The elements of social scientific thinking - Softcover

Hoover, Kenneth R

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312003137 ISBN 13: 9780312003135

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 1988

Synopsis

A concise introduction to the fundamental concepts of social scientific thinking, this classic text-a favorite with students for over 25 years-makes scientific thinking, research methods and statistics accessible to undergraduates at a common sense level.

About this title

About the Author:

Kenneth Hoover (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) was Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Western Washington University. His final books included THE FUTURE OF IDENTITY (2004); ECONOMICS AS IDEOLOGY: KEYNES,LASKI, HAYEK AND THE CREATION OF CONTEMPORARY POLITICS (2003); and with John Miles, Vernon Johnson, and Sara Weir, IDEOLOGY AND POLITICAL LIFE, Third Edition (2001).

Todd Donovan (Ph.D., University of California, Riverside) is a professor of Political Science at Western Washington University. He teaches state and local politics; American politics, parties, campaigns, and elections; comparative electoral systems; and introductory research methods and statistics. His research interests include direct democracy, election systems and representation, political behavior, subnational politics, and the political economy of local development. He has been published extensively in academic journals; written a number of books on direct democracy, elections, institutions, and reform; and has received numerous grants and awards for his work. He is coauthor (with Ken Hoover) of THE ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC THINKING, also published by Cengage Learning.

Review:

"This is an exceptionally well-written book. In a field that normally has books that are poorly written and often inaccessible to undergraduates, the Hoover and Donovan book is really a breath of fresh air."

"This is the best simple and short overview of the key elements in the scientific research process on the market."

"I have found Elements useful in several ways. First, it is useful to students with no background in science at all. ...Second, it is useful for students who are in "scientific" disciplines. Some of the biologists or chemists have never been introduced to social science as a method. ...All in all, the book gives us common ground for understanding science, social science in particular, so we can discuss its relationship to technology and the rest of society."

"What Strunk and White's little book on style is to clear writing, Hoover's is to clear thinking in the social sciences. A pedagogical gem."

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0312003137
• ISBN 13: 9780312003135
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 179