An Introduction to Research, Analysis, and Writing: Practical Skills for Social Science Students

by Bruce Oliver Newsome

Overview

This accessible guide walks readers through the process of completing a social science research project. Written specifically to meet the needs of undergraduate research classes, it introduces students to a complete skill set, including: planning, design, analysis, argumentation, criticizing theories, building theories, modeling theories, choosing methods, gathering data, presenting evidence, and writing the final product. Students can use this text as a practical resource to navigate through each stage of the process, including choices between more advanced research techniques.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483352565
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/19/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	376
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Bruce Oliver Newsome, PhD, is a lecturer in the School of International&Area Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Before teaching, he was a research policy scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California. He earned his undergraduate degree with honors in war studies from Kings College London, a master’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania, and PhD in international studies from the University of Reading.

Table of Contents

1. The Way Ahead
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Goals of This Book
Preview of the Rest of the Book
Chapter Summary
2. Research Process
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
What is Research?
What are the Objectives and Products of Research?
What are the Approaches to Research?
Project Life Cycle
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
3. Research Ethics and Laws
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
What are Ethics?
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
4. Scoping, Justifying, Designing, Planning
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
Scoping
The Value of Your Research
Feasibility
Developing a Research Question
Describing, Justifying, Planning, and Proposing the Research
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
5. Reading and Reviewing
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
Sources
How to Read Efficiently
Content Analysis
Reviews
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
6. Analysis
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
What is Analysis?
Why Do We Analyze?
How are We Told to Analyze?
How Should We Analyze?
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
7. Arguing and Explaining
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
Definitions
Logical Arguments
True Arguments
Strong Versus Weak Arguments
Fallacious Arguments
Biases
Dialectic Arguments
Describing and Critiquing Arguments
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
8. Theorizing and Modeling
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
Theories
Hypotheses
Models
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
9. Methods
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
Methods and Methodologies
Historical Research
Case Study
Survey Research
Direct Observation in the Field
Experimental Research
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
10. Evidence and Data
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
Observations and Data
Operationalization
Measurement
Classifying Data
Datasets
Uses of Data
Evidence
Causality and Correlation
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises
11. Writing
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Opening Vignette
Planning the Writing of Your Whole Product
Style
Structure
Chapter Summary
Questions and Exercises