Practice of social research / Earl Babbie.

By: Babbie, Earl R .

Material type: materialTypeLabel

BookPublisher: London : Wadsworth Publishing, 1998Edition: 8th ed.Description: xxiv, 465, [129] p. : ill ; 24 cm. + hbk.ISBN: 053450468X.Subject(s): Social sciences -- Research

| Social sciences -- Methodology

DDC classification: 300.72

Contents:

Part 1: An introduction to inquiry -- Human inquiry and science -- Paradigms, theory and research -- The nature of causation -- Part 2: The structuring of inquiry -- Research design -- Conceptualization and measurement -- Operationalization -- Indexes, scales and typologies -- The logic of sampling -- Part 3: Modes of observation -- Experiments -- Survey research -- Field research -- Unobtrusive research -- Evaluation research -- Part 4: Analysis of data -- Quantifying data -- Elementary analyses -- The elaboration model -- Social statistics -- Part 5: The social context of research -- The ethics and politics of social research -- The uses of social research.

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
General Lending	MTU Bishopstown Library Lending	300.72 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		00018064

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This best-selling text covers all the major methods of social research. By emphasizing an understanding of the theoretical logic behind the research process and demonstrating preferred techniques, this text helps students see methods as a way of thinking and gathering evidence.

Bibliography: (pages B1-B10) and index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Preface (p. xvi)
Holographic Overview (p. 1)
Part 1 An Introduction to Inquiry (p. 14)
1 Human Inquiry and Science (p. 16)
Introduction (p. 17)
Looking for Reality (p. 18)
The Foundations of Social Science (p. 24)
Some Dialectics of Social Science (p. 33)
The Ethics of Social Research (p. 37)
Main Points (p. 38)
Key Terms (p. 39)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 39)
Additional Readings (p. 40)
Sociology Web Site (p. 40)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 40)
2 Paradigms, Theory, and Social Research (p. 41)
Introduction (p. 42)
Some Social Science Paradigms (p. 42)
Elements of Social Theory (p. 51)
Two Logical Systems Revisited (p. 53)
Deductive Theory Construction (p. 60)
Inductive Theory Construction (p. 63)
The Links Between Theory and Research (p. 64)
Main Points (p. 65)
Key Terms (p. 66)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 66)
Additional Readings (p. 66)
Sociology Web Site (p. 67)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 67)
3 The Idea of Causation in Social Research (p. 68)
Introduction (p. 69)
Determinism and Social Science (p. 69)
Causation in Idiographic and Nomothetic Models of Explanation (p. 72)
Criteria for Causality (p. 75)
Necessary and Sufficient Causes (p. 78)
Errors in Reasoning About Causation (p. 81)
Linking Measurement and Association (p. 83)
Main Points (p. 85)
Key Terms (p. 86)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 86)
Additional Readings (p. 87)
Sociology Web Site (p. 87)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 87)
Part 2 The Structure of Inquiry (p. 88)
4 Research Design (p. 90)
Introduction (p. 91)
Three Purposes of Research (p. 91)
Units of Analysis (p. 94)
The Time Dimension (p. 101)
How To Design a Research Project (p. 107)
The Research Proposal (p. 113)
Main Points (p. 114)
Key Terms (p. 115)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 115)
Additional Readings (p. 116)
Answers to Review Questions and Exercises, Item 2 (p. 117)
Sociology Web Site (p. 117)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 117)
5 Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement (p. 118)
Introduction (p. 119)
Measuring Anything That Exists (p. 119)
Conceptualization (p. 122)
Definitions in Descriptive and Explanatory Studies (p. 129)
Operationalization Choices (p. 132)
Criteria of Measurement Quality (p. 140)
Main Points (p. 145)
Key Terms (p. 146)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 146)
Additional Readings (p. 147)
Sociology Web Site (p. 147)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 147)
6 Indexes, Scales, and Typologies (p. 148)
Introduction (p. 149)
Indexes versus Scales (p. 149)
Index Construction (p. 152)
Scale Construction (p. 165)
Typologies (p. 171)
Main Points (p. 173)
Key Terms (p. 173)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 173)
Additional Readings (p. 174)
Sociology Web Site (p. 174)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 174)
7 The Logic of Sampling (p. 175)
Introduction (p. 176)
A Brief History of Sampling (p. 177)
Nonprobability Sampling (p. 178)
The Theory and Logic of Probability sampling (p. 182)
Populations and Sampling Frames (p. 194)
Types of Sampling Designs (p. 197)
Multistage Cluster Sampling (p. 204)
Probability Sampling in Review (p. 211)
Main Points (p. 212)
Key Terms (p. 213)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 213)
Additional Readings (p. 213)
Sociology Web Site (p. 213)
Infortrac College Edition (p. 213)
Part 3 Modes of Observation (p. 214)
8 Experiments (p. 216)
Introduction (p. 217)
Topics Appropriate to Experiments (p. 217)
The Classical Experiment (p. 217)
Selecting Subjects (p. 221)
Variations on Experimental Design (p. 224)
An Illustration of Experimentation (p. 230)
"Natural" Experiments (p. 232)
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Experimental Method (p. 234)
Main Points (p. 235)
Key Terms (p. 235)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 235)
