Tricks of the trade
Subtitle: how to think about your research while you're doing it
By: Howard S. Becker.
Series: Chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Chicago, Ill
Language: eng
Number of pages: 232
Subjects: Social sciences -- Authorship; Sociology -- Authorship; Academic writing
Description: Tricks of the Trade will help students think about research projects. Assisted by Becker's sound advice, students will be able to make better sense of their research and simultaneously generate fresh ideas on where to look next for new data.

Becker's tricks cover four broad areas of social science: The creation of the "imagery" to guide research; methods of "sampling" to generate maximum variety in the data, the development of "concepts" to organize findings, and the use of "logical" methods to explore systematically the implications of what is found.

Becker's advice ranges from simple suggestions such as changing an interview question from "Why?" to "How?" (as a way of getting people to talk without asking for justification) to more technical advice such as how to manipulate truth tables.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-228) and index.