At once a unique textbook for methods courses and a major contribution to sociological theory, this book teaches students the principles of research and how to construct and test theories

Preface, Acknowledgments, PART I: THE INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE AND THE PROCESS OF THEORY CONSTRUCTION, 1. A Point of View, 2. The Substance of Sociological Theory, 3. Difficulties of Theory Construction, PART II: THEORY TO METHOD: SAMPLING AND MEASUREMENT PROBLEMS, 4. Problems of Sampling: The Merger of Theory and Method, 5. Problems of Measurement and Instrumentation, 6. The Sociological Interview, PART III: THEORY TO METHOD: RESEARCH STRATEGIES, 7. The Experiment and its Variations, 8. The Social Survey and its Variations, 9. Participant Observation: Varieties and Strategies of the Field Method, 10. The Life History Method, 11. Unobtrusive Measures: The Quest for Triangulated and Nonreactive Methods of Observation, PART IV: STRATEGIES OF TRIANGULATION AND THE ART OF DOING SOCIOLOGY, 12. Strategies of Multiple Triangulation, 13. On Ethics and the Politics of Doing Sociology, References, Index