An Introduction to Research, Analysis, and Writing
Practical Skills for Social Science Students
- Bruce Oliver Newsome - University of California, Berkeley, USA
June 2015 | 376 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
This accessible guide walks readers through the process of completing a social science research project. Written specifically to meet the needs of undergraduate research classes, it introduces students to a complete skill set, including: planning, design, analysis, argumentation, criticizing theories, building theories, modeling theories, choosing methods, gathering data, presenting evidence, and writing the final product. Students can use this text as a practical resource to navigate through each stage of the process, including choices between more advanced research techniques.
1. The Way Ahead
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Goals of This Book |
| Preview of the Rest of the Book |
| Chapter Summary |
2. Research Process
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| What is Research? |
| What are the Objectives and Products of Research? |
| What are the Approaches to Research? |
| Project Life Cycle |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
3. Research Ethics and Laws
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| What are Ethics? |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
4. Scoping, Justifying, Designing, Planning
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| Scoping |
| The Value of Your Research |
| Feasibility |
| Developing a Research Question |
| Describing, Justifying, Planning, and Proposing the Research |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
5. Reading and Reviewing
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| Sources |
| How to Read Efficiently |
| Content Analysis |
| Reviews |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
6. Analysis
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| What is Analysis? |
| Why Do We Analyze? |
| How are We Told to Analyze? |
| How Should We Analyze? |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
7. Arguing and Explaining
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| Definitions |
| Logical Arguments |
| True Arguments |
| Strong Versus Weak Arguments |
| Fallacious Arguments |
| Biases |
| Dialectic Arguments |
| Describing and Critiquing Arguments |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
8. Theorizing and Modeling
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| Theories |
| Hypotheses |
| Models |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
9. Methods
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| Methods and Methodologies |
| Historical Research |
| Case Study |
| Survey Research |
| Direct Observation in the Field |
| Experimental Research |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
10. Evidence and Data
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| Observations and Data |
| Operationalization |
| Measurement |
| Classifying Data |
| Datasets |
| Uses of Data |
| Evidence |
| Causality and Correlation |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
11. Writing
| Learning Objectives and Outcomes |
| Opening Vignette |
| Planning the Writing of Your Whole Product |
| Style |
| Structure |
| Chapter Summary |
| Questions and Exercises |
Supplements
Instructor Teaching Site
Password-protected Instructor Resources: Editable, chapter-specific Microsoft® PowerPoint® slides offer you complete flexibility in easily creating a multimedia presentation for your course.
It is a nice general overview of key concepts related to academic research.
Sch Of Communication Arts, Buena Vista University
March 31, 2016