Understanding the Social World: Research Methods for the 21st Century

1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5063-0601-8
Verlag: SAGE PUBN

Buch, Englisch, 280 Seiten, Format (B × H): 204 mm x 254 mm, Gewicht: 664 g

Understanding the Social World: Research Methods for the 21st Century is a textbook for the fast-paced, globally interconnected social world of the new century. Bestselling author Russell K. Schutt rises to the research requirements of a social world shaped by big data and social media, Instagram and avatars, blogs, and tweets; and he confronts the research challenges created by cell phones, privacy concerns, linguistic diversity and multicultural neighbourhoods.

Understanding the Social World is visually sleek, taking students across disciplinary and national boundaries and transcending past research debates by emphasizing mixed methods, concern for human subjects, and application of results. Accessible, with timely examples and engaging exercises, this title brings a new and clear understanding to the practice and process of research.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schutt, Russell K.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein Empirische Sozialforschung, Statistik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

SECTION I. Foundations for Social Research
Chapter 1. Science, Society, and Social Research
The Value of Social Research
Avoiding Errors in Reasoning About the Social World
Types of Social Research
Quantitative and/or Qualitative Methods
Conclusions
Chapter 2. The Process and Problems of Social Research
Social Research Questions
Social Research Foundations
Social Theories
Social Research Strategies
Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Designs
Social Research Standards
Conclusions
Chapter 3. Research Ethics
Historical Background
Ethical Principles
The Institutional Review Board
Conclusions
SECTION II. Fundamentals of Social Research
Chapter 4. Conceptualization and Measurement
Concepts
From Concepts to Indicators
From Observations to Concepts
Measurement Alternatives
Levels of Measurement
Units of Analysis
Evaluating Measures
Conclusions
Chapter 5. Sampling and Generalizability
Sample Planning
Sampling Methods
Generalizability in Qualitative Research
Conclusions
Chapter 6. Causation and Experimental Design
Causal Explanations and Experimental Design
Quasi-Experimental Designs
Validity in Experimental Designs
Ethical Issues in Experimental Research
Conclusions
SECTION III. Basic Social Research Designs
Chapter 7. Survey Research
Survey Research in the Social Sciences
Writing Survey Questions
Combining Questions in Indexes
Designing Questionnaires
Organizing Surveys
Ethical Issues in Survey Research
Conclusions
Chapter 8. Qualitative Methods
Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods
Primary Qualitative Methods
Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research
Conclusions
Chapter 9. Unobtrusive Methods
Unobtrusive Measures
Secondary Data Analysis
Big Data
Historical and Comparative Research
Content Analysis
Ethical Issues in Unobtrusive Methods
Conclusions
Chapter 10. Evaluation and Mixed-Methods Research
Evaluation Research Basics
Questions for Evaluation Research
Mixed Methods
Ethics in Evaluation
Conclusions
SECTION IV. Analysis and Reporting of Social Research
Chapter 11. Quantitative Data Analysis
Introducing Statistics
Displaying Univariate Distributions
Summarizing Univariate Distributions
Crosstabs
Regression Analysis
Analyzing Data Ethically
Conclusions
Chapter 12. Qualitative Data Analysis
Features of Qualitative Data Analysis
Alternatives in Qualitative Data Analysis
Visual Sociology
Systematic Observation
Participatory Action Research
Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis
Corroboration/Legitimization of Conclusions
Ethics in Qualitative Data Analysis
Conclusions
Chapter 13. Summarizing and Reporting Research
Writing Research
Ethics, Politics, and Research Reports
Plagiarism
Conclusions
Appendix A: Questions to Ask About a Research Article
Appendix B: How to Read a Research Article

Über Autor(innen)

Schutt, Russell K.
Russell K. Schutt, PhD, is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he received the 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Service and taught from 1979 to 2022. He is also a Clinical Research Scientist I at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a Lecturer (part-time) in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. He completed his BA, MA, and PhD degrees at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Sociology of Social Control Training Program at Yale University (where he met Dan). In addition to ten editions of Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research and one of Understanding the Social World, as well as coauthored versions for the fields of social work, criminal justice, psychology, and education, his other books include Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness (2011), Social Neuroscience: Brain, Mind, and Society (coedited, 2015), and Organization in a Changing Environment (1986). He has authored and coauthored more than 65 peer reviewed journal articles, as well as book chapters and research reports on homelessness, mental health, organizations, law, and teaching research methods. His currently a Dual Principal Investigator (with Matcheri Keshavan, MD) in randomized comparative effectiveness trial of two socially-oriented interventions to improve community functioning among persons diagnosed with serious mental illness, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). His other recently concluded research includes co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded study of the social impact of the pandemic in Boston, and co-investigator on a Veterans Health Administration-funded study of peer support. His earlier research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Fetzer Institute, and state agencies. Details are available at https://blogs.umb.edu/russellkschutt/.