This book explores the analysis of social phenomena, using a multidisciplinary approach while addressing statistical, economic, sociological, as well as psychological issues. The author presents a detailed account of the procedures and techniques used to gather, process, and analyze data. Topics covered include, but are not limited to survey data, content analysis data, data visualization, as well as data about crimes. The book addresses this methodological framework that drives applied social sciences in an applicative and simple way, by analyzing key social phenomena such as the threats to journalism, the so-called chilling effect, and the market for news. Finally, the author examines the data and measures of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This book is a must-read for everybody interested in a better understanding of the methodological analysis of social phenomena, social and political methodology, and applied science in general.

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.

We live in a world where seemingly everything can be measured. We rely on indicators to translate social phenomena into simple, quantified terms, which in turn can be used to guide individuals, organizations, and governments in establishing policy. Yet counting things requires finding a way to make them comparable. And in the process of translating the confusion of social life into neat categories, we inevitably strip it of context and meaning—and risk hiding or distorting as much as we reveal. With The Seductions of Quantification, leading legal anthropologist Sally Engle Merry investigates the techniques by which information is gathered and analyzed in the production of global indicators on human rights, gender violence, and sex trafficking. Although such numbers convey an aura of objective truth and scientific validity, Merry argues persuasively that measurement systems constitute a form of power by incorporating theories about social change in their design but rarely explicitly acknowledging them. For instance, the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks countries in terms of their compliance with antitrafficking activities, assumes that prosecuting traffickers as criminals is an effective corrective strategy—overlooking cultures where women and children are frequently sold by their own families. As Merry shows, indicators are indeed seductive in their promise of providing concrete knowledge about how the world works, but they are implemented most successfully when paired with context-rich qualitative accounts grounded in local knowledge.

Featuring over 900 entries, this resource covers all disciplines within the social sciences with both concise definitions & in-depth essays.

This volume explores the scientific frontiers and leading edges of research across the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, history, business, education, geography, law, and psychiatry, as well as the newer, more specialized areas of artificial intelligence, child development, cognitive science, communications, demography, linguistics, and management and decision science. It includes recommendations concerning new resources, facilities, and programs that may be needed over the next several years to ensure rapid progress and provide a high level of returns to basic research.

The book lays out a mathematical model for collective social and political behavior and tests the model with data from several countries. A more recent presentation of the theory is available in the author's book "Popular Delusions==How Social Conformity Molds Society and Politics"

Handbook of Health Research Methods is an essential tool for researchers and postgraduate students taking masters courses, or undertaking doctoral programmes, in health services evaluation, health sciences, health management, public health, nursing, sociology, socio-biology, medicine and epidemiology. However, the book also appeals to health professionals who wish to broaden their knowledge of research methods in order to make effective policy and practice decisions.