Offering an engaging and entertaining introduction to research methods, this is a practical and easy-to-use companion for all new researchers and students in the social sciences. Covering all the key stages of the research process, this book guides students in navigating some of the biggest challenges in developing a research project.

This book:

• Uses real-life everyday examples, connecting research methods to your experiences
• Includes dedicated chapters on identifying a research question, ethics and writing up your findings
• Comprises an array of activities, tips, illustrations and international case studies
• Covers qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research

Bringing methods to life for students across the social sciences, this book will provide you with the confidence you need to get your research off the ground.

About the Author
Dawn Brancati is a political scientist who has published two books and numerous academic articles on the relationship between democratic institutions and intrastate violence.

Reviews
An exceptionally broad, clear, and fair-minded treatment of social science research methodology








John Gerring, Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin -- John Gerring

Dawn Brancati's Social Science Research is a fun, engaging, and intelligent book about the basics of research design. I wish I had it when I was an undergraduate.

Gary King is the Weatherhead University Professor at Harvard University.

-- Gary King

Rich with examples from across the social sciences and comprehensive in its treatment of the diverse empirical tools that social scientists use, Brancati's book will greatly help students to grow their abilities to be both consumers and producers of research. The writing is crisp and engaging throughout, and the end-of-chapter exercises work to fix key concepts in students' minds.

Matthew S. Winters, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

-- Matthew Winters

For faculty, teaching how to conduct social science research is known to be notoriously difficult. For students, learning research methods is mind-numbing. Brancati's book offers a solution to this decades-long dilemma. Inter-weaving concepts with examples from cutting-edge research, Social Scientific Research succinctly explains what makes good social science and how to do it.

Kosuke Imai, Author of Quantitative Social Science: An Introduction (Princeton University Press)

-- Kosuke Imai
Dawn Brancati has written a social science methods book that is, in one, the broadest and most accessible text I have seen. In addition to being a terrific stand alone text for an introductory methods course, it would be an excellent addition to an introductory course in data analysis and statistics to give students a sense of the range of other research methods available and of issues, beyond methodology, in social science research.

Robert Y. Shapiro is a professor of Political Science at Columbia University

? -- Robert Shapiro

Brancati's Social Scientific Research is an important book. It is readable, comprehensive, and a great starting point for those new to research in the social sciences. Brancati-a masterful mentor to both undergraduate and graduate resesearchers-covers research design, both quantitative and qualtitative methods, and provides rich practical guidance for those doing their own research projects or assessing the work of others. I highly recommend this widely to those who both want to understand and do social science.

Andrew D. Martin is the current dean of the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and a Professor at the University of Michigan.

-- Andrew Martin



Book Information
ISBN 9781526426857
Author Dawn Brancati
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Sage Publications Ltd
Publisher Sage Publications Ltd
Weight(grams) 690g