Investigating the Social World

The Process and Practice of Research

Sixth Edition

Russell K. Schutt	University of Massachusetts, Boston

© 2009	728 pages	Pine Forge Press

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About This Title

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Order the SPSS Student Version (ISBN: 978-1-4129-6941-3) of this text and your students will be able to practice SPSS (version 16.0) on their laptops in the convenience of their dorm rooms (rather than in the computer labs) for just $25 more than the text alone.

The most cutting-edge research methods, applied to engaging social issues, in a student-friendly textbook written by an award-winning researcher and teacher

In this new Sixth Edition of his perennially successful social research text, author Russell K. Schutt continues to make research come alive through research stories that illustrate the methods presented in each chapter and hands-on exercises that help students learn by doing. Investigating the Social World, Sixth Edition helps readers understand research methods as an integrated whole; appreciate the value of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies; and understand the need to make ethical research decisions, while also learning about contemporary social issues like homelessness, drug abuse, and the effect of the Internet on social relations.

The Sixth Edition features a new streamlined introduction to research; new and updated social research examples and end-of-chapter exercises; new coverage of qualitative techniques such as narrative analysis, conversation analysis and visual methods; a greater focus on racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity; and expanded coverage of ethical issues.

New and Retained Features

• A new chapter on research ethics (Chapter 3) with up-to-date information on Institutional Review Boards and HIPAA (health information) rules
• New-to-this-edition ethics questions at the end of each chapter
• Updated studies of social ties, domestic violence, crime, and other social issues throughout
• New examples from research on disasters, gender roles, and social interaction
• Expanded coverage of survey research methods, including the effect of cell phones and use of the Internet
• Increased qualitative research methods such as the growing popularity of narrative analysis, conversation analysis, and visual methods
• New sections focus on: the conceptualization of race (Chapter 4), the importance of translation (Chapter 8), improving our understanding of prejudice (Chapters 9 and 10), the challenges of cross-cultural research (Chapter 9), the significance of gender (Chapter 13), and the dynamics of voting (Chapter 14)
• New discussion questions focus on issues that can be debated in class, and exercises using SPSS® (version 16.0) are revised for use with the new 2006 General Social Survey (GSS) dataset

Ancillaries

Instructor Resources on CD, available to qualified adopters, include test questions, PowerPoint slides for lectures, suggested assignments, and a review of course organization options. Contact Customer Care at 1-800-818-SAGE (7243).

• Student study site at www.pineforge.com/isw6 includes e-flashcards, interactive exercises for review of major research topics, datasets for use with the book’s exercises, an annotated list of useful websites, statistical tutorials, and an online reader with articles from SAGE journals that illustrate topics in the text.

Investigating the Social World, Sixth Edition is appropriate for upper-level undergraduate courses in research methods in sociology, political science, communication/media studies/journalism, and public administration.

"An excellent text for an undergraduate research methods course." - Andrew Zekeri, Tuskegee University

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