Books On Sociological Methodology

Sociological Methodology (March 30, 2005 Edition)
by Ross M. Stolzenberg (Editor), Ray Weathers (Editor)

Essentials of Research Methods: A Guide to Social Science Research (September 30, 2004)
by Janet M. Ruane
Essentials of Research Methods is a concise and accessible introduction to research methods in the social sciences. Written by an expert of research methods teaching, this book takes extraordinary care to focus the reader on experiences in his or her everyday life as a way of understanding and performing research methods. The logic and techniques of research methods can be daunting and not of obvious use to students of social science, and yet this book clearly and coherently defines the terms and requirements of research methods studies for the inexperienced student.
Covering ethics, data gathering and analysis, and statistics, Essentials of Research Methods makes the "essentials" relevant to our information-dominated society, while exploring the complexities and values of each. With an engaging, reader-friendly style, discussions that appeal across disciplines, and timely examples that are informative and interesting to read, this book is ideal for any student of research methods. Features include further reading lists, graphs, exercises, study questions, and an annotated list of web resources.
Janet Ruane is Associate Professor of Sociology at Montclair State University. She is co-author of Second Thoughts: Seeing Conventional Wisdom Through the Sociological Eye (with Karen Cerulo, third edition, 2004). She has taught research methods to undergraduates for more than fifteen years.

Sociological Methodology 2000 (Sociological Methodology)
by Mark Becker (Editor), Kenneth A. Bollen (Editor), Jacques A. P. Hagenaars (Editor), Edgar Kiser (Editor), Calvin Morrill (Editor), Martina Morris (Editor), Susan A. Murphy (Editor), Trond Petersen (Editor), Elizabeth Stasny (Editor), Ross M. Stolzenberg (Editor)
This annual volume, sponsored by the American Sociological Association, focuses on methods of research in the social sciences. Published to advance empirical research in sociology and related disciplines, Sociolgical Methodologyis a valuable aid to the understanding and use of methodologies, providing readers with the techniques and perspectives on research needed to strengthen sociological reasoning. Each volume is a crucial addition to social research libraries worldwide and an important record of the current state of methodology.

Sociological Methodology (Sociological Methodology)
by Ross M. Stolzenberg

The Methodology of Herbert Blumer Kenneth Baugh Jr. The Methodology of Herbert Blumer is a comprehensive critical account of the contributions of this important American sociologist to the methodology of social research. In a close reading of Blumer's texts, the author charts the development of Blumer's thinking, revealing a tension between an essentially realist ontology and Blumer's emphasis on the relationship of theory to methodology. The author describes Blumer's conception of methodology as a self-reflective exercise in which the principles of scientific inquiry are developed and criticized, and not merely as a matter of technique. Blumer's concentration on the integral unity of theory and method relates suggestively to current thinking about methodology, while his examinations of this theme in such areas as public opinion research and variable analysis provide provocative criticisms of many current research practices.

Rules of Sociological Method
by Emile Durkheim

New Rules of Sociological Method: A Positive Critique of Interpretative Sociologies
by Anthony Giddens

Structural Modeling by Example : Applications in Educational, Sociological, and Behavioral Research
by Peter Cuttance (Editor), Russell Ecob (Editor)
Review
"...the editors of Structural Modeling by Example have discriminatingly selected papers that discuss important and often neglected issues of CS analysis and document examples of applications. It will serve both students and researchers well." Journal of the American Statistical Association
Structural Modelling by Example offers a comprehensive overview of the application of structural equation models in the social and behavioral sciences and in educational research. It is devoted in nearly equal proportions to substantive issues and to methodological ones. The substantive section comprises case studies of the use of these models in a number of disciplines. The authors emphasize the reasons for modelling by these methods, the processes involved in defining the model, and the interpretation of the results. The methodological section comprises investigations of the behavior of structural equation modelling methods under a number of conditions. The aim is to clarify the situations in which these methods can usefully be applied and the interpretations that can be made. All researchers with a basic understanding of regression and factor analysis will find this book to be an invaluable resource as they seek to evaluate the possibilities of these new approaches for their own data.

Max Weber's Methodology : The Unification of the Cultural and Social Sciences
by Fritz Ringer
In this significant study, Fritz Ringer offers a new approach to Weber's work, interpreting his methodological writings in the context of the lively German intellectual debates of his day, and demonstrating how Weber was able to bridge the divide between humanistic interpretation and causal explanation in historical and cultural studies.
At a time when historical and cultural analyses are being subjected to all manner of ideological and disciplinary prodding and poking, the work of Max Weber, the brilliant social theorist and one of the most creative intellectual forces in the twentieth century, is especially relevant. In this significant study, Fritz Ringer offers a new approach to the work of Weber, interpreting his methodological writings in the context of the lively German intellectual debates of his day. According to Ringer, Weber was able to bridge the intellectual divide between humanistic interpretation and causal explanation in historical and cultural studies in a way that speaks directly to our own time, when methodological differences continue to impede fruitful cooperation between humanists and social scientists. In the place of the humanists' subjectivism and the social scientists' naturalism, Weber developed the flexible and realistic concepts of objective probability and adequate causation. Grounding technical theories in specific examples, Ringer has written an essential text for all students of Weber and of social theory in the humanities and social sciences.