Building Experiments: Testing Social Theory

David Willer

ISBN 10: 080475246X / ISBN 13: 9780804752466

Published by Stanford University Press, 2007

About this Item

Ranging from abstract theory to practical design solutions, this book provides the reader with the understandings needed to design and run cutting edge experiments. Num Pages: 176 pages, 1 table, 14 figures. BIC Classification: JHBC. Category: (UF) Further/Higher Education. Dimension: 229 x 152 x 14. Weight in Grams: 276. . 2007. Annotated. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780804752466

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Building Experiments: Testing Social Theory
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080475246X
• ISBN 13: 9780804752466
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Building Experiments is the essential text for understanding experimental methods. In engaging style, the book shows how theory is employed in experimental design, how experiments test theory, and how proper design and use of experiments can advance the social sciences as explanatory sciences. The interactive nature of the text encourages students to hone their skills, building and running experiments while learning the underlying principles of theory and experimentation.

The book addresses practical issues, ranging from the critical analysis of historically important experiments to understanding how to recruit subjects properly and protect their rights. Founding experiments in sociology are compared to founding experiments in physics to demonstrate fundamental cross-disciplinary similarities of theory, experiment, and scientific method. Finally, the book explains how experimental research and theory can be applied in historical and institutional studies. This book will be a key resource in social science methodology courses at all levels.

About the Author

David Willer is the Scudder Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina. Henry A. Walker is Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona.