This page will be in a constant state of development.

When I find books and papers I will put them here.

Questionnaire design

Statistics

General
Basic
Medium
Advanced

Almost any book on research methods in education or the social sciences will provide essential ideas and approaches.

The only thing to beware of is that a book is not comprehensive in its coverage. That is, it focuses on a narrow range of approaches. Such books will usually be subtitled in such a way that they tell you they are restricting their coverage.

The best way to check out the various research methods texts is to have a read of the introductory chapter. If it is full of jargon which you find incomprehensible, then the rest of the book is likely to be the same.

A recent comprehensive book which covers many aspects of applied social research ( and most chapters seem quite readable) is:

Bickman, L & Rog, D.J.(eds) (1998) Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods Sage
300.72 B583H (Clayton, I think)

A short book that tries to cover design, sampling, data collection and analysis :
Wright, Sonia R. (1979) Quantitative Methods and Statistics Sage

300.182 ROS - Clayton

It seems OK if you have some general basis from which to read it. Explains some of the stats with simple examples.

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Questionnaire design

Kosecoff, Jacqueline & Fink, Arlene Evaluation Basics Sage 1982

(Supposed to be a copy within Monash)

This ha a lot of basic material (as the name implies) but is quite superficial. Not quite sure how much you need as a priori knowledge to understand some areas.

Fink, Arlene (1995) Evaluation for Education and Psychology, Sage

(Copy at Clayton)

The is a base level book which provides a lot of practical work. But the educational material is designed mainly for schools.

General
Highly recommended

Linton, M & Gallo, P.S (1975) The practical statistician Monterey, Calif. : Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.

This is, arguably, the best statistics text available for those who want to see :
• What types of statistic to use and when
  
• How to do the basic calculations
  
• How to interpret the output

AND all without making you feel a dummy (I think)

Afifi,A.A & Azen, S.P. (1972) Statistical Analysis: A computer oriented approach Acadenim Press

[Caulfield 519.53502854 AFI]

This is an older book written in the days when stats software was almost non-existant.

It is a statistics text but many techniques are presented as guides to developing a program. The actual presentation of statistical methods is fairly practical but it is still stats.

Basic
Gwilliam, Peter (1988) Basic statistics Penguin Books

(a copy at Gippsland)

A very good intro to basic stats. I found a copy in my local library. I don't know if it is still in print.

Medium
Advanced
Freund,R.J. & Minton, P.D.(1979) Regression methods Marcel Dekker

[Caulfield 519.536 FRE]

This is an excellent work for anyone who wants to know about regression analysis - and who has some basic statistics background. It is clear and well written. It also has an excellent intro to matrix algebra, as it is used in this area.

Fink, Arlene (1998) Conducting research literature reviews Sage Publications

(Copy at Clayton)

This is book laid out in workbook style. You would have to read it to see how much more it is telling you beyond what you already know.

Mullins, C.J. (1983)A guide to writing and publishing in the social and behavioral sciences Florida:Krieger

(copy at Clayton 808.0663 MUL)

A comprehensive guide to the APA-style of presentation. It is a little out of date because the APA has a more recent edition of its style manual