Tricks of the Trade: How to Think about Your Research While You're Doing It

Assisted by Becker's sage advice, students can make better sense of their research and simultaneously generate fresh ideas on where to look next for new data. The tricks cover four broad areas of social science: the creation of "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. 5 tables.

Howard S. Becker is professor of sociology and adjunct professor of music at the University of Washington.