Quantitative Research Methods in Communication: The Power of Numbers for Social Justice

This fully updated second edition offers an advanced introduction to quantitative methods that focuses on why and how to conduct research that contributes to social justice.

Providing both inspiration and step-by-step guidance on how to conceive, design, and carry out a quantitative study, the book shows how research can be used to work toward a more just and equitable world. The authors provide a detailed guide to quantitative methods and statistical analysis, showing how researchers can engage with social justice issues in systematic, rigorous, ethical, and meaningful ways. This new edition includes a new chapter on writing literature reviews and better aligns with the stages of quantitative research as well as the changing technologies that are available for researchers to both study and use in their work. It includes updated real-world case studies, interviews with scholar-activists, and definitions of key concepts as well as a deeper focus on ethics, social media, computational social sciences, data analytics, and data visualization techniques.

Attuned to questions of access, equity, justice, diversity, and inclusion, this textbook is ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in research methods for communication and the social sciences. It will also be of interest to researchers who wish to engage with the transformation of structures, practices, and understandings in society through community and civic engagement and policy formation.

Online resources for instructors include a test bank, PowerPoint slides, sample dataset, and YouTube tutorials. They are available online at www.routledge.com/9781032599878.