Understanding and conducting leadership research requires knowledge
of research methodology. In this chapter, we provide an overview of
important elements relating to the use of research methods and procedures
for studying and making inferences about leadership. We anticipate that
our chapter will provide readers with useful pointers for conducting and for
assessing the quality of leadership research. Apart from a basic review, we also
cover some advanced topics (e.g., use of levels of analysis, structural-equation
modeling) that should be interesting to researchers and graduate students.
Where possible, we have attempted to write the chapter using mostly nontechnical
and nonstatistical terminology so that its contents are accessible to a
comparatively large audience.