This book provides balanced coverage of quantitative and qualitative methods of social research with a unique behind the scenes approach: chapters are built on focal research pieces and excerpts from real research projects, and they present the insights and perspectives of workers conducting real-world research. The book guides readers through the many stages of social research - from selecting a researchable question and designing a study to selecting the best method of data analysis for a particular study - and prepares them for the ethical issues and problems that they may face along the way.

1. The Uses of Social Research
2. Theory and Research
3. Ethics and Social Research
4. Selecting Researchable Topics and Questions
5. Sampling
6. Measurement
7. Cross-sectional, Longitudinal, and Case Study Designs
8. Experimental Research
9. Questionnaires and Structured Interviews
10. Qualitative Interviewig