Research versus Other Ways of Knowing -- Knowledge from Authorities -- Knowledge from Personal Inquiry -- The Scientific Method and Its Strengths -- The Uses and Purposes of Social Research -- Exploratory Research -- Descriptive Research -- Explanatory Research -- Evaluation Research -- Summary -- Concepts, Variables, and Hypotheses -- Social Science and Causality: A Word of Caution -- The Relationship between Theory and Research -- Focal Research Excerpt from "Moving On? Continuity and Change after Retirement": Role Theory -- Focal Research Excerpt from "The Terrible Towel and Fair-Weather Fans: Steelers Nation as a Quasi-Religion" -- Deductive Reasoning -- Inductive Reasoning -- The Cyclical Model of Science -- Summary -- The Responsibilities of Researchers -- A Historical Perspective on Research Ethics -- Focal Research Ethical Concerns and Researcher Responsibilities in Studying Women with HIV/AIDS --

Principles for Doing Ethical Research -- Principles Regarding Participants in Research -- Ethical Issues Concerning Colleagues, the Community, and the General Public -- Ethical Dilemmas During and After Data Collection -- Conflict Between Ethical Principles -- Conflict Between Ethical Principles and Legal Concerns -- Conflict between Ethical Principles and Research Interests -- Ethics and Publishing Results -- Making Decisions to Maximize Benefit and Minimize Risk 64 Summary -- Sources and Examples of Research Questions -- Focal Research Career and Family: From College Expectations to Late-Thirties Outcomes -- The Impact of Values on Science -- Personal Experiences -- Research and the Social, Political, and Economic World -- Sources and Impacts of Research Funding -- Practical Matters -- Reviewing the Literature -- Access -- Time and Money -- Summary -- Why Sample? -- Sampling Frames, Probability versus Nonprobability Samples -- Focal Research Calling Cell Phones in '08 Pre-Election Polls --

Sources of Error Associated with Sampling -- Coverage Errors -- Nonresponse Errors -- Sampling Errors -- Types of Probability Sampling -- Simple Random Sampling -- Systematic Sampling -- Stratified Sampling -- Cluster Sampling -- Multistage Sampling -- Types of Nonprobability Sampling -- Purposive Sampling -- Quota Sampling -- Snowball Sampling -- Convenience Sampling -- Choosing a Sampling Technique -- Summary -- Measuring Variables -- Conceptualization -- Operationalization -- An Example of Conceptualization and Operationalization -- Composite Measures -- Focal Research "How's Life?" and other ways to measure happiness -- Measurement in Visual Analysis and Qualitative Research -- Exhaustive and Mutually Exclusive Categories -- Quality of Measurement -- Checking Reliability -- Checking Validity -- Focal Research Measuring Suicide -- Level of Measurement -- Nominal Level Variables -- Ordinal Level Variables -- Interval Level Variables -- Ratio Level Variables -- The Practical Significance of Level of Measurement --

Summary -- Designing a Study -- Connections between the Uses of Research, Theory, and Study Design -- Study Design Choices -- Cross-Sectional Study Design -- Cross-Sectional Studies and Causal Relationships -- Longitudinal Designs: Panel, Trend, and Cohort Designs -- Focal Research Moving On? Continuity and Change after Retirement -- Summary -- Causal Hypotheses and Experimental Designs -- The Experiment: Data Collection Technique or Study Design? -- Experimental Designs -- Internal Validity and Experiments -- Pretest-Posttest Control Group Experiment -- Advantages of Pretest-Posttest Experiments -- Posttest-Only Control Group Experiment -- Extended Experimental Design -- Quasi-Experimental Design -- Experiments in the Field -- Focal Research Student Learning: A Field Experiment in the Classroom -- Experiments in the Laboratory -- Natural Experiments -- Comparing Experiments to Other Designs -- Summary -- Surveys -- Focal Research Environmentalism among College Students: A Sociological Investigation -- The Uses of Questionnaires and Interviews --

Participant Involvement -- Self-Administered Questionnaires -- Group-Administered Questionnaires -- Mailed and Individually Administered Questionnaires -- Internet and Web Surveys -- Cover Letters and Follow-Ups -- Interviews -- In-Person Interviews -- Phone Interviews -- Constructing Questions -- Types of Questions -- How to Ask Questions -- Guidelines for Question Wording -- Response Categories Guidelines -- Summary -- Qualitative Interviews -- Focal Research Managing Motherhood in Prison -- Variations in Qualitative Interviews -- Number and Length of Interviews -- Degree of Structure -- Interviews Using Visual Methods -- Joint Interviewers -- Group and Focus Group Interviews -- Issues of Validity and Practicality -- Locating Interviewees, Presenting the Project, and Encouraging Participation -- Planning the Interview -- Using Consent Forms -- Constructing an Interview Guide or Schedule -- Speaking the Same Language -- Conducting the Interview -- Where and How to Interview -- Recording the Interview --

Being "Real" in the Interview -- Interviewing across the Great Divides -- After the Interview's Over -- Analyzing Interview Data -- Summary -- Focal Research The Terrible Towel and Fair-Weather Fans: Steelers Nation as a Quasi-Religion -- Observational Techniques Defined -- Reasons for Doing Observations -- Observer Roles -- Getting Ready for Observation -- Gaining Access and Ethical Concerns -- Gathering the Data -- Visual Sociology -- Analyzing the Data -- Advantages and Disadvantages of Observational Techniques -- Summary -- Available Data -- Focal Research Comparing the Context of Immigrant Homicides in Miami: Haitians, Jamaicans, and Mariels -- Kinds of Available Data -- Secondary Data -- Existing Statistics -- Other Kinds of Available Data -- Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Available Data -- Summary -- Focal Research Who Envisions the Distaff Side?: Female Visibility in Children's Picture Books over Time and by Authors' Race, Ethnicity, Sexual Sympathies and Gender -- Appropriate Topics for Content Analysis --

Materials Appropriate for Content Analysis -- Questions Asked by Content Analyzers -- Quantitative Content Analysis -- Units of Analysis -- Sampling -- Creating Meaningful Variables -- Qualitative Content Analysis -- Visual Analysis -- Advantages and Disadvantages of Content Analysis -- Summary -- Basic and Applied Research -- Social Problems and Social Solutions -- Evaluation Research -- Outcome Evaluation -- Cost-Benefit Analysis -- Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations -- Focal Research A Needs Assessment of Incarcerated Women in Ecuador -- Designing Evaluation Research -- Participatory Action Research -- Explicit Goals -- Participation and the Researcher's Role -- Final Considerations -- A Middle Ground -- Politics and Applied Research -- Beyond Our Control -- Having an Impact -- Summary -- Quantitative or Qualitative? -- An Overview of Quantitative Data Analysis -- An Overview of Qualitative Analyses -- Quantitative Data Analysis -- Sources of Data for Quantitative Analysis -- Elementary Quantitative Analyses --

Univariate Analyses -- Measures of Central Tendency -- Variation -- Measures of Dispersion or Variation for Interval Scale Variables -- Bivariate Analyses -- Measures of Association -- Measures of Correlation -- Inferential Statistics -- Multivariate Analysis and the Elaboration Model -- Qualitative Data Analysis -- Social Anthropological versus Interpretivist Approaches -- Does Qualitative Data Analysis Emerge from or Generate the Data Collected? -- The Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative Data Analysis Revisited -- Are There Predictable Steps in Qualitative Data Analysis? -- Data Collection and Transcription -- Data Reduction -- Coding -- Types of Coding -- Memoing -- Data Displays -- Conclusion Drawing and Verification -- Pre-Report Writing -- Qualitative Report Writing -- Summary.