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Narrative Productions of Meaning explores how stories, ranging from self-stories to those told by media, social activists, politicians, social policy makers, and social service providers, shape the meaning of self, others, objects, events, and experiences and how these meanings have material consequences.

NEW TO THIS EDITION: Discussion of the philosophy of science as the underlying foundation of methodological thinking includes naturalism and constructionism. Expanded focus on research ethics and the importance of samples in social research helps researchers produce higher quality research that adheres to common standards. Explicit attention is given to both designing research and evaluating the research of others. KEY FEATURES: An interdisciplinary approach with examples in criminology/criminal justice, sociology, political science/international relations, and social work gives readers a range of ways to comprehend the material. A balanced account of theoretical perspectives provides students with an unbiased and informed presentation of the material. An emphasis on conveying the logic and general principles of social research design is reflected in minimal technical details for maximum clarity.

Through a psychological lens : personality disorder and spouse assault / Donald G. Dutton and Mark Bodnarchuk -- Through a feminist lens : gender, diversity, and violence : extending the feminist framework / Kersti A. Yllö -- Through a sociological lens : the complexities of family violence / Donileen R. Loseke -- Women's violence toward men is a serious social problem / Murray A. Straus -- Men's violence toward women is the serious social problem / Donileen R. Loseke and Demie Kurz -- More data have accumulated supporting date and acquaintance rape as significant problems for women / Sarah L. Cook and Mary P. Koss -- Advocacy research overstates the incidence of date and acquaintance rape / Neil Gilbert -- Proper socialization requires powerful love and equally powerful discipline / John Rosemond -- Children should never, ever, be spanked no matter what the circumstances / Murray A. Straus -- Alcohol and other drugs are key causal agents of violence / Jerry R. Flanzer -- Association is not causation : alcohol and other drugs do not cause violence / Richard J. Gelles and Mary M. Cavanaugh -- Elder abuse is caused by the perception of stress associated with providing care -- Suzanne k. steinmetz -- Elder abuse is caused by the deviance and dependence of abusive caregivers / Karl Pillemer -- Explaining without pathologizing : testimony on battering and its effects / Sue Osthoff and Holly Maguigan -- Battered woman's syndrome : tool of justice or false hope in self-defense cases? / Donald A. Downs and James Fisher -- Child sexual abuse prevention is appropriate and successful / Carol A. Plummer -- Is there empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of child sexual abuse prevention programs? / N. Dickon Reppucci, Jeffrey J. Haugaard, Jill Antonishak -- Overreporting and underreporting child abuse and neglect are twin problems / Douglas J. Besharov -- The main problem is underreporting child abuse and neglect / David Finkelhor -- Family preservation is the safest way to protect most children / Richard Wexler -- Protecting children is more important than preserving families / Richard J. Gelles -- Conclusion : social problems, social policies, and controversies on family violence

Because socially circulating stories are key vehicles producing shared meaning in globalized, mass-mediated, and heterogeneous social orders, it is important to understand how some stories – and only some stories – can be evaluated by large numbers of people as believable and important. How do stories achieve widespread cognitive and emotional persuasiveness? I argue that understanding narrative persuasiveness requires a cultural-level analysis examining relationships between story characteristics and two kinds of meaning: Symbolic codes which are systems of cognitive meaning and emotion codes which are systems of emotional meaning. Persuasiveness of narratives is achieved by using the most widely and deeply held meanings of these codes to build narrative scenes, characters, plots, and morals. I demonstrate my argument using the example of the codes embedded in the social problem story of "family violence," and I conclude with some thoughts about how sociologists might approach the production of socially circulating stories as topics of qualitative research and why there are practical and theoretical reasons to do so. My central argument is that examining relationships between cultural systems of meaning and the characteristics of narratives is a route to understanding a key method of public persuasion in heterogeneous, mass-mediated social orders