Reddit mentions: The best social sciences methodology books
We found 32 Reddit comments discussing the best social sciences methodology books. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 25 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. Field Methods in Archaeology, 7th Edition
- Used Book in Good Condition
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Specs:
Height | 8.75 Inches |
Length | 7.38 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2009 |
Weight | 1.99959271634 Pounds |
Width | 1.01 Inches |
2. The Fundamentals of Political Science Research
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 10 Inches |
Length | 7 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.5652820602 Pounds |
Width | 1 Inches |
3. Counterfactuals and Causal Inference: Methods and Principles for Social Research (Analytical Methods for Social Research)
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 8.75 Inches |
Length | 6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.992080179 Pounds |
Width | 0.75 Inches |
4. You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist
Used Book in Good Condition
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Height | 9.1999816 Inches |
Length | 7.0999858 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 2.6 Pounds |
Width | 1.0999978 Inches |
5. Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
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Height | 9.94 Inches |
Length | 7.03 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | November 2017 |
Weight | 2.44933573082 Pounds |
Width | 1.06 Inches |
6. Fieldwork Is Not What It Used to Be: Learning Anthropology's Method in a Time of Transition
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Height | 9 Inches |
Length | 6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.7 Pounds |
Width | 0.56 Inches |
7. Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences (Contemporary Societies)
- We are extremely proud of the products we present to you. Every item is carefully designed to ensure the right grade of leather or weight of fabric is used.
- Premium Black Grain Pigskin
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Features:
Specs:
Height | 8.2 Inches |
Length | 5.6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | February 2004 |
Weight | 0.6503636729 Pounds |
Width | 0.9 Inches |
8. Constructing Grounded Theory (Introducing Qualitative Methods series)
- Sage Publications Ltd
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Height | 9.53 Inches |
Length | 6.69 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | April 2014 |
Weight | 1.5652820602 Pounds |
Width | 0.94 Inches |
9. Reclaiming a Scientific Anthropology
- Used Book in Good Condition
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Height | 9.05 Inches |
Length | 6.06 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | September 2008 |
Weight | 0.89948602896 Pounds |
Width | 0.79 Inches |
10. Interviews in Qualitative Research
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Height | 9.4 Inches |
Length | 6.6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2019 |
Weight | 1.25 Pounds |
Width | 0.8 Inches |
11. Foundations of Social Theory
- Used Book in Good Condition
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Height | 9.24 Inches |
Length | 6.4 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | August 1998 |
Weight | 2.5794084654 Pounds |
Width | 1.67 Inches |
12. Archaeological Thinking: How to Make Sense of the Past
- Rowman Littlefield Publishers
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Height | 8.99 Inches |
Length | 6.03 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | October 2014 |
Weight | 0.69004688006 Pounds |
Width | 0.56 Inches |
13. Essential Ethnographic Methods: A Mixed Methods Approach, 2nd Edition (Ethnographer's Toolkit)
Altamira Press
Specs:
Height | 8.96 Inches |
Length | 5.9 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | October 2012 |
Weight | 1.26104413864 Pounds |
Width | 1.16 Inches |
14. The Forest and the Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice, and Promise
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Height | 8.25 Inches |
Length | 5.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.65 Pounds |
Width | 0.8 Inches |
15. Comparative Social Policy: Concepts, Theories and Methods
Used Book in Good Condition
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Height | 9.8425 Inches |
Length | 5.9055 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.9810570659 Pounds |
Width | 0.59055 Inches |
16. Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods
- For Shure Wireless Transmitters | Professional Omnidirectional Capsule
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Height | 8.999982 Inches |
Length | 5.999988 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.5621787681 Pounds |
Width | 0.2499995 Inches |
17. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches
- Research Design
- John W. Creswell and J. David Creswell
- 978-1506386706
- 1506386709
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Specs:
Height | 10 Inches |
Length | 7 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | December 2017 |
Weight | 1.2 Pounds |
Width | 0.69 Inches |
18. Mathematics for Social Scientists (NULL)
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- 10 NOAA WEATHER CHANNELS - Be the first to know of incoming hazards or changing weather w/ instant access to NOAA weather channels 24 hours a day and audible tone if an emergency or threatening weather is nearby while monitoring up to 3 channels at once
- DUAL WATCH - select two channels to constantly monitor simultaneously. Keep an ear open for incoming transmissions on multiple channels so you will hear alerts around you.
- 40 CHANNEL ACCESS - Navigate the complete range of 40 channels for full coverage of CB stations.
