SAGE Research Methods: Home

1.  Define a Research Topic and Write a Research Question—You might know what topic you want to investigate—say, the role of social media in terrorist organizations— but if you're unsure, read this book chapter on Choosing a Topic. 

2.  Write a Research Question— but what is the specific question you will test?  This Research Question encyclopedia entry will explain how to write one or do a quick search for 'research question' on SRM to get more help writing a good, testable research question.

3,  Conduct a Literature Review—SRM includes info on how to conduct a literature review, as well as how to write-up the results.

4.  Choose a method for gathering and analyzing you data—This video talks about how to select the right method for your research.  The Methods Map can help you choose a method or learn more about one.  You will see brief explanations of the method (from dictionaries and encyclopedias) and in-depth how-tos in book chapters.    

5.  Gather, Analyze, and Present the Data—The many book titles on particular methods will equip you to gather and analyze your data, and case studies can show you the obstacles and questions that can often arise in the course of a project to help you anticipate these twists.

6.  Disseminate—Depending on what you're working on, dissemination may simply mean turning in your research proposal or paper.  If you're working on a bigger project, SRM has resources on completing a dissertation or submitting work for publication. Just search for those terms.

SAGE Research Methods Online (SRM) is a research tool that covers quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research methodologies in the social and behavioral sciences through an interactive methods map, instructional videos, and full text books (including the complete series of Little Green and Little Blue book series)  and academic articles.  

SAGE Research Methods Cases (SRMC):  Collection of case studies of real social research that show how methodologies are applied.

SAGE Research Methods Datasets (SRMD):  Sample of datasets taken from government sources and academic research, demonstrating how quantitative and qualitative methods are applied to research projects.