Designed for undergraduate and graduate research methods courses offered by departments of sociology, criminal justice, social work, political science, public policy, communication, and family studies. This highly regarded text presents a comprehensive and balanced introduction to both qualitative and quantitative approaches to social research, emphasizing the benefits of combining various approaches. - New appendix on Evaluation Research help students see how to apply research in practical settings. - Chapter on Survey Research (Ch. 10) has been expanded to cover the latest cutting-edge techniques of carrying out Web surveys and Internet survey research. - Chapter 3, "Theory and Research," has been revised to help students with no prior coursework in social theory understand the importance of theory and its connection to research. - The politics of research is now discussed in the context of writing a literature report (Ch. 16). - Examples and diagrams have been updated throughout. - Presents a more balanced coverage of qualitative and quantitative methods than any other book on the market, and illustrates how the greatest benefit often comes from combining various approaches. - Discusses the social and historical context of research, and teaches students to recognize ethnocentric perspectives and the assumptions, values, and beliefs of their own society. - Contains many explanatory diagrams and interesting examples drawn from scholarly literature. - Incorporates feminist and postmodernist theories in the "Meaning of Methodologies" chapter (Ch. 4). - Covers Writing a literature review and ethics early in Chapter 5. - Concludes with a chapter on writing a research report. - Optional student workbook provides additional research exercises. Student workbook can be packaged with the book at a considerable discount! The value pack ISBN for ordering this text plus the discounted student workbook is 0-205-36885-9.