How Social Science Got Better

Download or read book How Social Science Got Better written by Matt Grossmann and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-05 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It seems like most of what we read about the academic social sciences in the mainstream media is negative. The field is facing mounting criticism, as canonical studies fail to replicate, questionable research practices abound, and researcher social and political biases come under fire. In response to these criticisms, Matt Grossmann, in How Social Science Got Better, provides a robust defense of the current state of the social sciences. Applying insights from the philosophy, history, and sociology of science and providing new data on research trends and scholarly views, he argues that, far from crisis, social science is undergoing an unparalleled renaissance of ever-broader understanding and application. According to Grossmann, social science research today has never been more relevant, rigorous, or self-reflective because scholars have a much better idea of their blind spots and biases. He highlights how scholars now closely analyze the impact of racial, gender, geographic, methodological, political, and ideological differences on research questions; how the incentives of academia influence our research practices; and how universal human desires to avoid uncomfortable truths and easily solve problems affect our conclusions. Though misaligned incentive structures of course remain, a messy, collective deliberation across the research community has shifted us into an unprecedented age of theoretical diversity, open and connected data, and public scholarship. Grossmann's wide-ranging account of current trends will necessarily force the academy's many critics to rethink their lazy critiques and instead acknowledge the path-breaking advances occurring in the social sciences today.

Download or read book Methods That Matter written by M. Cameron Hay and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-05-05 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To do research that really makes a difference -- the authors of this book argue -- social scientists need a diverse set of questions and methods, both qualitative and quantitative, in order to reflect the complexity of the world. Bringing together a consortium of voices across a variety of fields, Methods That Matter offers compelling and successful examples of mixed methods research that does just that. Discussing their own endeavors to combine quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the authors invite readers into a conversation about the best designs and practices of mixed methods to stimulate creative ideas and find new pathways of insight. The result is an engaging exploration of a promising approach to the social sciences. --

Download or read book Social Science Research written by Anol Bhattacherjee and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.

Download or read book Salsa Dancing into the Social Sciences written by Kristin Luker and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is both a handbook for defining and completing a research project, and an astute introduction to the neglected history and changeable philosophy of modern social science.

Download or read book Writing for Social Scientists written by Howard S. Becker and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-11-15 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Students and researchers all write under pressure, and those pressures—most lamentably, the desire to impress your audience rather than to communicate with them—often lead to pretentious prose, academic posturing, and, not infrequently, writer’s block. Sociologist Howard S. Becker has written the classic book on how to conquer these pressures and simply write. First published nearly twenty years ago, Writing for Social Scientists has become a lifesaver for writers in all fields, from beginning students to published authors. Becker’s message is clear: in order to learn how to write, take a deep breath and then begin writing. Revise. Repeat. It is not always an easy process, as Becker wryly relates. Decades of teaching, researching, and writing have given him plenty of material, and Becker neatly exposes the foibles of academia and its “publish or perish” atmosphere. Wordiness, the passive voice, inserting a “the way in which” when a simple “how” will do—all these mechanisms are a part of the social structure of academic writing. By shrugging off such impediments—or at the very least, putting them aside for a few hours—we can reform our work habits and start writing lucidly without worrying about grades, peer approval, or the “literature.” In this new edition, Becker takes account of major changes in the computer tools available to writers today, and also substantially expands his analysis of how academic institutions create problems for them. As competition in academia grows increasingly heated, Writing for Social Scientists will provide solace to a new generation of frazzled, would-be writers.

Download or read book Programming with Python for Social Scientists written by Phillip D. Brooker and published by SAGE Publications Limited. This book was released on 2020-02-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As data become ‘big’, fast and complex, the software and computing tools needed to manage and analyse them are rapidly developing. Social scientists need new tools to meet these challenges, tackle big datasets, while also developing a more nuanced understanding of – and control over – how these computing tools and algorithms are implemented. Programming with Python for Social Scientists offers a vital foundation to one of the most popular programming tools in computer science, specifically for social science researchers, assuming no prior coding knowledge. It guides you through the full research process, from question to publication, including: the fundamentals of why and how to do your own programming in social scientific research, questions of ethics and research design, a clear, easy to follow ‘how-to’ guide to using Python, with a wide array of applications such as data visualisation, social media data research, social network analysis, and more. Accompanied by numerous code examples, screenshots, sample data sources, this is the textbook for social scientists looking for a complete introduction to programming with Python and incorporating it into their research design and analysis.

Download or read book Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences written by Alexander L. George and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2005-04-15 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of case studies to build and test theories in political science and the other social sciences has increased in recent years. Many scholars have argued that the social sciences rely too heavily on quantitative research and formal models and have attempted to develop and refine rigorous methods for using case studies. This text presents a comprehensive analysis of research methods using case studies and examines the place of case studies in social science methodology. It argues that case studies, statistical methods, and formal models are complementary rather than competitive. The book explains how to design case study research that will produce results useful to policymakers and emphasizes the importance of developing policy-relevant theories. It offers three major contributions to case study methodology: an emphasis on the importance of within-case analysis, a detailed discussion of process tracing, and development of the concept of typological theories. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences will be particularly useful to graduate students and scholars in social science methodology and the philosophy of science, as well as to those designing new research projects, and will contribute greatly to the broader debate about scientific methods.