About the Book

This new edition provides a scholarly and readable introduction to all the key qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and methods, enabling postgraduate and masters-level students and new researchers to reflect on which ones suit their needs and to receive guidance on how to find out more.

With chapters written by experienced research practitioners, this second edition has been extensively expanded and updated. There are seven completely new chapters, as well as:

new material on literature reviews

a new introduction to quantitative methods

an expanded glossary

weblinks with free access to a wide range of peer-reviewed journal articles

an annotated bibliography with conversational notes from authors in each chapter.

This book will act as your 'expert friend' throughout your research project, providing advice, explaining key concepts and the implications for your research design, and illustrating these with examples of real research studies.

Praise for the first edition:

"Not merely a how-to book, it reviews the conceptual framework of research methods in the social and behavioural sciences and provides tangible stories from the field that illustrate the application of specific techniques and the process of conducting research. . . . This work affords a concise overview of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in the social science. . . . Highly recommended."

Contents

PART ONE: READING, REVIEWING AND REFLECTING

 Introduction 

Bridget Somekh et al Research in the Social Sciences 

Barbara Kamler and Pat Thomson Working with Literatures 

Heather Piper and Helen Simons Ethical Issues in Generating Public Knowledge

PART TWO: LISTENING, EXPLORING THE CASE AND THEORIZING

  Introduction 

Jo Frankham and Christina MacRae Ethnography 

Mary Louise Holly and Herbert Altrichter Research Diaries 

Charlotte Chadderton and Harry Torrance Case Study 

Rosaline SBarbour and John Schostak Interviewing and Focus Groups 

PART THREE: ADDRESSING ISSUES OF POWER AND RESEARCHING FOR IMPACT

  Introduction 

Diane Burns and Khatidja Chantler Feminist Methodologies 

Laurence Parker and Lorna Roberts Critical Race Theory and Its Use in Social Science Research 

Gloria Filax et al Queer Theory / Lesbian and Gay Approaches 

Susan Noffke and Bridget Somekh Action Research 

Tineke Abma and Thomas A Schwandt The Purpose, Practice and Politics of Sponsored Evaluations 

PART FOUR: OBSERVING, QUERYING, INTERPRETING

  Introduction  Juliet Corbin and Nicholas L Holt Grounded Theory  Angie Titchen and Dawn Hobson Understanding Phenomenology through Reverse Perspectives  Liz Jones and Bridget Somekh Observation  Alison Lee and Alan Petersen Discourse Analysis  Colin Lankshear, Kevin M Leander and Michele Knobel Researching Online Practices 

PART FIVE: IDENTITY, COMMUNITY AND REPRESENTATION

  Introduction 

Scherto Gill and Ivor Goodson Life History and Narrative Methods 

Diane Mavers and Gunther Kress Social Semiotics and Multimodal Texts 

David Benzie and Bridget Somekh Communities of Practice 

Ines Langemeyer and Morten Nissen Activity Theory 

Jill Blackmore and Hugh Lauder Researching Policy 

PART SIX: QUANTITATIVE METHODS: THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES

  Introduction 

Kelvyn Jones The Practices of Quantitative Methods 

Charles Crook and Dean Garratt The Positivist Paradigm in Contemporary Social Research: The Interface of Psychology, Method and Sociocultural Theory 

Cathy Lewin Understanding and Describing Quantitative Data 

Sally Barnes and Cathy Lewin Differences and Relationships in Quantitative Data 

Kelvyn Jones An Introduction to Statistical Modelling 

PART SEVEN: QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN ACTION

  Introduction 

Jennifer C Greene, Holly Kreider and Ellen Mayer Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Social Inquiry 

Kelvyn Jones Random Reflections on Modelling, Geography and Voting 

W J Pelgrum Methodological Issues in International Comparative Assessments of Educational Progress 

John Ainley Evaluating Literacy Advance in the Early Years of School 

Brian Doig Working Backwards: The Road Less Travelled in Quantitative Methodology 

PART EIGHT: RESEARCHING IN POSTMODERN CONTEXTS

  Introduction 

Erica Burman and Maggie Maclure Deconstruction 

Tony Brown and Daniel Heggs From Hermeneutics to Post-Structuralism to Psychoanalysis 

Lee Miller, Joanne 'Bob' Whalley and Ian Stronach From Structuralism to Post-Structuralism 

Bronwen Davies and Suzanne Gannon Feminism/Post-Structuralism

About the Author / Editor

Bridget Somekh

Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Bridget Somekh is based at Manchester Metropolitan University as well as University of Canterbury.

Cathy Lewin

Cathy Lewin is based at Manchester Metropolitan University.