Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation

by Daniel F. Chambliss, Russell K. Schutt

Overview

The bestselling Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation introduces social science research methods as a way to study diverse social processes and to improve our understanding of social issues. Each chapter illustrates principles and techniques in research methods through interesting examples drawn from social science investigations and everyday experiences. The many updates to the Seventh Edition include: new examples of contemporary research, including on social media and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; new developments in methods, including the challenges of the 2020 U.S. Census, survey response rates and survey question design, and more emphasis on culturally responsive research ethics; a new "Research in the News" feature in every chapter gives topical examples of social research from the news media; and new statistical data incorporated throughout, including from the 2022 General Social Survey.

This text is offered in Sage Vantage, an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality Sage textbook content with assignable multimedia activities and auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support.

Watch this video walkthrough and see how Vantage works:


                              

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071871300
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/07/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	440
File size:	27 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Daniel F. Chambliss, PhD, is the Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Emeritus at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where he has taught from 1981 to 2023. He received his PhD from Yale University in 1982; later that year, his thesis research received the American Sociological Association’s (ASA’s) Medical Sociology Dissertation Prize. In 1988, he published the book Champions: The Making of Olympic Swimmers, which received the Book of the Year Prize from the U.S. Olympic Committee. In 1989, he received the ASA’s Theory Prize for work on organizational excellence based on his swimming research. Recipient of both Fulbright and Rockefeller Foundation fellowships, he published his second book, Beyond Caring: Hospitals, Nurses, and the Social Organization of Ethics, in 1996; for that work, he was awarded the ASA’s Eliot Freidson Prize in Medical Sociology. In 2014, Harvard University Press published his book How College Works, coauthored with his former student Christopher G. Takacs. His research and teaching interests include organizational analysis, higher education, social theory, and comparative research methods. In 2018, he received the ASA’s national career award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching.

Russell K. Schutt, PhD, is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he received the 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Service and taught from 1979 to 2022. He is also a Clinical Research Scientist I at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a Lecturer (part-time) in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. He completed his BA, MA, and PhD degrees at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Sociology of Social Control Training Program at Yale University (where he met Dan). In addition to ten editions of Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research and one of Understanding the Social World, as well as coauthored versions for the fields of social work, criminal justice, psychology, and education, his other books include Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness (2011), Social Neuroscience: Brain, Mind, and Society (coedited, 2015), and Organization in a Changing Environment (1986). He has authored and coauthored more than 65 peer reviewed journal articles, as well as book chapters and research reports on homelessness, mental health, organizations, law, and teaching research methods. His currently a Dual Principal Investigator (with Matcheri Keshavan, MD) in randomized comparative effectiveness trial of two socially-oriented interventions to improve community functioning among persons diagnosed with serious mental illness, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). His other recently concluded research includes co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded study of the social impact of the pandemic in Boston, and co-investigator on a Veterans Health Administration-funded study of peer support.  His earlier research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Fetzer Institute, and state agencies. Details are available at https://blogs.umb.edu/russellkschutt/.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Science, Society, and Social Research
Chapter 2: The Process and Problems of Social Research
Chapter 3: Ethics in Research
Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement
Chapter 5: Sampling and Generalizability
Chapter 6: Causation and Experimental Design
Chapter 7: Survey Research
Chapter 8: Elementary Quantitative Data Analysis
Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods
Chapter 10: Qualitative Data Analysis
Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Measures
Chapter 12: Evaluation Research
Chapter 13: Reviewing, Proposing, and Reporting Research
Appendix A: Finding Information

Editorial Reviews

"The text’s strengths, bottom line, are that it’s casual and accessible, yet thorough and accurate. It is very up-to-date using good examples from very contemporary social science research. "

Mark Edwards

"First, I would adopt—not just consider—this book. The writing style is direct and easy to follow. The issues are treated in context, with good examples. The authors do a great job of presenting the material in a way that prevents students from asking "how is this relevant to what I do?" I do wish I had written this book myself. "

Ronald Perry

"It is a worthy contribution. "

Diane Pike

"The strength of this text is in its brevity. In a one semester course, it is impossible to cover all the topics in a comprehensive text in any depth. I would rather my students learn the fundamentals of doing research – a few topics in depth. They can then build on this knowledge, if they need to, in order to learn new types of analysis. I also like the types and varieties of exercises included in the text. "

Ann Marie Kinnell