Basics of Social Research

This text teaches students to be a better consumer of research results, understand how the research enterprise works, and prepares them to conduct small research projects. Upon completing this text, students will be aware of what research can and cannot do, and why properly conducted research is important. Briefer, paperback text, adapted from Neuman's Social Research Methods, Sixth Edition. Using clear, accessible language and examples from real research, this discusses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to social research, emphasizing the benefits of combining various approaches.Covers the same topics as Social Research Methods but with less technical detail. Shows students that social research is a highly important enterprise, and one that is not beyond their abilities. Uses examples from real research in major studies to show students the origins of the findings and information used in textbooks or the media. Emphasizes that social research is not a matter of following fixed procedures and routines, but something that requires creativity, mature judgment, personal integrity, and a commitment to free and open inquiry. Adapted from Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 6/e by Lawrence Neuman. Material from the 6/e on the historical development of social research, philosophical assumptions for doing research in particular ways, and more sophisticated data gathering and analysis techniques has been largely eliminated.