Behind the Scenes in Social Research discusses the informal, adaptive, and real-life process of doing social science research. It complements the material in standard methods texts that describe the basics-how to choose topics and ways of obtaining and analyzing data-but in doing so miss out on many of the obstacles and practicalities of doing research. Researchers may find themselves adrift when they start their research and discover that what confronts them doesn-t precisely match exactly what is described in the basic textbooks, such as the obstacles that frequently occur, the logistical matters that must be handled, and the improvisations in research design and data gathering techniques that successful projects require. This book covers this material, while also paying attention to the ways in which the personal characteristics of those doing the research affect how projects are designed and data gathered. In addition, it explores the manner in which doing research affe