Additional Readings (p. 236)
Sociology Web Site (p. 236)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 236)
9 Survey Research (p. 237)
Introduction (p. 238)
Topics Appropriate for Survey Research (p. 238)
Guidelines for Asking Questions (p. 239)
Questionnaire Construction (p. 245)
Self-Administered Questionnaires (p. 253)
Interview Surveys (p. 258)
Telephone Surveys (p. 262)
New Technologies and Survey Research (p. 265)
Comparison of the Different Survey Methods (p. 267)
Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey Research (p. 268)
Secondary Analysis (p. 269)
Main Points (p. 270)
Key Terms (p. 271)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 271)
Additional Readings (p. 272)
Sociology Web Site (p. 273)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 273)
10 Qualitative Field Research (p. 274)
Introduction (p. 275)
Topics Appropriate to Field Research (p. 275)
Special Considerations in Qualitative Field Research (p. 277)
Some Qualitative Field Research Paradigms (p. 281)
Conducting Qualitative Field Research (p. 290)
Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative Field Research (p. 298)
Research Ethics in Qualitative Field Research (p. 300)
Main Points (p. 300)
Key Terms (p. 301)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 301)
Additional Readings (p. 301)
Sociology Web Site (p. 302)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 302)
11 Unobtrusive Measures (p. 303)
Introduction (p. 304)
Content Analysis (p. 304)
Analyzing Existing Statistics (p. 315)
Historical/Comparative Analysis (p. 322)
Main Points (p. 328)
Key Terms (p. 329)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 329)
Additional Readings (p. 329)
Sociology Web Site (p. 330)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 330)
12 Evaluation Research (p. 331)
Introduction (p. 332)
Topics Appropriate to Evaluation Research (p. 333)
Formulating the Problem: Issues of Measurement (p. 334)
Types of Evaluation Research Designs (p. 338)
The Social Context (p. 344)
Social Indicators Research (p. 351)
Main Points (p. 354)
Key Terms (p. 354)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 354)
Additional Readings (p. 354)
Sociology Web Site (p. 355)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 355)
Part 4 Analysis of Data (p. 356)
13 Qualitative Data Analysis (p. 358)
Introduction (p. 359)
Linking Theory and Analysis (p. 359)
Qualitative Data Processing (p. 364)
Computer Programs for Qualitative Data (p. 370)
Main Points (p. 380)
Key Terms (p. 381)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 381)
Additional Readings (p. 382)
Sociology Web Site (p. 382)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 382)
14 Quantifying Data (p. 383)
Introduction (p. 384)
Computers in Social Research (p. 384)
Coding (p. 387)
Coding and Data Entry Options (p. 390)
Data Cleaning (p. 392)
Main Points (p. 393)
Key Terms (p. 394)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 394)
Additional Readings (p. 394)
Sociology Web Site (p. 395)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 395)
15 Elementary Quantitative Analyses (p. 396)
Introduction (p. 397)
Univariate Analysis (p. 397)
Subgroup Comparisons (p. 403)
Bivariate Analysis (p. 406)
Introduction to Multivariate Analysis (p. 412)
Main Points (p. 414)
Key Words (p. 414)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 414)
Additional Readings (p. 415)
Sociology web Site (p. 415)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 415)
16 The Elaboration Model (p. 416)
Introduction (p. 417)
The Origins of the Elaboration Model (p. 417)
The Elaboration Paradigm (p. 421)
Elaboration and Ex Post Facto Hypothesizing (p. 430)
Main Points (p. 432)
Key Terms (p. 432)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 432)
Additional Readings (p. 433)
Sociology Web Site (p. 433)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 433)
17 Social Statistics (p. 434)
Introduction (p. 435)
The Danger of Success in Math (p. 435)
Descriptive Statistics (p. 436)
Other Multivariate Techniques (p. 446)
Inferential Statistics (p. 452)
Main Points (p. 463)
Key Terms (p. 464)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 464)
Additional Readings (p. 464)
Sociology Web Site (p. 464)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 465)
Part 5 The Social Context of Research (p. 466)
18 The Ethics and Politics of Social Research (p. 468)
Introduction (p. 469)
Ethical Issues in Social Research (p. 470)
Two Ethical Controversies (p. 479)
The Politics of Social Research (p. 481)
Main Points (p. 487)
Key Terms (p. 487)
Review Questions and Exercises (p. 487)
Additional Readings (p. 488)
Sociology Web Site (p. 489)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 489)
19 The Uses of Social Research (p. 490)
Introduction (p. 491)
Theory--Data Collection--Analysis (p. 491)
Everyday Uses of Social Research Skills (p. 492)
A Consumer's Guide to Social Research (p. 493)
Conclusion (p. 498)
Sociology Web Site (p. 498)
Infotrac College Edition (p. 498)
Appendixes (p. 1)
A Using the Library (p. 2)
B Social Research in Cyberspace (p. 8)
C The Research Report (p. 16)
D GSS Household Enumeration Questionnaire (p. 23)
E Random Numbers (p. 33)
F Distribution of Chi Square (p. 35)
G Normal Curve Areas (p. 37)
H Estimated Sampling Error (p. 38)
I A Learner's Guide to SPSS 8.0 (p. 40)
J Twenty Questions a Journalist Should Ask about Poll Results (p. 75)
Bibliography (p. 1)
Glossary (p. 1)
Index (p. 1)

Practice of social research / Earl Babbie.

By: Babbie, Earl R.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

By: Babbie, Earl R .