Principles of Data Management and Presentation

John P. Hoffmann is Professor of Sociology at Brigham Young University. Before arriving at BYU, he was a senior research scientist at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), a nonprofit firm affiliated with the University of Chicago. He received a master's in Law and Justice from American University and a doctorate in Criminal Justice from SUNY-Albany. He also received a master's in Public Health with emphases in Epidemiology and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University. His research addresses drug use, juvenile delinquency, and the sociology of religion.

• PrefaceAcknowledgments1 Why Research?Why ResearchWhat Is Research?Classifying ResearchImpediments to Conducting Sound ResearchHow Can We Make Research Interesting and Persuasive?The Research ProcessFinal Words2 Developing Research QuestionsSelecting a TopicFrom Topic to Research QuestionRefining Research QuestionsAn ExampleFinal Words3 DataWhat Are Data?Sources of DataFrom Concepts to VariablesForms of DataFinal Words4 Principles of Data ManagementCodebooksDocumentationCodingData Cleaning and ScreeningNaming ConventionsPrinciples of File ManagementFinal Words5 Finding and Using Secondary DataTypes of Secondary DataWhy Use Secondary Data?Sources of Secondary DataExamples of Searching for, Downloading, and Importing DataA Simple Test of the Conceptual ModelThe Pew Research Center DataFinal Words6 Primary and Administrative DataPrinciples for Primary DataAdministrative Data and Linking DatasetsFinal Words7 Working with Missing DataWhy Are Missing Data a Problem?Reasons for Missing DataTypes of Missing DataForms and Patterns of Missing DataAddressing Missing Data in the Analysis StageFinals Words8 Principles of Data PresentationPresenting DataVisual ImagesFirst Principles: Clarity, Precision, and EfficiencyWhy Words Are Not EnoughTypes of Tables and GraphicsPrinciples of Data PresentationFinal Words9 Designing Tables for Data PresentationsTable or Graphic?TablesExamples of TablesFinal Words10 Designing Graphics for Data PresentationsGraphicsExamples of GraphicsWhere to Next?Final WordsAppendix: Introduction to Statistical SoftwareStataSPSSSASRFinal WordsReferencesIndex