Designed especially to meet the needs of beginners in the study of sociology, this dictionary follows the highly successful career of its predecessor, A Dictionary of Sociology, first published in 1968. Many of the entries have been revised and up-dated to keep abreast of the recent proliferation in the vocabulary of the social studies. The entries include social psychological terms, terms in social and cultural anthropology, terms common to political science, social administration and social work.

          In the choice of words a generous definition os sociology has been employed, making the dictionary a very useful reference source for all beginners in the social sciences. Some terms are explained quite briefly, while others are given lengthy treatment, according to the further assuptions that some sociological terms can imply. A number of short biographical sketches are also included.