Students and practitioners will find important research methodological tools and background knowledge in the "Practical Guide to Empirical Social Research" that will enable them to successfully meet the demands related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of scientific research projects. Issues of planning and conceptualization, aspects of scientific writing and text production, researching and citing sources using new media, as well as applied aspects of standardized and non-standardized interview and survey methods are addressed. For the revised new edition, the texts have been updated and supplemented with contributions that address new developments: this includes the use of reference management software to assist in the creation of scientific papers.