"It has the best balance between qualitative and quantitative methods of any book on the market. Very good on measurements and scientific methods. Good issues (interdisciplinary) on ethics."
--Cynthia J. Buckley, University of Texas, Austin
"[Schutt′s] strengths: clear identification of key issues in research design (i.e. measurement, sampling and causation) as well as major data collection techniques. I will continue to use it."
--Deborah Bhattacharyya, Wittenberg Unversity
"Its chief virtue is its use of research examples to illustrate methodological concepts and its readability. My students have found Schutt′s book more engaging and accessible than other method texts. I will continue to use it because it works."
--Mark Shibley, Southern Oregon University
"Students find the prose both accessible and…interesting. One student commented recently, ′For a textbook, especially a methods one, it is almost enjoyable to read.′"
--Adam Weinberg, Colgate University
This groundbreaking textbook uses real-world research examples and data to provide a revealing introduction to social science statistics. The Third Edition of this widely adopted text effectively links social issues and sociological concepts with statistical techniques. Realizing that students may lack a substantial math background, or suffer from "math anxiety syndrome," the material in this book is presented using straightforward prose that emphasizes intuition, logic, and common sense rather than rote memorization. Throughout the text instructors are provided with resources to support effective teaching: illustrations showing how statistical concepts are used to interpret social issues, guides for reading and interpreting the research literature, SPSS demonstrations, and a rich variety of exercises. The user-friendly, informal style of this innovative text has been widely applauded by students and instructors alike.
Highlights of the Third Edition
A number of important changes have been made to this edition in response to the valuable comments received from the many instructors adopting the Second Edition and from other interested instructors and students.
Clearer and More Concise Presentation of Topics
The discussion of statistical procedures and concepts has been carefully edited, reducing the redundancy of statistical procedures and clarifying examples, while at the same time preserving the book′s easily understood style.
Revisions to Chapter 13: Testing Hypotheses about Two Samples
The detailed discussion of the principles of hypothesis testing, including the Z test for one sample, has been reintroduced from the First Edition. In addition, we have added a discussion of the t statistic in the context of one-sample tests. One sample tests are introduced here as a pedagogical tool to clarify statistical inference before moving to the more complicated concept of the two-sample test. For simplification, the discussion of unequal variances has been boxed and shortened considerably.
Supplemental Electronic Materials
Rather than adding additional chapters and printed pages to the text, a CD-ROM with supplemental materials has been included in this new edition. These supplemental materials provide increased flexibility for instructors and students and include: two additional electronic chapters · three GSS data sets · a National Geographic data set with exercises · a data dictionary for the SPSS variables · and an SPSS demonstration¾ How to Use a Statistical Package. The first chapter includes an expanded version of Chapter 8¾ Bivariate Regression and Correlation¾ with new sections on inference in regression, analysis of variance, and a brief overview of multiple regression techniques. This chapter can be used in conjunction with the printed Chapter 8 or used alone. The second chapter is a stand-alone chapter on Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The chapter begins with a detailed computational example, highlights two SPSS ANOVA applications, and reviews two examples from the research literature. As in the text chapters, each electronic chapter concludes with an SPSS demonstration, SPSS exercises, and end of chapter exercises (with selected answers).
Real-World Examples and Exercises
A hallmark of the first two editions was the extensive use of real data from a variety of sources for chapter illustrations and exercises. Throughout the Third Edition, the majority of exercises and examples have been updated based on General Social Survey or U.S. Census data.
SPSS Version 11.0
The Third Edition of this text includes examples and screen shots utilizing SPSS Version 11.0. Packaged with this text, on an optional basis, is SPSS Student Version 11.0. The SPSS CD-ROM contains: SPSS Student Version material plus · 3 GSS data sets · an NG data set with exercises · a data dictionary for the SPSS variables · and an SPSS demonstration How to Use a Statistical Package. Demonstrations and exercises have been updated, using version 11.0 format. To order the book packaged with the Student Version of SPSS 11.0, use order code: ISBN: 0-7619-8777-0.
General Social Survey 1998
As a companion to the Third Edition′s SPSS demonstrations and exercises, three datasets have been created. Those using the Student Version of SPSS 10.0 will work with two separate GSS files: GSS Module A features gender and family issues, and GSS Module B highlights race and government policy issues. The GSS96PFP.SAV contains an expanded selection of variables and cases from the 1998 General Social Survey. SPSS exercises at the end of each chapter utilize certain variables from all data modules. There is ample opportunity for instructors to develop their own SPSS exercises using these data.
Supplemental Tools on Important Topics
The Third Edition′s discussion of inferential statistics remains focused on Z, t and chi-square. The Pine Forge Press Series in Research Methods and Statistics, of which this book is a part, includes additional supplementary volumes by Paul Allison on regression and by Robert Leik on analysis of variance. These supplements were written to closely coordinate with this text and are available from Pine Forge Press.
Instructor′s Manual
An instructor′s manual on CD-ROM is available to faculty adopting this text. Materials provided in the electronic manual include:
- An overview of the text, supplemental electronic materials, and the Instructor′s Manual
- Answers to all exercises included in the book and on the supplemental electronic materials
- Testbanks for both the text and supplemental electronic materials
- Additional collaborative exercises for use in groups of two or more
- Formulas in .pdf format for use as overhead transparencies
- PowerPointâ presentations for each chapter, including the electronic chapters
- Graphics from the text for use as overhead transparencies
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. In addition to ten editions of Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research and seven editions of Making Sense of the Social World, with Daniel F. Chambliss, PhD, as well as coauthored versions for 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 70 peer reviewed journal articles, as well as more than 30 non-refereed articles and book chapters on social support, mental and physical health, health services, organizations, homelessness, law, and teaching research methods. His research has been funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the National Science Foundation, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Fetzer Institute, and state agencies. Details are available at https://blogs.umb.edu/russellkschutt/.
