Abstract
Give Methods a Chance by Kyle Green and Sarah Lageson is a new and innovative methods text that combines a reasonably priced book with supplementary podcasts available online for free. The book is organized in a clear manner, and the authors do a great job of articulating the important considerations for each type of method. The text is an important contribution to the field because it shows the diversity of potential methods and research topics available in sociology. Even well-versed methodologists may learn about a new and interesting method, and the diverse set of substantial topics covered makes methods interesting for a wide audience. One of the major highlights of this book is the low price without the loss of high-impact material. Overall, this text is accessible, interesting, and affordable.
Give Methods a Chance is organized into four parts: qualitative methods, quantitative methods, mixed methods, and innovative analyses. The language used and the examples provided throughout the text make the materials accessible to a lay audience or undergraduate students. This book is best suited for research methods courses, but particular sections of the text could be used to supplement discussions in substantive 200- or 300-level sociology courses. For instance, the chapter on C. J. Pascoe’s work could be used in a gender course. This book would also work well in a graduate-level methods course, especially if the text is paired with the academic articles discussed within the chapters. In addition, because of the low cost, I would also recommend this book for any advisors working with students on an undergraduate thesis or even a master’s thesis. The text would be helpful for any young scholar thinking through the best methods to answer research question(s).
The first part of Give Methods a Chance focuses on interpretive and qualitative methods. This section covers a variety of methods, including interviews, focus groups, ethnography, analyzing commercials, and comparative historical research. For instance, one chapter explores C. J. Pascoe’s experience researching high schoolers, and another investigates David FitzGerald and David Cook-Martin’s deep dive into analyzing 200 years of immigration law. Other examples from this section include Audrey Kobayashi discussing tips and tricks on how to construct successful focus groups using her experience studying Canadian immigrants from Hong Kong, Amy Schalet discussing the ins and outs of interviews about taboo subjects, and Madison Van Oort and Kyle Green discussing their analyses of commercials. Each example presents various aspects of the research process and gives direct examples from researchers. Importantly, each chapter spends some time dissecting the costs, as well as the benefits, of each type of method. These sections could be particularly useful for upper-level undergraduate and master’s students who are currently crafting their own research projects. If an instructor wants to give students their own experience conducting interviews, I would suggest pairing this section with the TRAILS activity by Miller and Sassler (2017), where students conduct their own short qualitative interviews about cohabitation.
The second part of the book focuses on explanatory and quantitative methods. This section covers audit studies, demographic techniques, longitudinal studies, content analysis of urban spaces, and real-time quantitative content analysis. Some examples from this section include Devah Pager’s work on race and employment using résumé audits and Christopher Wildeman’s use of traditional demographic methods for estimating rates of child abuse and neglect. Other examples in this section include a discussion by Deborah Carr about the generalizability and validity of longitudinal studies. Additionally, Andrew Billings presents examples of his textual analysis work. This section of the book would work well with an activity on conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement in surveys (Wynn 2017).
Part 3 of Give Methods a Chance provides examples of mixed-methods approaches. In this section, Hellen B. Marrow discusses collaborative research across multiple disciplines in her work on immigrant–native relations in the United States. Vincent Roscigno gives tips on blending multiple methods to better answer different aspects of a research question. A third example in this section of the text includes a discussion by Matthew Hughey about using mixed methods to analyze race and film. Instructors could have students learn more about using mixed methods through a class assignment about tattoos on campus (Dougherty, Kane, and Wilkinson 2017).
Part 4 of the book covers innovations in methodology and touches on hot topics. This section includes examples of using big data, online surveys and forums, smartphone and other wearable technology studies, and historical spatial analysis. Scholars in this section include Daniel Sui, Justin Pickett, Francesca Polletta, Naomi Sugie, Clifton Evers, and Shamus Khan. Another strength of Give Methods a Chance is the use of examples and discussions by diverse scholars. Methods can feel very unapproachable to students sometimes, but this book provides a solution to the problem by presenting new and interesting methods. The text gives a voice to both early-career and established researchers, and by doing so, the text encourages readers to think outside the traditional methods box. An activity that could be paired with this section of the book includes analyzing archival documents (Peyrefitte and Lazar 2018).
Another strength of this book is the free, supplementary podcasts that go along with each chapter (available online at https://thesocietypages.org/methods/). Podcasts are an innovative way to make materials available to students while still allowing individual instructors to tailor each class to specific learning outcomes. Currently, the podcast website is organized into the same four parts as the book and even provides additional bonus episodes not referenced in the text. One shortcoming of the podcast website, however, is that it does not match the book exactly. In the future, it might be helpful to have more overlap between the way the text is organized and the website, or perhaps another page for just the book specifically. The current organization is most likely a limitation of the web service being used but is something to consider when planning a syllabus.
This book is accessible to undergraduates in a few important ways: clear language, interesting examples, and concise organization. The book could also be used with graduate students in sociology by pairing each chapter with the scholarly article or work being referenced in the chapters. Although this is not currently listed with the book, these citations could be added to the next edition or to the same website that houses the podcasts. Give Methods a Chance is a versatile text that instructors can tailor to fit their unique classroom. To summarize, one significant strength of this small, but mighty, book is the way in which the material can be expanded or truncated to fit a variety of audiences. Another notable feature of the book is the diverse and contemporary set of scholars interviewed. Finally, the examples and access to podcasts should appeal to current generations.