How Do They Know That?
The Process of Social Research
In relatively few pages, Michael Angrosino delivers a high-impact, step-by-step guide to the process of social research. While stressing qualitative methods, he also discusses the processes and attributes of quantitative methods, offering a coherent view of an eight-phased research process. He shows how the phases are linked, how they lead logically from one to the other, and how the end result can have broad implications. Angrosino’s description of conducting research for one of his own projects adds a real-world perspective. Thus, students about to embark on their first independent research project, or individuals with some familiarity and experience, are equipped with an accessible multidisciplinary formula dovetailed with clear illustrations of how each step works.
Each chapter ends with a highly selective list of suggested readings for further exploration as well as discussion questions designed to apply each step in the process to a research project developed by the reader.
Introduction: Doing Social Research
1. Choosing a Topic
2. Deciding on a Problem
3. Conducting a Literature Review
4. Formulating Research Questions
5. Devising a Methodological Strategy
6. Collecting Data
7. Analyzing Data
8. Sharing Results
9. Bringing the Process Full Circle