Social Research Methods

The main strength of this text is coverage of both quantitative and qualitative methodology from a broad range of fields. The examples are often my students′ favorite thing to discuss in class. – Erica B. GibsonThe depth of detailed descriptions (foundations of social research; interviewing, participant observation, field notes, and data analysis) go beyond other texts…the organization is superb. – Benedict J. ColombiThis text does an excellent job of not only showing how to practice research but also provides a detailed discussion of broader historical and philosophical contexts that are important for understanding research. – Julian Kilker

H. Russell Bernard

H. Russell Bernard is director of the Institute for Social Science Research at Arizona State University and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology of the University of Florida. He is a cultural anthropologist specializing in technology and social change, language revitalization, and social network analysis. Bernard has done research or taught at universities in the United States, Mexico, Greece, Japan, and Germany. He is a former editor of Human Organization and the American Anthropologist and is the founder and editor of the journal Field Methods.

Bernard’s books include:

• Research Methods in Anthropology (with Amber Wutich)
• Social Research Methods (with Amber Wutich)
• Analyzing Qualitative Data (with Gery Ryan and Amber Wutich)
• Native Ethnography (with Jesús Salinas Pedraza)

Bernard was the 2003 recipient of the Franz Boas Award and the 2024 recipient of the Conrad Arensberg Award from the American Anthropological Association and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Amber Wutich

Amber Wutich is a Regents & President’s Professor of Anthropology at Arizona State University, a MacArthur Fellow, and Director of ASU’s Center for Global Health. An ethnographer and methodologist, Wutich has authored 200+ papers, co-edits the journal Field Methods, and directs the NSF Cultural Anthropology Methods Program. Her two decades of community-based fieldwork explores how people respond, individually and collectively, to extremely water-scarce conditions. An expert on water insecurity, Wutich directs the Global Ethnohydrology Study, a cross-cultural study of water knowledge and management in 20+ countries. She leads Arizona Water for All, a participatory study that develops collaborative water solutions with water-insecure U.S. communities.

Wutich’s books include:

• The Human Story: An Introduction to Anthropology (with Alexandra Brewis, Kelly Knudson, Christopher Stojanowski, and Cindi SturtzSreetharan)
• Lazy, Crazy, Disgusting: Stigma and the Undoing of Global Health (with Alexandra Brewis)
• Research Methods in Anthropology (with H. Russell Bernard)
• Social Research Methods (with H. Russell Bernard)
• Analyzing Qualitative Data (with H. Russell Bernard and Gery Ryan)