Series Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Science, Society, and Social Research
Reasoning About the Social World
The Social Science Approach
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
Strengths and Limitations of Social Research
Validity and Social Research
Conclusion
The Process and Problems of Social Research
Social Research Questions
The Role of Social Theory
Social Research Strategies
Social Research Philosopies
Scientific Guidelines for Social Research
Ethical Guidelines for Social Research
Conclusion
Conceptualization and Measurement
Concepts
Measurement Operations
Levels of Measurement
Evaluating Measures
Conclusion
Sampling
Sampling Planning
Sampling Methods
Lessons About Sample Quality
Conclusion
Causation and Research Design
Nomothetic Causal Explanation
Experimental Design and the Criteria for Causal Explanation
Nonexperimental Designs and the Criteria for Causal Explanation
Units of Analysis and Errors in Causal Reasoning
Causation in Qualitative Research
Conclusion
Experiments
True Experiments
Quasi-Experiments
Evaluation Research
Validity in Experiments
Ethical Issues in Experimental Research
Conclusion
Survey Research
Survey Research in the Social Sciences
Writing Questions
Designing Questionnaires
Organizing Surveys
Ethical Issues in Survey Research
Conclusion
Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, Listening
Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods
Participant Observation
Intensive Interviewing
Focus Groups
Analysis of Qualitative Data
Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research
Conclusion
Historical and Comparative Methods
Overview of Comparative-Historical Methods
Historical Social Science Methods
Comparative Social Science Methods
Methodological Issues
Special Techniques
Secondary Data Sources
Ethical Issues in Comparative-Historical Research
Data Analysis
Introducing Statistics
Preparing Data for Analysis
Displaying Univariate Distributions
Summarizing Univariate Distributions
Crosstabulating Variables
Conclusion
Multiple Methods in Context
Comparing Research Designs
Combining Research Designs
Extending Social Science Investigations
Performing Meta-Analysis
Conclusion
Reviewing, Proposing, and Reporting Research
Research Goals
Reviewing Research
Proposing New Research
Reporting Research
Conclusion
Summaries of Frequently Cited Research Articles
Finding Information
Questions to Ask About a Research Article
How to Read a Research Article
How to Use a Statistical Package
Table of Random Numbers
Using QSR NVivo for Qualitative Analysis: An Extended Exercise
Annotated List of Web Sites
References
Credits
Glossary/Index