Summary

This comprehensive text offers students balanced coverage of both the qualitative and quantitative approaches to social research. The fourth edition of Social Research Methods renews its commitment to help students learn that social research does not take place in a vacuum, but in a social and historical context that can affect their actions. It teaches students to guard against ethnocentric perspectives, confining their research on the assumptions, values, and beliefs of their own particular society. *Includes a brand new glossary based on reviewer and student suggestions. *Moves the revised ethics chapter forward in the book so students now encounter ethical dilemmas before they move into the chapters on data collection. *Expands the chapter on library research and writing reports. *Combines the qualitative and quantitative design chapters into one to help students better see the comparisons between the two approaches. *Incorporates new and recent studies and expands the information on using the Internet throughout the book. *Presents the most balanced coverage of qualitative and quantitative methods of any book on the market. *Provides an entire chapter on the ethical issues and