Designed to help students acquire basic skills in the methods of social science research, this text contains numerous excerpts from professional journal articles, scholarly books, and popular press. It uses a straightforward writing style to present essential information, without eliminating key concepts, tools, and their applications. Concrete, everyday examples and “hands-on” practice activities reinforce fundamental concepts that will be useful to students in their future careers and life. Topics are illustrated in ways that are student-centered, yet instructor-friendly.