The Practice of Social Research / Edition 14

by Earl R. Babbie

Overview

A straightforward, comprehensive, and approachable guide to research as practiced by social scientists, the Fourteenth Edition of this gold-standard book gives readers the tools they need to apply research concepts practically, as both a researcher and a consumer. The author emphasizes the process by showing readers how to design and construct projects, introducing the various observation modes in use today, and answering critical questions about research methods-such as how to conduct online surveys and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781305104945
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	01/01/2015
Series:	MindTap Course List
Pages:	592
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Dr. Earl Babbie is the Campbell Professor Emeritus in Behavioral Sciences at Chapman University in Southern California. He taught sociology at the University of Hawaii from 1968 through 1979, took time off from teaching and research to write full time for eight years. He then joined the Chapman University faculty in 1987. Credited with defining research methods for the social sciences, Dr. Babbie has written several texts, including THE PRACTICE OF SOCIAL RESEARCH, as well as numerous research articles and monographs. For 25 years he has been active in the American Sociological Association, where he served on the executive committee. He also is a past president of the Pacific Sociological Association and the California Sociological Association. Dr. Babbie received his A.B. from Harvard and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY. 1. Human Inquiry and Science. 2. Paradigms, Theory, and Social Research. 3. The Ethics and Politics of Social Research. Part II: THE STRUCTURING OF INQUIRY: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 4. Research Design. 5. Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement. 6. Indexes, Scales, and Typologies. 7. The Logic of Sampling. Part III: MODES OF OPERATION: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 8. Experiments. 9. Survey Research. 10. Qualitative Field Research. 11. Unobtrusive Research. 12. Evaluation Research. Part IV: ANALYSIS OF DATA: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 13. Qualitative Data Analysis. 14. Quantitative Data Analysis. 15. The Logic of Multivariate Analysis. 16. Statistical Analyses. 17. Reading and Writing Social Research. APPENDICES. A. Using the Library. B. GSS Household Enumeration Questionnaire. C. Random Numbers. D. Distribution of Chi Square. E. Normal Curve Areas. F. Estimated Sampling Error. Preface. Acknowledgments.

Editorial Reviews

Babbie is the foundational text that all other Research Methods texts are compared to.

"I wanted to tell you that I found your book very easy to read and understand. I have had many text books that have made it so very hard to understand simple concepts. You write in a way that is logical and easy to understand even complex topics."

From the Publisher