This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.

Research Methodology for Social Sciences provides guidelines for designing and conducting evidence-based research in social sciences and interdisciplinary studies using both qualitative and quantitative data. Blending the particularity of different sub-disciplines and interdisciplinary nature of social sciences, this volume: Provides insights on epistemological issues and deliberates on debates over qualitative research methods; Covers different aspects of qualitative research techniques and evidence-based research techniques, including survey design, choice of sample, construction of indices, statistical inferences and data analysis; Discusses concepts, techniques and tools at different stages of research, beginning with the design of field surveys to collect raw data and then analyse it using statistical and econometric methods. With illustrations, examples and a reader-friendly approach, this volume will serve as a key reference material for compulsory research methodology courses at doctoral levels across different disciplines, such as economics, sociology, women’s studies, education, anthropology, political science, international relations, philosophy, history and business management. This volume will also be indispensable for postgraduate courses dealing with quantitative techniques and data analysis.

Making Sense of Social Research Methodology: A Student and Practitioner Centered Approach introduces students to research methods by illuminating the underlying assumptions of social science inquiry. Authors Pengfei Zhao, Karen Ross, Peiwei Li, and Barbara Dennis show how research concepts are often an integral part of everyday life through illustrative common scenarios, like looking for a recipe or going on a job interview. The authors extrapolate from these personal but ubiquitous experiences to further explain concepts, like gathering data or social context, so students develop a deeper understanding of research and its applications outside of the classroom. Students from across the social sciences can take this new understanding into their own research, their professional lives, and their personal lives with a new sense of relevancy and urgency. This text is organized into clusters that center on major topics in social science research. The first cluster introduces concepts that are fundamental to all aspects and steps of the research process. These concepts include relationality, identity, ethics, epistemology, validity, and the sociopolitical context within which research occurs. The second and third clusters focus on data and inference. These clusters engage concretely with steps of the research process, including decisions about designing research, generating data, making inferences. Throughout the chapters, Pause and Reflect open-ended questions provide readers with the space for further inquiry into research concepts and how they apply to life. Research Scenario features in each chapter offer new perspectives on major research topics from leading and emerging voices in methods. Moving from this dialogic perspective to more actionable advice, You and Research features offer students concrete steps for engaging with research. Take your research into the world with Making Sense of Social Research Methodology: A Student and Practitioner Centered Approach.

This book provides a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to the principal research methods employed in social science. It offers a carefully integrated treatment of its components; research theory, design, data collection and data analysis; and explores the progression from the conceptual and theoretical building blocks of the research process to data analysis and computer applications. Throughout, the authors draw on examples from both classic social science research studies and current social issues to provide students with an historical basis for appreciating how social science research applies to today's concerns.

Research Methods in the Social Sciences is a comprehensive yet compact A-Z for undergraduate and postgraduate students undertaking research across the social sciences, featuring 71 entries that cover a wide range of concepts, methods, and theories. Each entry begins with an accessible introduction to a method, using real-world examples from a wide range of academic disciplines, before discussing the benefits and limitations of the approach, its current status in academic practice, and finally providing tips and advice for readers on when and how to apply the method in their own research. Wide ranging and interdisciplinary, the text covers both well-established concepts and emerging ideas, such as big data and network analysis, for qualitative and quantitative research methods. All entries feature extensive cross-referencing, providing ease of navigation and, pointing readers to related concepts, and to help build their overall understanding of research methods.

This is a text for introductory research methods courses, as required in several social science majors. Students taking this course are often resistant to the subject matter, and this text tackles this resistance by focusing the reader on experiences in their everyday lives.

In this book the contributors introduce all the key qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and methods and draw readers into a community of researchers engaged in reflection on the research process