Social science research in the Arab world and beyond : a guide for students, instructors and researchers

This book presents and discusses the logic and method of social science research adapted mainly for instruction at Arab universities and for research in Arab countries, but with applicability beyond the region. It illustrates major concepts and methods pertaining to research with examples of previous studies carried out in the Arab world and with exercises using Arab Barometer and other datasets. The book situates itself between a regular methods textbook and an annotated list of major concepts and methods, and includes an introduction, three chapters, and four appendices. Preface 8 Acknowledgments 16 Contents 18 About the Author 20 1: Introduction: Origins, Approach, and an Arab Sensibility 22 1.1 Origins and Institutional Connections 22 1.2 The Difficult to Define Middle Ground 26 1.3 Options and Choices 29 1.4 The Arab Dimension 32 1.5 The Chapters 34 2: Univariate Analysis: Variance, Variables, Data, and Measurement 40 2.1 Thinking About Research 40 2.2 Variance and Variables 41 2.2.1 The Concept of Variance 41 2.2.2 Units of Analysis and Variance 43 2.2.3 Univariate Distributions 46 2.2.4 Qualitative Research 49 2.2.5 Descriptive Statistics 52 2.2.6 Visual Descriptions 55 Exercise 2.1. Units of Analysis, Variance, and Descriptive Charts 56 2.3 Data Collection and Measurement 58 2.3.1 Types of Data and Measurement Scales 58 2.3.2 Data Sources and Data Collection 59 2.3.3 Conceptual Definitions and Operational Definitions 61 2.3.4 Measurement Quality 63 Exercise 2.2. Inter-Indicator Agreement and Reliability and Validity 68 2.3.5 Capturing Variance 68 3: Bivariate Analysis: Associations, Hypotheses, and Causal Stories 72 3.1 Description, Explanation, and Causal Stories 72 3.2 Hypotheses and Formulating Hypotheses 77 Exercise 3.1 79 Exercise 3.2 79 3.3 Describing and Visually Representing Bivariate Relationships 86 Exercise 3.3 87 Exercise 3.4 Exploring Hypotheses through Visualizing Data: Exercise with the Arab Barometer Online Analysis Tool 92 3.4 Probabilities and Type I and Type II Errors 93 3.5 Measures of Association and Bivariate Statistical Tests 98 Exercise 3.5 103 4: Multivariate Analysis: Causation, Control, and Conditionality 108 4.1 Causal Inference 108 4.1.1 Covariance and Causation 108 Exercise 4.1 110 4.1.2 Temporal Sequence 111 4.1.3 Multivariate Regression 114 The Tradeoffs of Pooled Analyses 121 Exercise 4.2. Estimating Satisfaction with Overall Government Performance 123 4.1.4 Control Variables 124 Exercise 4.3 Connecting Hypotheses and Causal Stories 128 Exercise 4.4 Identifying and Selecting Control Variables 129 4.2 Third Variable Possibilities 130 4.2.1 Other ``Third ́ ́ Variables 130 4.2.2 Direct and Indirect Relationships 130 4.2.3 Disaggregation/Conditional Effects 134 4.2.4 Scope Conditions 140 Exercise 4.5. Thinking about scope conditions in the Maghreb 145 4.2.5 Experiments 146 5: Reprise and Conclusion: Overview, Audience, and Uses of the Guide 155 Appendices 160 Appendix 1: Fieldwork and Ethics 160 Pre-Arrival and Preparation 160 First Steps in the Field 161 Best Practices of Data Collection and Preservation 162 Managing Subjectivity and Ensuring the Safety of Collaborators 163 After the Field 164 Appendix 2: Research Ethics 165 Informed Consent 165 Protecting Confidentiality 166 Trauma and Sensitive Topics 167 Fieldwork as an Unequal Exchange 167 Internal Review Boards 168 Ethics and the Bigger Picture 169 Appendix 3: Survey Research 169 The Arab Barometer 169 Sampling Methods 169 Survey Mode 171 Survey Questions 174 Conclusion 176 Appendix 4: Software for Statistics and Data Analysis 176 Stata 177 R 177 SPSS 178 Excel and Google Sheets 178