Exploring Research, 9th edition

For courses in Experimental Methods and in Research Methods in Political Science and Sociology

An informative and unintimidating look at the basics of research in the social and behavioral sciences

Exploring Research makes research methods accessible for students – describing how to collect and analyze data, and providing thorough instruction on how to prepare and write a research proposal and manuscript. Author Neil Salkind covers the research process, problem selection, sampling and generalizability, and the measurement process. He also incorporates the most common types of research models used in the social and behavioral sciences, including qualitative methods. The Ninth Edition explores the use of electronic sources (the Internet) as a means to enhance research skills, includes discussions about scientific methods, and places a strong emphasis on ethics.

NOTE: This ISBN is for a Pearson Books a la Carte edition: a convenient, three-hole-punched, loose-leaf text. In addition to the flexibility offered by this format, Books a la Carte editions offer students great value, as they cost significantly less than a bound textbook.

IMPROVING CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

• Questions, inserted after many sections, help the reader summarize the content in that part of the chapter and serve, if so desired, as a starting-off point for discussion. These Test Yourself questions don’t necessarily have a right or a wrong answer – they are there to help facilitate thinking and discussion about the topic at hand.
• Answers to the end-of-chapter questions appear at the end of the book in a separate appendix (Appendix C), to accommodate reviewer feedback.
• Chapter objectives, called What You’ll Learn about in This Chapter, help students organize and understand the material to be covered within the chapter.  
• Exercises, at the end of each chapter, offer students extra practice in problem solving. Answers are provided to enhance the learning experience.  
• Additional readings are referenced at the end of each chapter, giving students valuable information for further study.  

ENGAGING STUDENTS WITH A USER-FRIENDLY APPROACH AND HELPFUL FEATURES

• A friendly, approachable writing style helps teach students how to collect and analyze data.
• Thorough instruction on research writing is provided and made simple with the following two chapters: Writing a Research Proposal (Ch. 13) and Writing a Research Manuscript (Ch. 14).  
• NEW! Information about the use of the latest, Sixth Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is contained in the last chapter.
• NEW! Appendix A provides some tips and tricks for using Excel for data analysis.
• Margin notes on each page highlight important points contained in the text. These can be used for review purposes and help to emphasize especially important points. There’s also room for students to write their own notes in the margins.  
• A glossary of important terms is found at the end of the book. The terms found in the glossary also appear in boldface in the text.  

EXPLORING RESEARCH AND ETHICS

• NEW! Excel is the tool of choice, rather than SPSS, for whatever data analysis discussions take place. Excel is available almost everywhere – including colleges, universities and other institutions – and many students already have it installed on their personal computers.
• NEW! The online sources for more exploration are increased by about 25%.
• Thorough coverage of ethics is provided, as this topic has become increasingly important to beginning researchers. The author includes coverage of the history of how ethical practices have progressed, as well as brief coverage of some important case studies.
• NEW and UPDATED! Coverage of software for dealing with qualitative data and the development and refinement of bibliographies is new or improved.
• NEW and UPDATED!The material on the use of the Internet for research is updated with more information about conducting research and literature reviews online, and includes new information on how social media can be used in a research context. Information on previous topics such as email, that were once new to our research endeavors but are now “old hat”, has been significantly reduced to allow room for other material.

• The research process, problem selection, sampling and generalizability, and the measurement process are discussed in a way that makes research exploration accessible to students.
• A detailed description on how to collect and analyze data is provided.
• The most common types of research models in the social and behavioral sciences – including qualitative methods – are incorporated.  

• Information about the use of the latest, Sixth Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is contained in the last chapter.
• Appendix A provides some tips and tricks for using Excel for data analysis.
• Excel is the tool of choice, rather than SPSS, for whatever data analysis discussions take place. Excel is available almost everywhere — including colleges, universities and other institutions — and many students already have it installed on their personal computers.
• The online sources for more exploration are increased by about 25%.
• UPDATED! Coverage of software for dealing with qualitative data and the development and refinement of bibliographies is new or improved.
• UPDATED!The material on the use of the Internet for research is updated with more information about conducting research and literature reviews online, and includes new information on how social media can be used in a research context. Information on previous topics such as email, that were once new to our research endeavors but are now “old hat”, has been significantly reduced to allow room for other material.