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Social Research Methods
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Social Research Methods
Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches

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October 2019 | 592 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Structured around one of the concepts students struggle with the most—the research question—this book begins with how to understand the role of good questions before demonstrating how questions underpin good research designs and how social research can be framed as asking and answering questions. Perfect for undergraduate students new to methods, it teaches students how qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research can be used to answer these questions.

"An incredibly resourceful book that contains a forensic insight into social research methods, offering the full range of contemporary approaches. Students will find particular value in the accessibility and detail of the text. Each chapter provides a set of learning outcomes, study questions and further reading." - Dr Ruth McAreavey, Newcastle University

Supported by a website that maps online resources to key stages of the learning process, it helps students:

-          Understand the scientific method

-          Learn the vocabulary of social science research

-          Plan and design research

-          Practice with and interpret data

-          Explore social science literature and improve assignments with good citations

-          Improve critical thinking.
  
 Extensive visualizations, overviews, examples, exercises, and other learning features, make this the perfect introductory text to build confidence and best practice around research methods.

 
Part I: Researching Society
 
Chapter 1: How and why we study society
 
Chapter 2: Methods and methodologies in social science
 
Chapter 3: The ethics and politics of research
 
Part II: Designing Social Research
 
Chapter 4: Creating research questions
 
Chapter 5: Doing a literature review
 
Chapter 6: Choosing a research design
 
Chapter 7: Finding sources and data
 
Chapter 8: Sampling
 
Part III: Data Collection and Data Quality
 
Chapter 9: Ethnography and participant observation
 
Chapter 10: Unstructured interviews and focus groups
 
Chapter 11: Documentary sources and qualitative content analysis
 
Chapter 12: Structured observation
 
Chapter 13: Questionnaires and surveys
 
Chapter 14: Quantitative content analysis
 
Chapter 15: Data quality, reliability and validity
 
Part IV: Data Analysis
 
Chapter 16: Analysis of qualitative data
 
Chapter 17: Indexes and distributions
 
Chapter 18: Relationships between variables
 
Chapter 19: Statistical generalization
 
Chapter 20: Mixed methods and combining data
 
Part V: Asking and Answering Questions in Social Science
 
Chapter 21: Description, explanation and understanding
 
Chapter 22: Time, space and level
 
Chapter 23: Relations, networks and structures
 
Chapter 24: Big data and computational social science
 
Part VI: Writing and Presenting Research
 
Chapter 25: Working with data visualization
 
Chapter 26: Writing about research

A thorough and lucid account of mixed methods approaches to exploring the social world, and an admirably practical guide for new and developing researchers.

Huw Davies
Professor in the School of Management at University of St Andrews

An incredibly resourceful book that contains a forensic insight into social research methods, offering the full range of contemporary approaches. Students will find particular value in the accessibility and detail of the text. Each chapter provides a set of learning outcomes, study questions and further reading.

Ruth McAreavey
Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Newcastle University

This handbook will be an essential reference for both students and experienced social scientists. Sigmund Grønmo clearly explains social research methods, including research design, data collection, analysis and even writing and publishing research. The examples and case studies provided make reading about methods both accessible and understandable.

Niamh Ní Bhroin
Researcher in the Department of Media and Communication at University of Oslo

Excellent information, however current Gray research methods and Cohen et al. research books cover required information at this level

Mr Julian Ayres
School of Education and Community, Wrexham Glyndwr University
December 7, 2022

difficult to access the electronic version

Mrs Jackie Ford
Care & Health Directorate, North Warwickshire And Hinckley College
March 4, 2021

Clear and concise explanations of different elements of social research methods. Essential for any researcher.

Miss Louise Stafford
Department of Education, Oxford Brookes University
November 26, 2019

This is a very clear textbook, covering the breadth of social research methods. Although it seems difficult to cover each aspect in great depth, this book manages to provide insight for both novices and progressing students. I'm particularly happy with the research examples at the end of each chapter, each accompanied by a brief summary and why it is relevant. The exercises and online resources (case studies, videos and other) give students every opportunity to really get to grips with each topic.
Typesetting keeps the high volume of text accessible. Use of colour other than black) is limited to one (blue). More illustrations & colours would improve the appeal. Tables frequently have rows that are alternate between very pale and deep blue, which create the illustion of complete separation.

Dr Hubert van Griensven
School of Health and Social Work, Hertfordshire University
November 27, 2019

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