Investigating the Social World - The Process and Practice of Research (Paperback, 6th ed.)

Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research, Sixth Edition introduces research methods as an integrated set of techniques for investigating questions about the social world. This lively, innovative text helps students connect technique and substance, understand research methods as an integrated whole, appreciate the value of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and make ethical research decisions. Each chapter introduces a substantive research question and then shows how the particular research methods presented in that chapter have been used to develop answers to that question-connecting the fascinating substance of social science to the methods used to develop substantive knowledge. The writing is lively, personal, and accessible, with many instructional aids for students with different learning styles and instructors with different pedagogical preferences, including interactive exercises on the Web for the review of key concepts with real research examples and an online reader of research articles. New in the Sixth Edition New examples of research on timely social topics: Includes some of the latest research on declining social ties, sociology of disasters, diversity in the classroom, education and health, gender roles. The latest developments in research methods: Updates on survey research methods and new qualitative techniques are introduced in the Sixth Edition. Guidelines for translating questions have been added to the survey research chapter. Expanded coverage of ethical issues: Contains a new chapter on research ethics (chapter 3), with up-to-date information on Institutional Review Boards and HIPAA. Stanley Milgram's laboratory-basedinvestigations of obedience to authority (chapter 3) with recent research on plagiarism (chapter 15) is included. In addition, new "ethics questions" at the end of each chapter. Focus on diversity: Special attention is given to the implications of diversity for research methods. This attention is reflected in new sections on the conceptualization of race (Chapter 4), the importance of translation (Chapter 8), the salience of race and class (Chapters 9,10), the challenges of cross-cultural research (Chapter 9), the significance of gender (Chapter 13), and the dynamics of voting (Chapter 14). Updated end-of-chapter exercises: New discussion questions as well as ethics questions to stimulate in-class discussion and debate have been added to each chapter. Exercises using Web sites have been updated and those involving SPSS, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, have been revised for use with the new 2006 General Social Survey (GSS) dataset.

Ancillaries Instructors' Resources on CD-Rom, including test questions, PowerPoint slides, suggested assignments and more, are available for qualified instructors. Contact Customer Care at 1-800-818-SAGE (7243) from 6am - 5pm PT to request a copy. A Student Study Site at www.pineforge.com/isw6 provides related journal articles, extensive web resources, chapter summaries, eflash cards, online quizzes, and unique interactive exercises for students to apply concepts and research techniques learned in the course. It also includes E-appendices and data sets for use with the SPSS exercises.

Intended Audience Written in a lively and personal style, this is an engaging, accessible introductory text for Research Methods courses in sociology, communication and journalism, political science, and public administration.