Part 1: An introduction to inquiry. Human inquiry and science ; Paradigms, theory, and social researc ; The ethics and politics of social research -- Part 2: The structuring of inquiry. Research design ; Conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement ; Indexes, scales, and typologies ; Logic of sampling -- Part 3: Modes of operation. Experiments ; Survey research ; Qualitative field research ; Unobtrusive research ; Evaluation research -- Part 4: Analysis of data. Qualitative data analysis ; Quantitative data analysis ; The elaboration model ; Statistical analyses ; Reading and writing social research -- Appendixes: Using the library ; GSS household enumeration questionnaire ; Random numbers ; Distribution of Chi square ; Normal curve areas ; Estimated sampling error ; Twenty questions a journalist should ask about poll results.