test theory, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multivariate analysis.The section on test theory includes topics such as multidimensional item response theory (IRT), the relationship between IRT and factor analysis, estimation and testing of these models, and basic measurement issues that are often neglected.The factor analysis section reviews the history and devel...

Research design is of critical importance in social research, despite its relative neglect in many methods resources. Early consideration of design in relation to research questions leads to the elimination or diminution of threats to eventual research claims, by encouraging internal validity and substantially reducing the number of alternative explanations for any finite number of research ′observations′.This new book: discusses the nature of design; gives an introduction to desig...

In this fifth edition of his field-defining text, David Silverman, a true guru of qualitative research, walks the reader through the basics of gathering and analyzing qualitative data. The book offers beginners unrivalled hands-on guidance to help them get the best out of a research methods course or research project.New to the fifth edition:A streamlined structure to aid navigation and guide readers smoothly through the research process.A new chapter on gen...