Social Science Research Methodology Reinterpreted

Author: Tang Shengming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Social science research methods include three major areas: social science research methods themselves, related statistical methods, and the use of computer statistical software. This book provides a detailed introduction, divided into four parts: Part 1 introduces the fundamentals of social science research. The second chapter of this part is a comprehensive overview, explaining some basic concepts and the process of social science research. Part 2 introduces important concepts and methods of traditional social science research, including chapters on selecting research proposals, measuring abstract concepts, and sampling methods. Part 3 focuses on the application of common statistical analysis methods. Although the use of statistical formulas is unavoidable in these chapters, the emphasis of this part lies on the social contexts in which various statistical methods are suitable, rather than the derivation of statistical formulas. Part 4 covers the use of SPSS, the most commonly used data analysis software in social science research. In these chapters, readers can input, process, and analyze data themselves. Based on mastering the majority of the aforementioned content, readers should be able to interpret and judge the data output from computers independently. Although data analysis ultimately relies on computer applications, without systematic knowledge of research methods and statistical methods, readers still cannot correctly use SPSS statistical software to obtain accurate results. Additionally, to help readers familiarize themselves with the writing format of social science papers, I have included an example of a survey report in the appendix.