Methodological Thinking

Donileen R. Loseke is a Professor Emeritus in the department of sociology at the University of South Florida. She received her BA and MA in psychology (California State University, Dominguez Hills) and her PhD in sociology (University of California, Santa Barbara). Her books include Narrative Productions of Meanings: Exploring the Work of Stories in Social Life; Methodological Thinking: Basic Principles of Social Research Design, 2e; The Battered Woman and Shelters, which won the Charles Horton Cooley Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction; and Thinking About Social Problems. She also is the editor of Current Controversies on Family Violence (with Richard Gelles) and Social Problems: Constructionist Readings (with Joel Best). Numerous journal articles and book chapters report the findings of her empirical research projects, which have been on a variety of topics including evaluation research, social problems, criminal justice, social service provision, occupations, emotion, identity, and narrative and have used a variety of data generation techniques including field experiment, written survey, in-depth interview, ethnography, and document analysis. Among her editorial positions include former editor of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, advisory editor for Social Problems and Deputy Editor for Social Psychology Quarterly.  She received the Mead Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction and was the Past- President of the Study of Social Problems as well as Past-President of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.

Methodological Thinking is a highly accessible, practical guide to the often-intimidating process of designing a research project. An excellent starting point for an undergraduate course in social research fundamentals, full of useful examples and uncomplicated explanations of the starting stages of the research process.

• 1. Exploring the World of Social Research DesignDefining Social ResearchThe Study of Social Research DesignEvaluating Social ResearchMethodological ThinkingStudying Research Design as Methodological ThinkingMethods in Theory and in Practice2. FoundationsFoundation I: Data, Concepts, and TheoryFoundation II: The Logic of Relationships Between Data and Concepts/TheoryFoundation III: Philosophies of ScienceThe Qualitative Versus Quantitative DebateFoundations and Research Design3. Research QuestionsCharacteristics of Appropriate Research QuestionsIdentifying Research Questions in Published ResearchCreating Research QuestionsThinking Ahead: Developing Questions That Will Be Ethical and Practical to StudyRevising Research QuestionsEvaluating Research QuestionsResearch Questions and Research Design4. Literature ReviewsDefining "The Literature"Existing Knowledge as Tools for Research DesignDefining the Relevant LiteratureThinking About the Review TaskThe Contents and Form of Literature ReviewsEvaluating Literature ReviewsLiterature Reviews and Research DesignExamples of Social Research Article Databases5. MeasurementConceptualization and Conceptual DefinitionsOperationalization and Operational DefinitionsConceptualization and Operationalization in Research Led by Inductive ReasoningMeasurement Problems in Social ResearchEvaluating MeasurementMeasurement and Research Design6. Data Generation TechniquesResearch Questions and DataData Generation TechniquesPlanning AheadData Generation Techniques and Research Design7. SamplesPopulations and Samples in Social ResearchThe Importance of Samples in Social ResearchProbability SamplesNon-probability SamplesEvaluating Samples in Published ResearchSamples and Research Design8. Summary: Thinking About Social Research DesignFoundations of Research Design and Evaluation: Methodological ThinkingEvaluating Research Design: VariationsAssessing Research QualityCharacteristics of High-Quality Reports of Research DesignEnding and BeginningsAppendix: Suggestions for Further ReadingAppendix: Articles Used as Examples