Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences

A strong understanding and appreciation of statistics and quantitative research methods is vital to any graduate student of the social sciences, yet most similar texts do not adequately cover this subject. With this in mind, the author has designed a text suitable for first-year graduate survey courses that reviews general statistical theory and methods and explores the problems that quantitative social scientists face in conducting research. The topics covered in this book range from the philosophical basis of scientific research to issues of statistical inference, measurement, scaling, research design, sampling, and problems with missing data. Numerous examples are drawn from a range of specialties to illustrate a variety of practical applications. After providing an overview of the philosophical basis of quantitative social science, the book presents the concepts of theory formalization and causality. It then moves into more specific areas, focusing extensively on issues of design and data collection. Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences is accessible to students with an intermediate-level background in social statistics and research methods. Professionals will find this detailed yet concise book to be an excellent reference. With over 350 classical and up-to-date citations, Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences has something to offer all social science researchers.