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In The Art and Science of Social Research,a team of internationally renowned sociologists-experts in surveys, experiments, evaluation research, in-depth inter-viewing, ethnography, materials-based methods, and social network analysis-introduce students to the core concepts and procedures of social science research. The authors also share insights into how sociologists uphold methodological rigor while also realistically addressing the challenges that arise when investigating the unpredictable topic of social behavior. Our hope is that readers will become captivated by social research methods and will be inspired to carry out original research of their own, or will become savvy and thoughtful consumers of research studies carried out by others. In this era of information overload, when dozens of studies about health,self-esteem, dating behavior, political attitudes, unemployment trends, and climate change fly across our radar (or smartphone screen) on a daily basis, it is more import- ant than ever to understand what research findings mean, how they were discovered, and whether we should believe them.
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PART 1: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH.
1. The Art and Science of Social Research: An Introduction
2. Research Foundations: Linking Sociological Theory to Research
3. Ethical Issues in Social Science Research
PART 2: BUILDING BLOCKS OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH.
4. From Concepts to Models: Hypotheses, Operationalization,and Measurement
5. Evaluating Research: Reliability and Validity
6. Sampling Strategies
PART 3: RESEARCH APPROACHES.
7. Survey Research
8. Experimental Research
9. Evaluation Research
10. Ethnography
11. In-Depth Interviewing
12. Materials-Based Methods
13. Social Network Analysis
PART 4: ANALYZING AND PRESENTING RESULTS
14. Univariate and Bivariate Analysis of Quantitative Data
15. Multivariate and Advanced Quantitative Methods
16. Analysis of Qualitative Data
17. Communicating Social Science Research Findings
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