This textbook provides a clear, concise, and comprehensive introduction to methodological issues encountered by the various social science disciplines. It emphasizes applications, with detailed examples, so that readers can put these methods to work in their research. Within a unified framework, John Gerring and Dino Christenson integrate a variety of methods - descriptive and causal, observational and experimental, qualitative and quantitative. The text covers a wide range of topics including research design, data-gathering techniques, statistics, theoretical frameworks, and social science writing. It is designed both for those attempting to make sense of social science, as well as those aiming to conduct original research. The text is accompanied by online practice questions, exercises, examples, and additional resources, including related readings and websites. An essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate programs in communications, criminal justice, economics, business, finance, management, education, environmental policy, international development, law, political science, public health, public policy, social work, sociology, and urban planning.
- A clear, concise and comprehensive introduction to social science methodology, with an emphasis on application
- Uses a unified framework, integrating a variety of methods including descriptive and causal, observational and experimental, and qualitative and quantitative
- Supplementary online resources include questions, exercises, chapter lecture slides, a hypothetical data set and suggestions for further reading
- Applicable to all social science disciplines including politics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, business, and economics
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Reviews & endorsements
'An excellent guide to the main approaches and issues of social science research design. It offers a clear guide through the thicket of terms and concepts with effective use of examples. A valuable work for students of any level.' Kenneth Benoit, London School of Economics and Political Science
'Rich, compelling, engaging, passionate and in crystal-clear style. Gerring and Christenson have done an excellent job in promoting an integrated and pluralist vision of methodology and research design.' Martino Maggetti, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
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Product details
- Date Published: April 2017
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781107416819
- length: 442 pages
- dimensions: 245 x 188 x 20 mm
- weight: 0.95kg
- contains: 48 b/w illus.
- availability: In stock
Table of Contents
Preface
Part I. Building Blocks:
1. A unified framework
2. Arguments
3. Concepts and measures
4. Analyses
Part II. Causality:
5. Causal frameworks
6. Causal hypotheses and analyses
7. Experimental designs
8. Large-N observational designs
9. Case study designs
10. Diverse tools of causal inference
Part III. Process and Presentation:
11. Reading and reviewing
12. Brainstorming
13. Data gathering
14. Writing
15. Speaking
16. Ethics
Part IV. Statistics:
17. Data management
18. Univariate statistics
19. Probability distributions
20. Statistical inference
21. Bivariate statistics
22. Regression
23. Causal inference
24. Appendix
References
Index.
Look Inside
Authors
John Gerring, University of Texas, Austin
John Gerring is Professor of Government at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of several books, including Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework, 2nd edition (Cambridge, 2012) and Case Study Research: Principles and Practices, 2nd edition (Cambridge, forthcoming, 2017). He is also co-editor of the Cambridge series, Strategies for Social Inquiry.
Dino Christenson, Boston University
Dino Christenson is Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston University and a Faculty Affiliate at the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science and Engineering at Boston University. His articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior and Social Networks, among other publications.