* What are the strengths and limitations of social surveys? * How can the principles of surveying be put into practice? * How are findings analysed and results presented? The survey has become a widely used technique for gathering information and opinions from individuals, organizations, and other groups. In Surveying the Social World, Aldridge and Levine begin by examining the contemporary state of surveys within society and social science methodology, explaining the potential of the survey method and the ways it can be used effectively when resources are limited. They then take the reader systematically through the process of conducting survey research covering in turn, the role of theory, the planning and design of projects, pilot work, access to informants, ethical issues, sampling methods, the preparation of questionnaires, interviewing, the use of computer packages, processing responses, statistical methods of data analysis, and the presentation of findings. Unlike some rival texts that stress complications and difficulties of conducting social surveys, this book adopts a consciously 'can-do' approach, emphasizing strategies and practical tips. Written in a direct style with a clear structure, each chapter begins with a list of key elements and concludes with summary points, points for reflection and suggestions for further reading. As well as examples of techniques and good practice from a variety of surveys, the authors use their own Travel Survey throughout the book to illustrate the decisions that need to be taken at each stage of the survey process. For the technical topics, there is a glossary containing over 130 technical terms that are highlighted in the text. The result is an essential guide to conducting social surveys for students in the social sciences, and for others who need to carry out a community or organizational survey but who may have no previous training in social research methods or experience of survey work.

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.

The most successful social research text to have been published in a generation has been updated and revised in this new Sixth Edition! This innovative, up-to-date, and popular text makes research come alive through research stories that illustrate the methods presented in each chapter, with hands-on exercises to help students learn by doing. Author Russell K. Schutt helps readers connect technique and substance, understand research methods as an integrated whole, appreciate the value of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and make ethical research decisions.New to the Sixth Edition:Updates and Revisions: Research examples have been updated throughout the text, with many that have been added from international researchers. All end-of-chapter exercise sets have been updated. Techniques for searching and reviewing the literature and Web sites have been updated and more guidance is provided on writing the literature review. In addition, many chapters have been streamlined and reorganized for greater clarity, including those on measurement and causation and research design.Secondary Data Analysis and Content Analysis: A new chapter introduces the logic and limitations of secondary data analysis, available data sources, procedures for using ICPSR datasets, the Human Relations Area Files, and more information on content analysis.Qualitative Data Analysis: New sections have been added on conversation analysis, ethnomethodology, case-oriented understanding, and visual sociology. A special section on computer-assisted qualitative data analysis introduces the HyperRESEARCH software that accompanies the text.Theories and Philosophies for Research: A revised and streamlined chapter uses international research on immigration and ethnic conflict to illustrate functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism and to contrast positivist and interpretivist research philosophies. Unique among methods texts, this chapter emphasizes the importance of social theory and research philosophy as a foundation for social research.Research Ethics: New sections have been added in some chapters and the discussion of the role of the IRB in the third chapter has been expanded.Accompanied by High-Quality Ancillaries!Instructors' Resource CD-ROM: provides test questions, PowerPoint slides for lectures, suggested assignments, and a review of course organization options.Student Study Site at www.pineforge.com//isw5: includes journal articles, flash cards for practicing terminology, online quizzes, and much more!Now with interactive exercises on the study site (from the student CD) - for easier access and use by studentsStudent Resources CD: bundled with the book, contains wide-ranging data sets and interactive exercises to help students master concepts and techniques.HyperRESEARCH software: includes software for qualitative data analysis.

Written with the needs and goals of a novice researcher in mind, this fully updated third edition provides an accurate account of how modern survey research is actually conducted. In addition to providing examples of alternative procedures, Designing Surveys shows how classic principles and recent research guide decision-making from setting the basic features of the survey through development, testing, and data collection.

These surveys will appeal to those who track religion professionally, but they will also be of interest to clergy, church members, and others interested in the spiritual landscape of today. A wide variety of beliefs and practices are surveyed including: belief in God, attendance at church or synagogue, religious beliefs of today's teenagers, views about the interaction between politics and religion, life after death, questions of ethics, and others. Surveys address the differences in beliefs among those of various faith perspectives, races, age groups, genders, and those in varying geographic locations.

Provides an introduction to social research. This book presents research methods as an integrated whole, with balanced treatment of qualitative and quantitative methods, integration of substantive examples and research techniques, and consistent attention to the goal of validity and the standards of ethical practice.

"An insightful study of how Thoreau's profession as a surveyor impacts his environmental sensibility and informs his literary works; further, Chura shows that the manuscript surveys and corresponding field notes are themselves worthy of literary analysis. "--Sandra Harbert Petrulionis, coeditor of More Day to Dawn: Thoreau's Walden for the Twenty-first Century "Chura's thorough understanding of the cultural import and physical practice of 19th-century surveying provides a fresh and interesting perspective on Thoreau's life and works. . . . .He combines a spry writing style with meticulous research in this delightful book, which introduces readers to another side of Thoreau's life and thought. Highly recommended." --G. D. MacDonald, Virginia State University "Most books about Henry David Thoreau focus on his writing, philosophy, or literary vision, paying little attention to how he made a living while engaged in such transcendentalist pursuits. In Thoreau the Land Surveyor, Patrick Chura corrects this oversight." --Lorianne DiSabato, The New England Quarterly "A scholarly book that's as beautiful as it is unput-downable. . . Not only is Chura a fine writer here, he is one heck of a historian. He enriches every page with carefully considered research. . . .I loved this book from start to finish." --Mike Tidwell, author of The Ponds of Kalambayi: An African Sojourn. "An insightful study of how Thoreau's profession as a surveyor impacts his environmental sensibility and informs his literary works; further, Chura shows that the manuscript surveys and corresponding field notes are themselves worthy of literary analysis. "This book on the significance of land surveying to Henry Thoreau's writing is one that we have long needed. Chura's practical experience as a surveyor combined with his literary scholarship makes him the perfect person to write it."--Richard J. Schneider, editor ofHenry David Thoreau: A Documentary Volume Henry David Thoreau, one of America's most prominent environmental writers, supported himself as a land surveyor for much of his life, parceling land that would be sold off to loggers. In the only study of its kind, Patrick Chura analyzes this seeming contradiction to show how the best surveyor in Concord combined civil engineering with civil disobedience. Placing Thoreau's surveying in historical context, Thoreau the Land Surveyor explains the cultural and ideological implications of surveying work in the mid-nineteenth century. Chura explains the ways that Thoreau's environmentalist disposition and philosophical convictions asserted themselves even as he reduced the land to measurable terms and acted as an agent for bringing it under proprietary control. He also describes in detail Thoreau's 1846 survey of Walden Pond. By identifying the origins of Walden in--of all places--surveying data, Chura re-creates a previously lost supporting manuscript of this American classic.