Methodological Thinking

Focused on the underlying logic behind social research, Methodological Thinking: Basic Principles of Social Research Design encourages readers to understand research methods as a way of thinking. The book provides a concise overview of the basic principles of social research, including the characteristics of research questions, the importance of literature reviews, variations in data generation techniques, and sampling.

The Second Edition includes a revised chapter on research foundations, with focus on the philosophy of science and ethics; an emphasis on critical thinking; additional attention to evaluating research; and a new selection of briefer, multidisciplinary journal articles designed to be accessible to a wide variety of readers.

“This concise, approachable book with clear examples from published articles is a useful supplement to long, detailed, technical methodology texts that students sometimes find overwhelming and inaccessible.”

Methodological Thinking is a highly accessible, practical guide to the often-intimidating process of designing a research project. An excellent starting point for an undergraduate course in social research fundamentals, full of useful examples and uncomplicated explanations of the starting stages of the research process.

The second edition of Methodological Thinking has only improved upon the first edition, by focusing more attention on critical issues related to sampling and ethics, along with a broader examination of the epistemology underlying social science research. This book is useful as a "go-to" reference on designing social science research and is excellent as a primary text at all levels of college.

Methodological Thinking helps students move past their preconceptions of research to critically engage in research design while enhancing skills that will help them evaluate information in their daily lives.

Donileen R. Loseke is a Professor Emeritus in the department of sociology at the University of South Florida. She received her BA and MA in psychology (California State University, Dominguez Hills) and her PhD in sociology (University of California, Santa Barbara). Her books include Narrative Productions of Meanings: Exploring the Work of Stories in Social Life; Methodological Thinking: Basic Principles of Social Research Design, 2e; The Battered Woman and Shelters, which won the Charles Horton Cooley Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction; and Thinking About Social Problems. She also is the editor of Current Controversies on Family Violence (with Richard Gelles) and Social Problems: Constructionist Readings (with Joel Best). Numerous journal articles and book chapters report the findings of her empirical research projects, which have been on a variety of topics including evaluation research, social problems, criminal justice, social service provision, occupations, emotion, identity, and narrative and have used a variety of data generation techniques including field experiment, written survey, in-depth interview, ethnography, and document analysis. Among her editorial positions include former editor of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, advisory editor for Social Problems and Deputy Editor for Social Psychology Quarterly.  She received the Mead Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction and was the Past- President of the Study of Social Problems as well as Past-President of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.  

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