First Steps (A Guide to Social Research)

First Steps: A Guide to Social Research, Fifth Edition, encourages students to recognize the importance of learning about research methods both for academic purposes as well as to be a critical consumer of research results. It leverages students’ personal interests, experiences and knowledge as starting points for learning and applying social science research skills. Michael Del Balso and Alan Lewis cover the entire research process, from formulating questions to writing reports. This text also stresses the important role of the Internet on current research, shows students how to search for and use Internet resources and shows how research methods are being adapted to the Internet. The authors emphasize Canadian examples throughout and sustain the reader’s interest by using boxes, tables and newspaper excerpts to illustrate a variety of research techniques. With their hands-on, non-technical, multi-disciplined approach, the authors have created a text that actively involves the student in the research methods process.