Features:
Specs:
Height | 9.125 Inches |
Length | 7.375 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | September 2015 |
Weight | 1.5652820602 Pounds |
Width | 0.92 Inches |
19. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches
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Features:
Specs:
Height | 9.09447 Inches |
Length | 7.44093 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2017 |
Weight | 1.58953290902 Pounds |
Width | 0.7874 Inches |
20. Modern Social Theory
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 8.5 Inches |
Length | 5.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | May 1997 |
Weight | 1.1243575362 Pounds |
Width | 0.62 Inches |
🎓 Reddit experts on social sciences methodology books
The comments and opinions expressed on this page are written exclusively by redditors. To provide you with the most relevant data, we sourced opinions from the most knowledgeable Reddit users based the total number of upvotes and downvotes received across comments on subreddits where social sciences methodology books are discussed. For your reference and for the sake of transparency, here are the specialists whose opinions mattered the most in our ranking.
I'm a Political Methodologist; I'm happy to give you some help. It would be useful to know what your mathematical background is, and what sort of things you're interested in doing. You have to understand, to me, this question is a little bit like "I'm interested in American Politics; suggest an introductory text, please." There's a huge variety of stuff going on here, it's hard to know where to start.
Do you want to be able to read statistics wrt PoliSci? Or are you interested in figuring out how everything works, so that you can create / replicate?
If you want something very undergraduate centric, my undergrad research methods class used the Kellstedt and Whitten book. It was fine, but obviously very rudimentary. It will get you to understand some of the big picture type stuff, as well as some of the simple statistical nuts and bolts you'd want to understand. This class also used the everpresent King, Keohane and Verba text, which is oriented around qualitative work, but Gary King is the foremost quantitative methodologist in the discipline, so it's still pretty good (and "qualitative" certainly doesn't mean "non-rigorous" -- it's cited a lot because it really delves into deeply into research design). That said, I don't remember a whole lot about this class anymore, and I haven't looked in these books for ages. My feeling is that both of these books will probably be close to what you're looking for -- they're oriented around intuition and identifying the main issues in inference in the social sciences, without getting too bogged down in all of the math.
That said, if you have more math background, I'd suggest Mostly Harmless Econometrics which is often used as a first year graduate level quant methods book. It's absolutely fantastic, but it isn't easy if you don't have the math background. It may also assume some preexisting rudimentary probability or statistical knowledge. I'd also suggest the Morgan and Winship. These two books are structured more around causal inference, which is a subtle reframing of the whole "statistics in the social sciences".
For more nuts and bolts econometrics, Baby Wooldridge is one of the standards. I think it's pretty often used in undergrad econ classes.
In general, though, statistics is statistics, so if you want to learn it, find an appropriate level of statistics/econometrics book.
Take a look at those books in your library/online/etc and see if any of them are what you're looking for.
Well, we'll be focusing a lot on discussion, and I can promise no tests just so long as class participation is good. Right now, I'm about 90% sure we'll use Dalton Conley's "You May Ask Yourself" as a textbook, and I'll be throwing some other fun readings on the side.
The main goal is to get you thinking like a sociologist - looking at your everyday experiences in terms of the social. So, we'll be looking at race, class, gender, age, institutions - all the classic stuff.
I'm teaching it this semester - you'll benefit from the mistakes I've made - and everyone seems to be enjoying it so far! I keep things pretty relaxed, and am open to talking about (or more about) things the students are most interested in.
(Oops, my mistake. Edited the original post. Thanks!)
I agree with /u/keyilan that its not too late to go back to school in your 30s. I started my PhD at 33. I have a friend who started her MA (and is now in a PhD program) in her 50s. That being said, if you have a stable job you're happy with and want to avoid going into debt, and if you're not completely and totally sure you want to pursue a degree in anthropology, then it's probably better to be an autodidact.
Anyway, here's some suggestions for some stuff on sociocultural anthropology methodology (and historical descriptions of such things) that may be of interest to you.
Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches by H. Russel Bernard (he is the methods guy in sociocultural anthro--and this book is rather dry but super detailed and will teach you all the basics of anthro methodology.)
Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith (a classic text in indigenous methods.)
Participant Observation and The Ethnographic Interview by James Spradley
Fieldwork Is Not What It Used To Be edited by James Faubion and George Marcus (I have not read this, but have heard good things about it.)
Before Boas: The Genesis of Ethnography and Ethnology in the German Enlightenment by Han Vermeulen (this is a history of ethnographic methods rather than a book about methodology, but it's super interesting.)
As everyone else has said, textbooks are not going to teach you the physical way of excavating anything. All it will do is describe to you the process and the thinking behind the process. For a thorough education in field methods, I always recommend participating in or volunteering on an actual excavation. It's the best way to determine whether archaeology or history is better for you (I have several friends who changed their major after not enjoying their first excavation).
