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Known as the gold standard for research methods, Babbie's THE PRACTICE OF SOCIAL RESEARCH gives you a definitive guide to research as practiced by social scientists. Combining a straightforward approach with the author's renowned sense of humor, this student-friendly text equips you with the tools and knowledge to apply research concepts as both researcher and consumer. The author emphasizes the process by showing you how to design and construct projects, introducing today's various observation modes and answering critical questions about research methods, such as how to conduct online surveys and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. The 15th Edition includes the latest General Social Survey findings along with new coverage of the global use of social research, the emerging role of big data, demographic analysis and more. Also available: MindTap digital learning solution.

The Practice of Social Research

Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY.

1. Human Inquiry and Science.

2. Paradigms, Theory, and Social Research.

3. The Ethics and Politics of Social Research.

Part II: THE STRUCTURING OF INQUIRY: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE.

4. Research Design.

5. Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement.

6. Indexes, Scales, and Typologies.

7. The Logic of Sampling.

Part III: MODES OF OPERATION: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE.

8. Experiments.

9. Survey Research.

10. Qualitative Field Research.

11. Unobtrusive Research.

12. Evaluation Research.

Part IV: ANALYSIS OF DATA: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE.

13. Qualitative Data Analysis.

14. Quantitative Data Analysis.

15. The Logic of Multivariate Analysis.

16. Statistical Analyses.

17. Reading and Writing Social Research.

APPENDICES.

A. Using the Library.

B. GSS Household Enumeration Questionnaire.

C. Random Numbers.

D. Distribution of Chi Square.

E. Normal Curve Areas.

F. Estimated Sampling Error.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.