The elements of social scientific thinking

Title:

Personal Author:

Hoover, Kenneth R., 1940-

Edition:

10th ed.

Publication Information:

Boston, MA : Wadsworth Cengage Learning, c2011

Physical Description:

ix, 198 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.

ISBN:

9781439082423

Subject Term:

Social sciences -- Methodology

Added Author:

Donovan, Todd

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ KL	30000010262003	H61 H682 2011	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown

A concise introduction to the fundamental concepts of social scientific thinking and research, this classic text makes scientific thinking, research methods and statistics accessible to undergraduates at a common sense level. This text is intended for use in a broad array of the social sciences, including Political Science, Sociology and Psychology.

Preface	p. v
About the Authors	p. ix
1 Thinking Scientifically	p. 1
Why Bother to Be Systematic?	p. 4
The Role of Reasoned judgment and Opinion	p. 5
The Role of Imagination, Intuition, and Custom	p. 6
2 The Elements of Science	p. 11
The Origin and Utility of Concepts	p. 12
What Is a Variable?	p. 15
The Hypothesis	p. 24
The Scientific Method	p. 27
The Many Roles of Theory	p. 29
3 Strategies	p. 38
Thinking Over the Problem	p. 40
Reality Testing	p. 46
Understanding the Results	p. 50
4 Refinements	p. 58
Hypotheses	p. 59
Variables	p. 73
5 Measuring Variables and Relationships	p. 78
Measuring Variables: Levels of Measurement	p. 79
Measuring the Significance and Representativeness of Data: Probability, Sampling, and Problems in Polling	p. 84
Measuring Relationships Between Variables: Association and Correlation	p. 92
Computers and Statistics	p. 113
6 Reflections: Back to the Roots	p. 118
Factuality, Reality, and Actuality	p. 119
Morality and the Limits of Science	p. 122
Of Scientists, Science, and Paradigms	p. 127
Making Social Science Serve Human Needs	p. 129
The Radicalism of Science	p. 132
Science and Politics	p. 133
Appendix A Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America	p. 138
Appendix B Trust in Government: The United States in Comparative Perspective	p. 167
Index	p. 192

Available:*

On Order

Summary

Summary

Table of Contents