Russell K. Schutt, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Author of Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research (3 rd ed.) and Organization in a Changing Environment, and coauthor of Responding to the Homeless: Policy and Practice, he has written numerous journal articles on organizations, law, homelessness, mental health, and teaching research methods. His research experience includes federally funded studies of housing options for severely mentally ill persons, surveys of homeless persons and service personnel, multi-method investigations of organizational change, and secondary analyses of juvenile justice decision making and craft union practices. He has recently been a lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School.
Summary
The most cutting-edge research methods, applied to engaging social issues, in a student-friendly textbook written
by an award-winning researcher and teacher
In this new Sixth Edition of his perennially successful social research text, author Russell K. Schutt continues
to make research come alive through research stories that illustrate the methods presented in each chapter and
hands-on exercises that help students learn by doing. Investigating the Social World, Sixth Edition helps readers
understand research methods as an integrated whole; appreciate the value of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies;
and understand the need to make ethical research decisions, while also learning about contemporary social issues
like homelessness, drug abuse, and the effect of the Internet on social relations.
The Sixth Edition features a new streamlined introduction to research; new and updated social research examples
and end-of-chapter exercises; new coverage of qualitative techniques such as narrative analysis, conversation analysis
and visual methods; a greater focus on racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity; and expanded coverage of
ethical issues.
Table of Contents
Preface Acknowledgements
CHAPTER 1: SCIENCE, SOCIETY AND SOCIAL RESEARCH Learning About the Social World Avoiding Errors in Reasoning About
the Social World Science, Social Science and Pseudoscience Motives for Social Research Types of Social Research
Alternative Research Orientations Conclusions
CHAPTER 2: THE PROCESS AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH Social Research Questions Social Research Foundations Theoretical
Foundations for Social Research Social Research Strategies Social Research Goals Social Research Proposals Conclusions
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH ETHICS Historical Background Ethical Principles Conclusions
CHAPTER 4: CONCEPTUALIZATION AND MEASUREMENT Concepts Measurement Operations Levels of Measurement Evaluating Measures
Ways to Improve Reliability and Validity Conclusions
CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH DESIGN AND CAUSATION Research Design Alternatives Causal Explanation Criteria for Causal Explanations
CHAPTER 7: EXPERIMENTS True Experiments Quasi-Experiments Nonexperiments Validity in Experiments Ethical Issues
in Experimentation Conclusions
CHAPTER 8: SURVEY RESEARCH Survey Research in the Social Sciences Writing Questions Combining Questions in Indexes
Designing Questionnaires Organizing Surveys Ethical Issues in Survey Research Conclusions
CHAPTER 9: QUALITATIVE METHODS Fundamentals of Qualitative Research Participant Observation Systematic Observation
Intensive Interviewing Focus Groups Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research Conclusions
CHAPTER 10: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS Features of Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques of Qualitative Data Analysis
Alternatives in Qualitative Data Analysis Visual Sociology Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Ethics in
Qualitative Data Analysis Conclusions
CHAPTER 11: EVALUATION AND POLICY RESEARCH History of Evaluation Research Evaluation Basics Questions for Evaluation
Research Design Decisions Ethics in Evaluations Conclusions
CHAPTER 12: HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE RESEARCH Overview of Unobtrusive Methods for Comparative and Historical
Research Historical Social Science Methods Comparative Social Science Methods Demographic Analysis Ethical Issues
in Historical and Comparative Research Conclusions
CHAPTER 13: SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS AND CONTENT ANALYSIS Secondary Data Sources Challenges for Secondary Data Analysis
Content Analysis Ethical Issues in Secondary Data Analysis Conclusions
CHAPTER 14: QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS Introducing Statistics Preparing Data for Analysis Displaying Univariate
Distributions Summarizing Univariate Distributions Analyzing Data Ethically: How Not to Lie with Statistics Crosstabulating
Variables Regression Analysis Conclusions
CHAPTER 15: SUMMARIZING AND REPORTING RESEARCH Comparing Research Designs Writing Research Reporting Research Ethics,
Politics, and Research Reports Conclusions APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C APPENDIX D APPENDIX E BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY/INDEX
