Sage Publications published the first edition of my research methods text, Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research, in 1996. It soon became one of the most popular research methods texts in sociology. Investigating is now in its 9th edition and Sage has supported seven co-authored derivatives: a brief edition for sociology (Chambliss and Schutt ), a criminal justice version (Bachman and Schutt , as well as a brief edition), a social work version (Engel and Schutt ), as well as a brief edition), a version for psychology (Nestor and Schutt), and one for the field of education (Check and Schutt). An exciting fast-paced compressed new version has been published for the new millennium: Understanding the Social World: Research Methods for the 21st Century. One of the unique aspects of my textbook approach is to infuse instruction in the techniques and logic of research methods with the substance of social science research. Rather than simply presenting single unconnected examples to illustrate particular techniques, I review studies about a particular research question in each chapter so that students learn how social research tools are used to answer substantive questions. You can ready recent commentary about and extensions of topics in Investigating and these other texts in my blog.
Textbooks
My Webinar on Mixed Methods for SAGE Connection provides an example of how I help colleagues and students develop research designs that can be used to investigate complex social research questions: I also write reviews of books on core methodological and theoretical concerns (Schutt, 2004; Schutt, 2002; Schutt, 2000), as well as articles related to teaching research methods (eg, Schutt, Fowler, and Melcher, 1998) and I led an American Sociological Association committee that designed procedures for certifying Master’s level applied researchers (Schutt and Costner, 1993).