Most universities offer a field school, a university sponsored excavation for the express purpose of introducing students into field methods and practice. The site I work at is the field school for a few universities, including Harvard.
Here is a link to the website, which includes a volunteer application, if you are interested in working in Israel.
http://digashkelon.com/
I realize you may be more interested in digging in Britain. By all means, look up field schools there. It is by far the best way of learning methods, and you learn far more than you can learn in a book. You learn how it feels, how to determine what tool to use, how certain decisions are made about where to dig and how to dig, how the recording process works, etc.
If you feel the need to read a book anyway, I suggest Field Methods in Archaeology.
http://www.amazon.com/FIELD-METHODS-IN-ARCHAEOLOGY-SEVENTH/dp/1598744283
This was my first textbook I ever purchased, and I still have it, though I have not read it since that first semester. It was actually a textbook used for a field school, so I think it would cover most of the issues you want to know.
The books that I most need are:
Principles of Archaeology
Field Methods in Archaeology
Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice
They are kinda pricey, which is why I haven't been able to get them yet, but nowhere near $100. And used is perfectly fine. I've just been borrowing from the library whenever they are available, so it's not urgent that I get them, but it would be nice to not have to stay in the library for hours, because you can't leave with textbooks. And in case it wasn't obvious, my major is Anthropology with a specialization in Archaeology. I am taking about four archeology classes this semester alone.
Also, if those are way too out of price range, I have a whole wishlist full of learning resources. Anything would help!
Archaeology Learning And Resources Wishlist
Buy this:
https://www.amazon.com/Methods-Discovery-Heuristics-Contemporary-Societies/dp/0393978141
Abbott is a qualitative sociologist, but his comparisons of different social science methods and how arguments are constructed is something I found very useful as a graduate student and now assign my own students (and they love it). Its good for thinking about your projects on the way to getting some pubs out, but also really helpful for learning how to teach the things we know to students.
If you need help constructing and conducting qualitative interviews, I strongly recommend the following books:
Kathy Charmaz's (2014) Constructing Grounded Theory 2nd edition
This is a very readable introduction to Grounded Theory and has a good chapter on crafting/conducting intensive interviews.
Brinkmann & Kvale's (2015) InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing 3rd edition.
A comprehensive guide to conducting research interviews.
Rubin & Rubin's (2012) Qualitative interviewing: the art of hearing data 3rd edition.
A good overview of the responsive interviewing approach.
> I get that you are using free market theory for the basis of your argument (like a Christian citing the bible), and that Graeber and anthropology disagrees with those free market theorists. I find that amusing but hardly challenging or even anything to be taken seriously.
So, back at ya I guess? You are citing a singular anarchist anthropologist, like a Christian citing the bible.
>the state already exists. Thus markets. That example doesn't refute Graeber at all. It proves him. Lol.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc. That argument does not follow.
>And anyhow, I've read the Hummel piece before, he clearly had an ideological blockage that prevented him from understanding what Graeber was saying.
I would argue that Graeber has an ideological blockage that prevents him from understanding economics and economic history. I like Graeber's analysis sometimes -- he's a good writer and has some things to contribute -- but he's a quintessential ideologue that works backwards from his established political conclusions. There are certainly instances where markets and money preceded barter, but the historical record does not reveal that this is always true or even that it was common.
>You need to understand the conditions prevailing then -- no one was buying or bartering anything and debt money was used to account for social ineaqualities and social relations (marriages, etc). And you didn't trade for equivalents. Thus, not barter and not markets. Sorry bro.
Going by Graeber's redefinition of barter, and the marxist definition of markets, correct. However using the consensus definition of both muddies the water a lot more. Graeber (saying again that I ike some of his work) unfortunately continues the recent trend (the last 30 years or so) of social anthropology that is deeply anti-science and draws dubious conclusions with a high level of confirmation bias. Dr. Lawrence Kuznar as well as Dr.Edward Dutton have both written great critiques of modern anthropologists and their dubious postulating.
Your best shot is to read a book on the topic. My personal favorites are:
3) Learning from Strangers by Weiss is also a great introduction
There is really no shortage of resources on the topic- there are also mountains of journal articles covering the topic as well.
Congrats! Economy and Society? [Foundations of Social Theory] (http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Social-Theory-James-Coleman/dp/0674312260/)? Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences? I'd go for the latter, definitely helped me the most (and I still use it regularly).
Also check out this list or this one.
EDIT: A question is also whether you want to have a book to put on your shelf or whether you actually want to read/use it.
