The Multilevel Design: A Guide with an Annotated Bibliography, 1980-1993 [Hardcover]

In the social sciences, phenomena tend to be hierarchically structured, so that individuals belong to groups, and groups belong to larger organizations and societies. Multilevel research stresses this hierarchical structure of social life, and necessarily assumes the existence of a particular organization of the procedures of investigation. This organization, which is fundamental to the research, is called a research design. Because the research is hierarchical, it uses a multilevel design.

This book provides a detailed overview of the theoretical and methodological aspects of multilevel research based on the multilevel definition of social structure. Six chapters discuss the foundations of multilevel research and the applications of its research in the social sciences. An annotated bibliography follows, which is divided into eight sections on theoretical and methodological issues and on applications of multilevel research. Included are books and articles published from 1980 through 1993.

HARRY J. M. HUTTNER is a member of the Research Methodology Division of the Department of Social Sciences at the Catholic University of Nijmegen.

PIETER van den EEDEN is affiliated with the Department of Social Research Methods at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.

Preface
Principles
Introduction; Approach
Theory
Model
Procedure
Multilevel Theories and Their Explanations of Contextual Effects
Introduction
Conforming
Choosing
Meeting chances
Adapting
Retrospective
The Multilevel Design
Introduction
Types of fallacies
Research problem and conceptual model
Operationalization
Observation of Group Characteristics
Typology construction, analysis, and interpretation
Conclusion
Interpretation of an Analytical Group Characteristic
Introduction
Social climate
Material culture
Network structure
Frog-pond effect
Subgroups
Peer group
Social structureslƒ-