Real Research: Conducting and Evaluating Research in the Social Sciences

Covering both quantitative and qualitative research, this new text teaches the skills for conducting research and how to read and evaluate published research.
Real Research explains the systematic steps used by social scientists to examine the social world, and teaches te skills necessary to read, understand and realistically evaluate published research carried out by others.  The author follows the stages of the research process and presents a model of "ideal" research; but she also emphasizes that research does not always involve an orderly set of steps, and is often affected by limitations such as time and money.