>First, can any of you recommend some good kid-friendly resources for learning the fundamentals of physics, electrical theory and engineering, particularly as they relate to Nerf blasters?
https://smile.amazon.com/Nerf-Blaster-Modification-Guide-Unofficial-ebook/dp/B07KGG7P89/
https://smile.amazon.com/Thinking-Physics-Practical-Lessons-Critical/dp/0935218068/
This same kind of thing can be accomplished using breadboard, nerf mod supplies, switches, battery packs, solid-core wire, and a multimeter.
https://smile.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Electronics-Exploration/dp/B00008BFZH/
https://smile.amazon.com/3D-Printing-Projects-DK/dp/0241302218/
And then when a bit older
https://smile.amazon.com/Research-Design-Qualitative-Quantitative-Approaches/dp/1506386709/
I would strongly recommend Charles Orser's Archaeological Thinking: How to Make Sense of the Past as an introduction to how archaeologists collect data and interpret into cohesive ideas. It gets into the fascinating, fundamental questions of archaeological methodology without the boring fact dumps of a textbook like Greene's.
Archaeologist here (but married to a cultural anth ;-) ). I've found the Ethnographer's Toolkit series to be a good, clearly explained resource. There are seven volumes detailing different methods and stages of research. I've mostly used Vols 1 (Designing) and 5 (Analysing) and liked their explanations. Each book is about $35 so check with your libraries to see if they carry them or can order them. It also looks like the series editors have a one-volume edition of "Essential Ethnographic Methods" for $35 as well, but I haven't read that one. Might have to pick it up the next time I'm doing qualitative research though.
> Please tell me about your experiences, so that I can judge.
Amazing. In any case, the book was by Allan G Johnson.
>Because since they receive all these amazing perks by paying such a high tax rate, then wouldn’t it be logical to say that they could achieve perfection if they paid 100% in taxes.
That doesn't follow logic? The logic is that higher input (at a manageable % of income) + higher output (at a manageable % of GDP) = more productive society; not that 100% input = more productive society. I understand where it's possible to get confused, but it does take a bit of a leap to take it to the absolute extreme there.
It could be good for you to read Esping-Anderson's Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Clasen's Comparative Social Policy and Pierson's The Welfare State Reader, if you're confused about some of the logic behind Social Democratic states.
Its taught in universities to some extent. The technical term is ethnic pseudoscience.
http://www.amazon.ca/Research-Is-Ceremony-Indigenous-Methods/dp/1552662810/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=0Q9BWXY159DD783MSEHQ
This sort of thing. I had a Social Justice class (which I failed) which tried to get us to take Vine Deloria's creationism seriously. Like I'm sorrying - genetics and linguistics kinda throw a wrench into that mystical horseshit.
If you ever feel like you need or want more math backround, you could try Mathematics for social sciences
Step 1: Deep breath.
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Step 2: see if you can find this book at your school's library - it breaks down grounded theory in a way that makes it easy to digest and understand: https://www.amazon.com/Qualitative-Inquiry-Research-Design-Approaches/dp/1506330207
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Step 3: Talk to your advisor about your confusion - explain how you've looked into what grounded theory is and you're unsure of how to use it with the data you've already collected. Can they talk you through some basics, or recommend another faculty member who can?
Looking for:
The Practice of Nursing Research. Appraisal, Synthesis, and Generation of Evidence (8e) – Gray, Grove, and Sutherland
ISBN-10: 9780323377584
ISBN-13: 978-0323377584
Amazon.ca - https://www.amazon.ca/Burns-Groves-Practice-Nursing-Research/dp/0323377580/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+practice+of+nursing+research&qid=1568254522&s=digital-skills&sr=8-1
Research Design (5 e.) – John Creswell
ISBN-10: 1506386709
ISBN-13: 978-1506386706
Amazon.ca - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1506386709/ref=ox_sc_act_image_3?smid=A1UCKYHWK5O0P5&psc=1
Women’s Health, Second Edition: Intersections of Policy, Research, and Practice – Armstrong and Pederson
ISBN-10: 0889615705
ISBN-13: 978-0889615700
Amazon.ca - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0889615705/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&psc=1
Knowledge Development in Nursing: Theory and Process (8e) – Chinn and Kramer
ISBN-10: 0323530613
ISBN-13: 978-0323530613
Amazon.ca -https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0323530613/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A12UFBL1JPT2UF&psc=1
Check out Johnny Saldana's books on qualitative coding approaches https://www.amazon.com/Coding-Manual-Qualitative-Researchers/dp/1446247376 this is the second edition but i bet you can get the first much cheaper or in PDF form. Also look at Cathy Charmaz's texts on grounded theory coding https://www.amazon.com/Constructing-Grounded-Introducing-Qualitative-Methods/dp/0857029142/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1500701882&amp;sr=1-1-fkmr1&amp;keywords=cathy+charmaz+qualitative+grounded+theory+constructing
Modern Social Theory: Key Debates And New Directions