How It's Done: An Invitation to Social Research (with InfoTrac) / Edition 2

by Emily Stier Adler, Roger Clark

Overview

This text provides balanced coverage of quantitative and qualitative methods of social research with a unique behind the scenes" approach: chapters are built upon focal research pieces and excerpts from real research projects, and present the insights and perspectives of workers conducting real-world research. The text guides students through the many stages of social research—from selecting a researchable question and designing a study to selecting the best method of data analysis for a particular study—and prepares them for the ethical issues and problems that they may face along the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780534588144
Publisher:	Wadsworth
Publication date:	07/11/2002
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	600
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Emily Stier Adler is Professor of Sociology at Rhode Island College, where she has taught for the past 32 years. She has been a research consultant in a number of settings and the director of Women's Studies at the college. Her published work includes a number of articles on marriage, teenage pregnancy, adolescence and political life and the book (with co-author J. Stanley Lemons), THE ELECT: RHODE ISLAND'S WOMEN LEGISLATORS. Her current research is a longitudinal study of the transition to retirement. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Tufts University.

Roger Clark is a Professor of Sociology at Rhode Island College where he has taught for 22 years. He has published 45 research articles to date. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Brown University.

Table of Contents

1. The Uses of Social Research. 2. Theory and Research. 3. Ethics and Social Research. 4. Selecting Researchable Topics and Questions. Summing Up: Doing Ethical and Practical Research. 5. Sampling. 6. Measurement. 7. Cross-sectional, Longitudinal and Case Study Designs. 8. Experimental Research. Summing Up: Planning a Study. 9. Questionnaires and Structured Interviews. 10. Qualitative Interviewing. 11. Observation Techniques. 12. Using Available Data. 13. Content Analysis. 14. Applied Social Research. Summing Up: Methods of Data Collection. 15. Quantitative Data Analysis. 16. Qualitative Data Analysis. Summing Up: Methods of Data Analysis. Glossary. References.