Social Research Methods

This book provides social science researchers with both a strong rationale for the importance of thinking reflexively and a practical guide to doing it. The first book to build on Pierre Bourdieu's reflexive work, it combines academic analysis with practical examples and case studies. The book will be of interest to researchers and students.

Crime research has grown substantially over the past decade, with a rise in evidence-informed approaches to criminal justice. The fuel that has driven this growth is data and one of its most pressing challenges is the lack of research on its use and interpretation. This accessible book closes that gap for researchers, practitioners and students.

In examining how our identity shapes the knowledge we produce, Mental health service users in research considers ways of 'doing research' which bring multiple understandings together effectively, and explains the sociological use of autobiography and its relevance.

Using original empirical data, this book explores how local government officers and politicians negotiate 'difficult subjects' linked with community cohesion policy: diversity, inequality, discrimination, extremism, migration, religion, class, power and change. Winner of the BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize 2014

This collection explores the roles of emotion, violence, uncertainty, identity and positionality in doing research in and on conflict zones, as well as the complexity of methodological choices. It presents a nuanced view of conflict research that addresses the uncomfortable spaces of conflict research and the need for reflection on these issues.

Drawing on evidence from across Europe, Asia and the USA, this accessible book covers how social workers can engage with research and draw on it in practice.

Written in an accessible, practical and jargon-free style, this useful book informs and inspires researchers by showing readers why, when, and how to use creative methods in their research.

This book provides practical guidance for professionals and pre-qualifying students on how to gather and generate evidence of the impact of projects in the community. It includes case studies from a range of community settings and is full of easy to implement ideas, tools and examples of methods to demonstrate the impact of work in the community.

This book synthesises the challenges of researching everyday life for families on low incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve future policy and practice.

Drawing on interviews with welfare-reliant single mothers living in the South Wales Valleys, this original book charts their interactions with the labour market and welfare state. It challenges current understandings of welfare eligibility and dependency and provides valuable new policy insights for welfare reform.

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Examining the data processes at the European Spallation Source facility in Sweden, this book sheds light on the often underestimated, yet essential, contributions of those involved in the design and development of data management systems.

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.