Tag: social sciences

Research Design in the Social Sciences: Declaration, Diagnosis & Redesign

By Scott J. Pearson | July 16, 2025July 16, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

This book is hard to place. As the title suggests, it’s about how to design research studies in the social sciences. However, it relies on more-or-less mathematical modeling to define how a study should proceed. The book is filled with mathematical notation – not as much to derive theorems but to give the thinking precision. It’s very abstract, perhaps too abstract for more practical needs. I’m not sure people with limited experience, like me or…

Analyzing Social Networks, 2nd Edition

By Scott J. Pearson | December 28, 2024December 28, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

With so much Internet data available through social media, social networks have entered the popular consciousness. They have long been used by social scientists to analyze complex research questions, so the theories are robust and tested by time. Still, many of us worry about reading about a technical topic that’s not in our traditional field, but this book proves accessible and engaging. It introduces the topic while exciting readers’ minds with relevant concepts that can…

Research-Education Society

Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You’re Doing It

By Scott J. Pearson | December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Pursuing excellence in research requires much self-discipline. Mentors are often the first ones to instill basic habits, but any one mentor (or even any group of mentors) lacks the ability to teach how to think about research completely. Indeed, mastering the art of research is a lifelong task. Fortunately, books like Becker’s provide good, patient tutoring on the path of a career in research. He provides “tricks” that specifically address those in the social sciences…