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Becoming a Social Science Researcher: Quest and Context
Bruce Parrott
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Becoming a Social Science Researcher is designed to help aspiring social scientists, including credentialed scholars, understand the formidable complexities of the research process. Instead of explaining specific research techniques, it concentrates on the philosophical, sociological, and psychological dimensions of social research. These dimensions have received little coverage in guides written for social science researchers, but they are arguably even more important than particular analytical techniques. Truly sophisticated social science scholarship requires that researchers understand the intellectual and social contexts in which they collect and interpret information. While social science training in US graduate schools has become more systematic over the past two decades, graduate training and published guidance still fall short in addressing this fundamental need.
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Preface
List of Illustrations
Part I. Preview
Introduction
Chapter Summaries
Part II. Your Quest in Context
I. Perception and Misperception in Life and Scholarship
II. Social Science and History
III. Scholarship as Social Process and as Politics
IV. Progress in the Social Sciences
V. Dimensions of the Social Sciences
Part III. Your Quest: Weighing Intellectual Choices
VI. Building Professional Relationships and Preparing for Your Doctoral Exams
VII. Choosing Research Problems
VIII. Concepts and Concept Formation
IX. Theories, Hypotheses, and Research Designs
X. Case Studies and Comparative Methods
XI. Logics of Explanation
Part IV. Your Quest: From Planning to Finishing
XII. Planning Your Project and Writing a Prospectus
XIII. Mapping Research Resources and Gathering Evidence