Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research

Front Cover
SAGE Publications, Feb 13, 2001 - Social Science - 640 pages

This groundbreaking textbook uses real-world research examples and data to provide a revealing introduction to social science statistics. The Third Edition of this widely adopted text effectively links social issues and sociological concepts with statistical techniques. Realizing that students may lack a substantial math background, or suffer from "math anxiety syndrome," the material in this book is presented using straightforward prose that emphasizes intuition, logic, and common sense rather than rote memorization. Throughout the text instructors are provided with resources to support effective teaching: illustrations showing how statistical concepts are used to interpret social issues, guides for reading and interpreting the research literature, SPSS demonstrations, and a rich variety of exercises. The user-friendly, informal style of this innovative text has been widely applauded by students and instructors alike.

Highlights of the Third Edition

A number of important changes have been made to this edition in response to the valuable comments received from the many instructors adopting the Second Edition and from other interested instructors and students.

Clearer and More Concise Presentation of Topics

Revisions to Chapter 13: Testing Hypotheses about Two Samples

Supplemental Electronic Materials

Real-World Examples and Exercises

General Social Survey 1998 Datasets

Supplemental Tools on Important Topics

SPSS Version 11.0 is available packaged with the text. Please contact Pine Forge Press at (800) 818-7243 for more information.

From inside the book

Contents

Science Society and Social Research
1
The Process and Problems of Social Research
30
Social Research Strategies
37
Copyright

36 other sections not shown

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2001)

Russell K. Schutt, PhD, is a professor and the chair of sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a lecturer on sociology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts Mental Health Center). He completed his BA, MA, and PhD (1977) at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Sociology of Social Control Training Program at Yale University (1977–1979). His other books include Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research and Fundamentals of Social Work Research (with Ray Engel), Making Sense of the Social World (with Dan Chambliss), and Research Methods in Psychology (with Paul G. Nestor)—all with SAGE Publications, as well as Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness (Harvard University Press) and Social Neuroscience: Brain, Mind, and Society (coedited with Larry J. Seidman and Matcheri S. Keshavan, also Harvard University Press). Most of his peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters focus on the effect of social context on cognition, satisfaction, functioning, and recidivism, the orientations of service recipients and of service and criminal justice personnel, and the organization of health and social services. He is currently a coinvestigator for a randomized trial of peer support for homeless dually diagnosed veterans, funded by the Veterans Administration.

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