Methodology Sources
Social scientists use a variety of methods to operationalize their hypotheses, test their questions, and generate primary data.
Your challenge is figure out a methodology that is appropriate to the research question you want to ask.
It may be that, as you were doing the background reading to find your question, you noticed the methods that were used by other researchers in your area. These models can be an excellent place to start. If you're not sure that the methods you have seen are a good fit for your question or don't fully understand what a particular method will involve, the items listed below might give you some guidance. And as always, consult with your instructor or project advisor whenever you have methodological uncertainties.
Faculty Recommended Core Resources
These methodology texts are recommended by the research advisors in the Social Sciences. Not all texts will necessarily work for all questions, but many will have valuable suggestions.
Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices by ISBN: 9781475146127Publication Date: 2012-04-05This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines.
Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement by ISBN: 0761920455Publication Date: 2002-01-24A comprehensive introduction to qualitative methods including a review of existing computer applications for collecting and analyzing data; information about the use of computers and online research techniques; coverage on new scales, internal and external validity, and new analytic techniques with extensive references on each; abstracts, citations and subject groupings by measurement tool; coverage of ethical issues; expansion of social indicators to include international coverage;and a discussion of the importance of policy research with presentation and discussion of specific models as an adjunct to both applied and basic research techniques.
Social Science Methodology by ISBN: 9780521115049Publication Date: 2011-12-15A one-volume introduction to social science methodology relevant to the disciplines of anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology and sociology. This edition has a thorough treatment of essential elements such as conceptualization, measurement, causality and research design. It is written for students, long-time practitioners and methodologists and covers both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Tale of Two Cultures by ISBN: 1283539993Publication Date: 2012-01-01Some in the social sciences argue that the same logic applies to both qualitative and quantitative methods. In "A Tale of Two Cultures," Gary Goertz and James Mahoney demonstrate that these two paradigms constitute different cultures, each internally coherent yet marked by contrasting norms, practices, and toolkits. They identify and discuss major differences between these two traditions that touch nearly every aspect of social science research, including design, goals, causal effects and models, concepts and measurement, data analysis, and case selection.
The Craft of International History - A Guide to Method by ISBN: 9780691125015Publication Date: 2006-03-05This is a practical guide to the historical study of international politics. The focus is on the nuts and bolts of historical research--that is, on how to use original sources, analyze and interpret historical works, and actually write a work of history. The aim throughout is to throw open the doors of the workshop so that young scholars, both historians and political scientists, can see the sort of thought processes the historian goes through before he or she puts anything on paper.
Sage Research Methods Collection
- Sage Research Methods Online
- The ultimate methods library, it has more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, case studies, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences.
- Users can browse content by topic, discipline, or format type (reference works, book chapters, definitions, etc.). SRM offers several research tools as well, including a methods map, a project planner, and video discussions of data collection and research methods.
Fieldwork/Methods in Pandemic Times
Digital Methods Primers
- Lupton, D., ed. (2020). Doing fieldwork in a pandemic
- This crowd-sourced Google document was initially intended to help researchers adapt their face-to-face fieldwork to something more "hands off" and appropriately distanced in the age of COVID-19. However, people have added useful material about "born digital" research (i.e, content already generated on the internet by online interactions). The document, no longer open for edits, identifies methods that researchers can use to generate social science data by alternative paths.
- Jowett, D. (April 20, 2020). Carrying out qualitative research under lockdown: practical and ethical considerations.
- Remote Research: Library Support for Qualitative Research (Harvard Library Research Guide)
- COVID-19 Resources for Sociologists (Spring 2020). Harvard University Contemporary Ethnography and Inequality Workshop.
