Understanding Research Methods A Guide for the Public and Nonprofit Manager [Hardcover]

Managers and administrators in the public-policy and nonprofit sectors rely heavily on analytical skills to quickly pore through a massive amount of research. They dissect it and apply specific, useful data that can inform critical policy changes and help them improve their organizations overall performance and financial position. To master this vital role, it is imperative that they and their staff learn to be more efficient at collecting, analyzing and evaluating research material, by discovering how to ask the right questions and quickly discern valuable information from useless data.

A Blueprint to Streamline Every Aspect of the Research Process

Focusing on the entire research process from start to finish, the compact but comprehensive Understanding Research Methods: A Guide for the Public and Nonprofit Managerexplores the research designs and analytical tools that are the foundation for decision-making. Relying more on concepts and analysis than on mathematics, this text provides insight into the definition, process, importance, and capabilities of research  addressing the topic from the perspectives of both the producer of data and the consumer who evaluates its usefulness.

Broken down into three sections, the book:

• Gives an overview of the research process, the construction of measures, and research ethics
• Elaborates on planning a research method, presenting common research designs used by practitioners and the most useful, popular ways to collect data
• Focuses on tools available to analyze and then communicate data  specifically univariate and bivariate analyses

This versatile text is intended for dual uses  as a textbook for graduate and undergraduate students in public and nonprofit administration and public policy, and as a pls$