Social Sciences Research

Research, Writing, and Presentation Strategies for Students, Third Edition

Gail M. Staines

This is a complete revision with new material of the second edition of Social Sciences Research: Research, Writing, and Presentation Strategies for Students (Scarecrow Press, 2008). There have been significant changes in the research process in the social sciences since the second edition of this text was published in 2008 – a decade ago. The plethora of new information technologies (e.g., smart phones, tablets, apps, etc.); the information overload not only on the Internet where anyone can publish, but also with the explosion of social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.); as well as the far reaching changes in databases and other sources of electronic information that is available.

Complementing the manual are appendixes consisting of a list of possible research questions, an example paper, a complete set of worksheets, and blank citation forms to be used to record references, which provide further practice for students. In this third edition, the author has included more instruction on searches using electronic sources as well as new formatting guidelines that have been promulgated in the past several years. The ideal resource for college students, this manual addresses the finer points of research and writing that are not given enough instruction in the classroom.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 112 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-5381-2240-2 • Hardback • March 2019 • $82.00 • (£63.00)

978-1-5381-2241-9 • Paperback • March 2019 • $32.00 • (£25.00)

978-1-5381-2242-6 • eBook • March 2019 • $30.00 • (£25.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Research, Language Arts & Disciplines / Library & Information Science / General

Courses: Library & Information Services; Research & Statistics, Sociology; Theory & Methods; Research Methods

Social Sciences Research

Research, Writing, and Presentation Strategies for Students, Third Edition

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

This is a complete revision with new material of the second edition of Social Sciences Research: Research, Writing, and Presentation Strategies for Students (Scarecrow Press, 2008). There have been significant changes in the research process in the social sciences since the second edition of this text was published in 2008 – a decade ago. The plethora of new information technologies (e.g., smart phones, tablets, apps, etc.); the information overload not only on the Internet where anyone can publish, but also with the explosion of social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.); as well as the far reaching changes in databases and other sources of electronic information that is available.

Complementing the manual are appendixes consisting of a list of possible research questions, an example paper, a complete set of worksheets, and blank citation forms to be used to record references, which provide further practice for students. In this third edition, the author has included more instruction on searches using electronic sources as well as new formatting guidelines that have been promulgated in the past several years. The ideal resource for college students, this manual addresses the finer points of research and writing that are not given enough instruction in the classroom.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 112 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-5381-2240-2 • Hardback • March 2019 • $82.00 • (£63.00)

978-1-5381-2241-9 • Paperback • March 2019 • $32.00 • (£25.00)

978-1-5381-2242-6 • eBook • March 2019 • $30.00 • (£25.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Research, Language Arts & Disciplines / Library & Information Science / General

Courses: Library & Information Services; Research & Statistics, Sociology; Theory & Methods; Research Methods

Author

Gail Staines is University Librarian at the University of Central Missouri where she oversees the James C. Kirkpatrick Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning. She has held leadership positions at public and private universities as well as nonprofit organizations including serving as an executive director, board member, board vice president and president. Her areas of research include information literacy, leadership, and library as place in academic environments. A successful grant writer for more than twenty years, Gail holds an MLS from the University at Buffalo as well as a Ph.D. in higher education administration, also from the University at Buffalo.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Choosing an Appropriate Research Question

Chapter 2: Designing a Search for Scholarly Literature

Chapter 3: Conducting a Search for Scholarly Literature

Chapter 4: Evaluating the Information You Find

Chapter 5: Outlining the Research Paper

Chapter 6: Taking Notes While Reading

Chapter 7: The APA Format: Writing and the Use of an Appropriate Format

Chapter 8: The Writing Process Itself: You Can’t Edit a Blank Page

Chapter 9: Presenting Your Research

Chapter 10: Some Final Thoughts

Appendices

A Research Questions Posed by Other Students

B Example Paper

C Worksheets

1 Selecting a Topic

2 Narrowing and Focusing Your Topic

3 Scholarly vs. Popular Literature

4 Best Places for Information

5 Your Research Strategy

6 Locating Books

7 Chapters in Books

8 Locating Scholarly Articles

9 Evaluating Information

10 Outlining the Research Paper

11 Presentation

Reviews

The book is encouraging, clearly written, and easy to understand, especially when addressing searching, ILL, outlines, "Filter Bubbles," and "Presenting Your Research" sections. The third edition contains very useful worksheets and examples throughout.
— Esther Grassian, distinguished librarian, University of California, Los Angeles