Table of Contents

Series Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Science, Society, and Social Research
Reasoning About the Social World
The Social Science Approach
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
Strengths and Limitations of Social Research
Validity and Social Research
Conclusion
2. The Process and Problems of Social Research
Social Research Questions
The Role of Social Theory
Social Research Strategies
Social Research Philosopies
Scientific Guidelines for Social Research
Ethical Guidelines for Social Research
Conclusion
3. Conceptualization and Measurement
Concepts
Measurement Operations
Levels of Measurement
Evaluating Measures
Conclusion
4. Sampling
Sampling Planning
Sampling Methods
Lessons About Sample Quality
Conclusion
5. Causation and Research Design
Nomothetic Causal Explanation
Experimental Design and the Criteria for Causal Explanation
Nonexperimental Designs and the Criteria for Causal Explanation
Units of Analysis and Errors in Causal Reasoning
Causation in Qualitative Research
Conclusion
6. Experiments
True Experiments
Quasi-Experiments
Evaluation Research
Validity in Experiments
Ethical Issues in Experimental Research
Conclusion
7. Survey Research
Survey Research in the Social Sciences
Writing Questions
Designing Questionnaires
Organizing Surveys
Ethical Issues in Survey Research
Conclusion
8. Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, Listening
Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods
Participant Observation
Intensive Interviewing
Focus Groups
Analysis of Qualitative Data
Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research
Conclusion
9. Historical and Comparative Methods
Overview of Comparative-Historical Methods
Historical Social Science Methods
Comparative Social Science Methods
Methodological Issues
Special Techniques
Secondary Data Sources
Ethical Issues in Comparative-Historical Research
10. Data Analysis
Introducing Statistics
Preparing Data for Analysis
Displaying Univariate Distributions
Summarizing Univariate Distributions
Crosstabulating Variables
Conclusion
11. Multiple Methods in Context
Comparing Research Designs
Combining Research Designs
Extending Social Science Investigations
Performing Meta-Analysis
Conclusion
12. Reviewing, Proposing, and Reporting Research
Research Goals
Reviewing Research
Proposing New Research
Reporting Research
Conclusion
Appendix A: Summaries of Frequently Cited Research Articles
Appendix B: Finding Information
Appendix C: Questions to Ask About a Research Article
Appendix D: How to Read a Research Article
Appendix E: How to Use a Statistical Package
Appendix F: Table of Random Numbers
Appendix G: Using QSR NVivo for Qualitative Analysis: An Extended Exercise
Appendix H: Annotated List of Web Sites
References
Credits
Glossary/Index

About the Author

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/.

Reviews

"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*

"[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*

"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*

"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*