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This thorough revision of Babbie's standard-setting text presents a succinct, straightforward introduction to the field of research methods as practiced by social scientists. Contemporary examples, such as terrorism, Alzheimer's disease, anti-gay prejudice and education, and the legalization of marijuana, introduce you to the "how-tos" and "whys" of social research methods. With new data, new coverage of online research and other timely topics, and Learning Objectives for each chapter that help you focus on important concepts, this edition continues to be authoritative yet student-friendly and engaging as it helps you connect the dots between the world of social research and the real world.

The Basics of Social Research

Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY.

1. Human Inquiry and Science.

2. Paradigms, Theory, and 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 OBSERVATION: 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. Reading and Writing Social Research.

Appendix A: Using the Library.

Appendix B: Random Numbers.

Appendix C: Distribution of Chi Square.

Appendix D: Normal Curve Areas.

Appendix E: Estimated Sampling Error.