BU Libraries Pilot SAGE Research Methods Resources for Social Scientists
BU Libraries has unveiled SAGE Research Methods, as part of a Fall 2022 pilot. This resource was created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. Users can explore qualitative and quantitative methods and concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods, or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. This platform can be used across the social sciences, health sciences, and other areas of research. Watch this brief video for an overview of the many tools and resources available, including:
- Project Planner — Find step-by-step guidance to complete your research project.
- Which Stats Test — Answer a handful of multiple-choice questions to see which statistical method is best for your data.
Books & References: The collection comprises full-text ebooks, discoverable via the BU Libraries Search (see example) and includes handbooks, encyclopedias, in addition to journal articles. Of particular note are:
- Little Green Books: Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences series. Short, accessible texts on all kinds of quantitative methods. Providing clear statistical explanations, straightforward empirical examples, and ready-to-use procedures, these supplementary texts are appropriate for the individual researcher, and for any graduate-level, intermediate, or advanced statistics course across the spectrum of academic disciplines. You can select & browse the Little Green Books here.
Little Blue Books: Qualitative Research Methods series. Concise texts on all types of qualitative methods. Providing clear explanations, and commentary on both theoretical and practical considerations in the implementation of qualitative research, these supplementary texts are appropriate for the individual researcher, and for any graduate-level, intermediate, or advanced qualitative methods course across the spectrum of academic disciplines. You can select & browse the Little Blue Books here.
- Cases: This collection offers hundreds of specially commissioned case studies of engaging research projects that highlight project design and methods application, through stories of real life research. Spanning academic disciplines, these cases contextualize methods material through demonstrating the real life obstacles and choices researchers face when their project moves from paper to the often messy real world of data collection.
- Datasets: A collection of datasets browsable by discipline, method, quantitative, qualitative, and collections. Each dataset includes an abstract/summary, the dataset itself (downloadable in various formats) with accompanying information from the original study, in addition to teaching and learning material.
- Podcasts: Listen to leading social scientists grapple with methodological issues in their research. These podcasts present in-depth discussions which explore stories from the field, the challenges of social science research, and how we can understand the social world. Download the podcasts to listen on the go, or read along with podcast transcripts.
- Videos: See research in action through tutorials, video case studies and expert interviews. Browsable by discipline, method, video type, or collection.
Please reach out to J. Christina (Chris) Smith (jchris@bu.edu), librarian for Anthropology, Sociology, Criminal Justice, Gastronomy, and Philosophy for further information on ways that BU Libraries can support research and teaching in the social sciences.