About the Book

`This clearly written and user-friendly book is ideal for students or researchers who wish to get a basic, but solid grasp of a topic and see how it fits with other topics. By following the links a student can easily and efficiently build up a clear conceptual map of social research' - Malcolm Williams, Reader in Sociology, Cardiff University

`This is a really useful book, written in an accessible manner for students beginning their study of social research methods. It is helpful both as an introductory text and as a reference guide for more advanced students. Most of the key topics in methods and methodology are covered and it will be suitable as a recommended text on a wide variety of courses' - Clive Seale, Brunel University

At last, an authoritative, crystal-clear introduction to research methods which really takes account of the needs of students for accessible, focused information to help with undergraduate essays and exams. The key concepts discussed here are based on a review of teaching syllabi and the authors' experience of many years of teaching. Topics range over qualitative and quantitative approaches and combine practical considerations with philosophical issues. They include several new topics, like internet and phone polling, internet searches, and visual methods. Each section is free-standing, can be tackled in order, but with links to other sections to enable students to cross-reference and build up a wider understanding of central research methods.

To facilitate comprehension and aid study, each section begins with a definition. It is followed by a summary of key points with key words and guides to further reading and up-to-date examples.

The book is a major addition to undergraduate reading lists. It is reliable, allows for easy transference to essays and exams and easy to use, and exceptionally clearly written for student consumption. The book answers the needs of all those who find research methods daunting, and for those who have dreamt of an ideal introduction to the subject.

Contents

Action Research   

Association and Causation   

Attitude Scales   

Auto/Biography and Life Histories   

Bias   

Case Study   

Coding Qualitative Data   

Community Profiles   

Community Studies   

Content Analysis   

Contingency Tables   

Documentary Methods   

Ethical Practice   

Ethnography   

Ethnomethodology and Conversational Analysis  

 Evaluation Studies   

Experiments   

Feminist Research  

 Fieldwork   

Grounded Theory  

 Group Discussions/Focus Groups   

Hawthorne Effect   

Hypothesis   

Indicators and Operationalisations  

 Internet and Other Searches   

Internet Polling   

Interviewing   

Key Informants   

Levels of Measurement   

Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Studies   

Methods and Methodologies   

Objectivity   

Observation   

Official Statistics   

Participant Observation  

 Positivism and Realism   

Qualitative Methods   

Quantitative Methods   

Questionnaires   

Reflexivity   

Reliability   

Sampling

Estimates and Size

  Sampling

Questions of Size

  Sampling

Types

  Secondary Analysis   

Social Surveys   

Telephone and Computer-Assisted Polling   

Unobstrusive Methods and Triangulation   

Validity   

Visual Methods

About the Author / Editor

Geoff Payne

Newcastle University, UK

Teaching Interests: Social Research Methods; Social Inequalities, Divisions and Mobilities Research Interests – current: Social Research Methods; Social Mobility; Social Processes in (small rural) Communities; 'Family History' Research Interests – recent: Class Identities; Literacy; Gender; Ethnicity; Poverty.

Judy Payne

Freelance Researcher

Mrs. Judy Payne is Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Educator in the department of Adolescent, Career, and Special Education. She is also the Career and Technical Education program coordinator. Mrs. Payne earned her B.S. in Home Economics Education (1962) and M.S. in Home Economics Education (1967) from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. She has taken additional graduate courses at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale and through Oregon State University. Before coming to the College of Education (2000), Mrs. Payne was a faculty member in the department of Home Economics, later renamed the department of Family & Consumer Studies. Her other teaching experiences include 3 years of middle school in Maryland, 2 years of secondary school in Illinois, and 3 years of middle/secondary school teaching in Oregon.