Publisher Summary Doing research simply means the systematic use of some set of
theoretical and empirical tools to try to increase understanding of some set of phenomena or
events. In the social and behavioral sciences, the phenomena of interest involve states and
actions of human systems—of individuals, groups, organizations, and larger social entities—
and the by-products of those actions. The meaning of research evidence, in any area of
science, is inherently tied to the means or methods by which that evidence was obtained …