Summary
Contents
Subject index
NEW TO THIS EDITION: The book has been updated to reflect current research designs and the latest regulations regarding human subjects. Research examples throughout have been updated and are drawn more broadly from across the social science disciplines. A total of 23 new citations reflect the latest research and thinking in the field, on subjects such as mass incarceration in the U.S., sexual orientation and intersexuality, migrant workers in South Africa, slaughterhouse workers in the American South, and peasant societies in post-colonial Southeast Asia. KEY FEATURES: The book emphasizes that the three traditions of social research - qualitative research on commonalities, comparative research on diversity, and quantitative research on relationships among variables - are not rigid divisions to help students understand that research designs often blend aspects of each tradition in creative ways. The model of social research put forth is not as restrictive as the scientific method and encompasses social research ranging from research examining the complexities of everyday life to research investigating the power of transnational processes. The authors present complex ideas in a brief and easy-to-understand fashion.
Afterword: The Promise of Social Research
Afterword: The Promise of Social Research
Social scientists study and represent social life in many different ways. Sometimes they try to see social life through the eyes of the people they study. Sometimes they reconstruct significant historical events and pinpoint the relevance to who we are and how we got here. Sometimes they uncover broad patterns linking social phenomena across many cases and assess the implications of these patterns. And sometimes they try to map the diverse ways that social life is organized and practiced.
Although social scientific representations vary, they are especially well suited to the task of generating useful knowledge about social life because they (1) address phenomena that are socially significant, (2) link these phenomena to social ...
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