Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation - Softcover

Chambliss, Daniel F.; Schutt, Russell K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761987878 ISBN 13: 9780761987871

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2003

Synopsis

"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, Arizona State University

"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, Oregon State University

"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, University of Southern Mississippi

 

Many students approach the subject of social science research methods with a sense of anxiety. It is a dreaded requirement or a means to an end. These students need a more comprehensible than comprehensive approach to research methods. They require a text that is fun to read as well as challenging; relevant to everyday experience as well as a necessary foundation for more advanced courses.

 Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation presents an engaging, accessible, and accurate introduction to social research. Authors Daniel F. Chambliss and Russell K. Schutt present the logic and essential techniques of research methods with a light, readable writing style and without skimping on critical concepts or recent developments. More than a brief derivative of Schutt′s widely successful Investigating the Social World, this compelling volume focuses on validity as a unifying concept and supplies an integrated treatment of research ethics and research practices with innovative examples and exercises.

Designed for maximum impact and minimal frustration, this reader-friendly text includes

• Substantive examples drawn from everyday experience and current social issues
• A thorough treatment of qualitative methods
• Stimulating, straightforward exercises and engaging prose retain student interest
• A CD-ROM with key concepts, qualitative analysis software, data for SPSS analysis, and links to related Web sites
• Companion study site on the Web at http://www.pineforge.com/mssw2 with interactive self-quizzes, electronic flash cards, Web-driven research activities and more to help students master the content while doing some Web-based research.

 Intended as a methods text for Sociology, Criminal Justice, Media Studies, Political Science, and Public Administration undergraduate students, Making Sense of the Social World is indispensable reading for anyone who needs a functional understanding of research methods.

 

 

About this title

About the Authors

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/.

Edition details

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761987878
• ISBN 13: 9780761987871
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368