Social Research Methods
Elements of Research Design
This concise and accessible guide to designing a dissertation, thesis or other major study helps researchers achieve the best possible outcomes. It sets out approaches that are not limited by conventions, but instead give the researcher the confidence to handle questions, literature reviews, data collection, analysis and other processes.
Migration, Crisis and Temporality at the Zimbabwe–South Africa Border
Governing Immobilities
This insightful book explores the governance of immobilities and temporality in African migration. It shares lessons from the experiences of Zimbabwean migrants fleeing economic crisis to the South African town of Musina and asks what the work of state and non-state actors there tell us about the management of immobile people and places.
Sound, Order and Survival in Prison
The Rhythms and Routines of HMP Midtown
The soundscape of prison life is that of constant clangs, bangs and jangles. What is the significance of this cacophonous din to those who live and work with it? This book is the story of a year spent with a UK prison community, bringing its social world vividly to life through aural ethnography.
Rights and Social Justice in Research
Advancing Methodologies for Social Change
This edited collection explores and illustrates the nature of research for social justice. Drawing on a diverse range of social research projects, it sets out what a rights-based approach to research looks like, why this framework matters and how we can translate them into operational research.
Drug Policy Constellations
The Role of Power and Morality in the Making of Drug Policy in the UK
Drawing on the author’s participation in high-level policy discussions, this book presents three key issues in UK illicit drug policy – medical cannabis, drug-related deaths and the government’s 10-year drug strategy.
Borders of Qualitative Research
Navigating the Spaces Where Therapy, Education, Art, and Science Connect
This engaging book explores the porous borders of research with art, therapy and education, helping researchers reflect on their practice and consider more carefully the potential consequences and impacts of their work.
Gangs and Minorities in Singapore
Masculinity, Marginalization and Resistance
This book is a unique ethnographic study of a racially exclusive Malay Muslim gang, Omega, which has its roots in Singapore’s prisons. In demonstrating that gang involvement can be an adaptive strategy for marginalized groups, this book promotes a more inclusive and restorative justice model for people with repeat convictions.
From Poverty to Well-Being and Human Flourishing (Volume 1)
Integrated Conceptualisation and Measurement of Economic Poverty
This book offers a holistic view of Julio Boltvinik’s vast and important work on poverty conceptualisation and measurement. It provides the foundations, application and empirical examples of Boltvinik’s Integrated Poverty Measurement Method, which could potentially transform poverty narratives globally as it has done in Mexico.
Narrative Research Now
Critical Perspectives on the Promise of Stories
Supported by the editors’ popular podcast Narrative Now, this interdisciplinary volume explores the capacities and limitations of narrative research. It maps out new directions for the field while honouring its legacy.
Contested Civil Society in Myanmar
Local Change and Global Recognition
ePDFs of chapters 4, 5 and 7 are available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence
This book illustrates the ways in which contestations in Myanmar society are reflected in civil society. It provides an up-to-date overview of the main identities and contestations in Myanmar society as a whole.
Living on the Edge
Innovative Research on Leaving Care and Transitions to Adulthood
Addressing previously neglected groups of care leavers such as unaccompanied migrants, street youth, young parents and those with a disability, this book considers the precarity often experienced by many care leavers. It makes research relevant to practitioners and policy-makers aiming to enable, rather than label, vulnerable groups.
The Muscle Trade
The Use and Supply of Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs
The health and fitness industry has experienced a meteoric rise over the past two decades, yet its slick exterior conceals a darker side. Using ethnographic data from gyms, interviews and social media platforms, this book investigates the growing use of image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs) and their role in masculine body image.