This thorough revision of Babbie’s standard-setting book presents a succinct, straightforward introduction to the field of research methods as practiced by social scientists. Contemporary examples+such as terrorism, Alzheimer’s disease, anti-gay prejudice and education, and the legalization of marijuana make this Fourth Edition thoroughly fascinating as it introduces you to the “how-tos” and “whys” of social research methods. The book’s new qualitative coverage comb… More >>
The book arrived sooner than I had expected. I would definitely use this seller again and you should too!
Rating: 5 / 5
I have used this book in my research methods course. While Babbie uses MANY examples which are helpful (not sure about the previous reviewer mentioning comedy b/c there is none) he also gets bogged down using personal examples that are NOT helpful. There is one section in particular where Babbie uses a personal example in the form of crosstabs which is so difficult to follow that I couldn’t even understand it. I have tried to get away from the text but it appears that the market is saturated with mediocre research methods texts. I have tried Understanding Research which is miserable and will be trying How It’s Done next semester in an effort to find a better text than the Babbie text. Hence, while Babbie’s text is imperfect, it is better than many other texts out there!
Rating: 3 / 5
I use this book for my method class for a long time. The content of the book is good. it does a good job of explaining complex concepts. The problem is that the book keeps having new editions in just a few years even if the content has little update, and each new edition has a higher price for my students. This practice creates unnecessary financial burden for my students. Now I have to think about dropping this book for my future teaching.
Rating: 3 / 5
This is so clear and so interesting, it’s impossible not to get caught up in it and easy to forget that it’s a textbook.
Rating: 5 / 5
I really have to compliment Babbie on taking a potentially dry subject and making it fun. Not only is this book a very complete and easy to understand introduction to research methods, but it is also, at times, downright funny. I highly recommend this book. I gained a deeper understanding of research methods by reading The Basics of Social Research and Babbie’s unique writing style made me want to learn more.
Rating: 5 / 5