This book 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 book guides readers 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.

Table of Contents:
1.The Uses of Social Research. 2.Theory and Research. 3.Ethics and Social Research. 4.Selecting Researchable Topics and Questions. 5.Sampling. 6.Measurement. 7.Cross-sectional, Longitudinal, and Case Study Designs. 8.Experimental Research. 9.Questionnaires and Structured Interviews. 10.Qualitative Interviewing. 11.Observational Techniques. 12.Using Available Data. 13.Content Analysis and Comparing Methods. 14.Applied Social Research. 15.Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis