Investigating the Social World

Author Biography

Russell K. Schutt, PhD, is a professor and the chair of sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a lecturer on sociology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts Mental Health Center). He completed his BA, MA, and PhD (1977) at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Sociology of Social Control Training Program at Yale University (1977-1979). His other books include Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research and Fundamentals of Social Work Research (with Ray Engel), Making Sense of the Social World (with Dan Chambliss), and Research Methods in Psychology (with Paul G. Nestor)-all with SAGE Publications, as well as Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness (Harvard University Press) and Social Neuroscience: Brain, Mind, and Society (coedited with Larry J. Seidman and Matcheri S. Keshavan, also Harvard University Press). Most of his peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters focus on the effect of social context on cognition, satisfaction, functioning, and recidivism, the orientations of service recipients and of service and criminal justice personnel, and the organization of health and social services. He is currently a coinvestigator for a randomized trial of peer support for homeless dually diagnosed veterans, funded by the Veterans Administration.

Table of Contents

About the Author Preface Acknowledgments Section I. Foundations for Social Research

1. Science, Society, and Social Research Learning About the Social World Avoiding Errors in Reasoning About the Social World Science and Social Science Strengths and Limitations of Social Research Alternative Research Orientations Conclusions
2. The Process and Problems of Social Research Social Research Questions Social Theories Social Research Foundations Social Research Strategies Social Research Organizations Social Research Standards Conclusions
3. Research Ethics and Research Proposals Historical Background Ethical Principles The Institutional Review Board Social Research Proposals Conclusions Section II. Fundamentals of Social Research
4. Conceptualization and Measurement Concepts From Concepts to Indicators From Observations to Concepts Measurement Levels of Measurement Evaluating Measures Conclusions
5. Sampling and Generalizability Sample Planning Sampling Methods Sampling Distributions Conclusions
6. Research Design and Causation Research Design Alternatives Criteria and Cautions for Nomothetic Causal Explanations Comparing Research Designs Conclusions Section III. Basic Social Research Design
7. Experiments History of Experimentation True Experiments Quasi-Experiments Validity in Experiments Ethical Issues in Experimental Conclusions
8. Survey Research Survey Research in the Social Sciences Writing Survey Questions Combining Questions in Indexes Designing Questionnaires Organizing Surveys Ethical Issues in Survey Research Conclusions
9. Quantitative Data Analysis Introducing Statistics Preparing for Data Analysis Displaying Univariate Distributions Summarizing Univariate Distributions Analyzing Data Ethically: How Not to Lie With Statistics Cross-Tabulating Variables Regression Analysis Performing Meta-Analyses Analyzing Data Ethically: How Not to Lie About Relationships Conclusions
10. Qualitative Methods Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods Participant Observation Intensive Interviewing Interviewing Online Focus Groups Generalizability in Qualitative Research Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research Conclusions
11. Qualitative Data Analysis Features of Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques of Qualitative Data Analysis Alternatives in Qualitative Data Visual Sociology Systematic Observation Participatory Action Research Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Ethics in Qualitative Data Analysis Conclusions Section IV. Complex Social Research Designs
12. Mixed Methods History of Mixed Methods Types of Mixed Methods Strengths and Limitations of Mixed Methods Ethics and Mixed Methods Conclusions
13. Evaluation and Policy Research History of Evaluation Research Evaluation Basics Questions for Evaluation Research Design Decisions Policy Research Ethics in Evaluation Conclusions
14. Research Using Secondary Data and "Big" Data Secondary Data Sources Challenges for Secondary Data Analyses Big Data Ethical Issues in Secondary Data Analysis and Big Data Conclusions
15. Research Using Historical and Comparative Data and Content Analysis Overview of Historical and Comparative Research Methods Historical Social Science Methods Comparative Social Science Methods Demographic Analysis Content Analysis Ethical Issues in Historical and Comparative Research and Content Analysis Conclusions
16. Summarizing and Reporting Research Writing Research Displaying Research Reporting Research Ethics, Politics, and Research Reports Conclusions Appendix A: Questions to Ask About a Research Article Appendix B: How to Read a Research Article Appendix C: Table of Random Numbers Glossary Bibliography Index