Studying research methods mainly benefits those who will be in a position to conduct social research.

The four basic approaches to social research can be divided into the scientific and the unscientific.

It is rarely possible to study a social science topic with more than one basic approach.

The questions that motivate most social research usually are too narrow in scope and must be broadened to make them researchable.

One’s resources, discipline, and training may affect one’s choice of research methods.

Experiments are the best research strategy for investigating the causes of phenomena.

A key feature of surveys is the manner in which respondents are selected.

Field researchers rely mainly on questionnaires and interviews to gather data.

Available data are limited to quantitative information from public sources such as federal and state governments.

The four basic approaches to social research tend to be subject to different sources of error.