Social research : a practical introduction

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Title:

Author:

Curtis, Bruce.

ISBN:

9781847874757

9781847874740

Personal Author:

Curtis, Bruce.

Publication Information:

Los Angeles : Sage, 2011.

Physical Description:

320 S.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1.Introduction -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Structure of the book -- Defining social research -- Case-centric or variable-centric research -- Analytical induction or hypothesis-testing -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology -- Reliability and validity -- Ethical considerations -- Ethical issues: risk of harm -- Ethical issues: deception -- Ethical issues: debriefing -- Ethical issues: where to from here? -- Putting the approach in context -- Fixed or fluid framings or research -- Precursors to research -- Developing the research topic -- Preparing a research proposal -- Recruiting participants -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 2.In-Depth Interviewing - The Interactive Base -- Doing data collection, analysis and presentation -- What is an in-depth interview? -- How is an in-depth interview different from a questionnaire-based interview? --

Contents note continued: How is an interview different from a focus group? -- How is an interview different from a discussion? -- Origins of the approach -- The practicalities: what are the advantages of in-depth interviews? -- What are the disadvantages? -- Preparing and undertaking a `typical' set of interviews -- Collecting data: beginning the interview -- Collecting data: during the interview -- Collecting data: completing the interview -- Managing the data -- Analysing data -- Some issues in research -- Interviews as data sources and data creators -- Epistemological concerns and constraints -- Resource issues -- Putting the approach in context -- Visual techniques: photo-elicitation and photo-voice -- Computer-based data analysis -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 3.Life Histories - Private Troubles and Public Issues -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Comparing life history research with oral history --

Contents note continued: Pointers in doing a life history -- Building rapport -- Memory and recall -- Analytical induction -- Triangulation -- Naturalistic and edited forms of life history -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 4.Ethnographic Research - Studying Groups in Natural Settings -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Data collection -- Observation in practice -- Exiting the field -- Data analysis and presentation -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Resource limitations -- Putting the approach in context -- The impacts of new technologies on ethnography -- The ethics of ethnography -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 5.Focus Groups - Studying Artificial Groups -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Exceptional focus groups --

Contents note continued: Origins of the approach -- Data collection -- Determine the purpose of the focus group -- Determine the role of the moderator -- Determine the composition of the group -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology -- Reliability and validity -- Putting the approach in context -- A real-life example: when focus groups go wrong -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 6.Survey Research - Studying Many Cases -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Hypothesis-testing: from insights to posing questions -- Attributes, attitudes and behaviour -- Sample size and margin of error -- Sampling frames -- Response rates -- Sampling strategies -- Scales of measurement -- Statistical analysis: hypothesis-testing and the null hypothesis -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and scales of measurement -- Question formats -- Putting the approach in context -- Survey fatigue and over-sampling -- Conclusion -- Further readings --

Contents note continued: References -- 7.Experimental Research - In the Laboratory and Beyond -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Hypothesis-testing -- Variables in experiments -- Validity and reliability in data collection -- Cases in experiments -- Analysing experiments -- Some issues in research -- Ethical issues -- The crisis in social psychology: a crisis in positivist epistemology? -- Resourcing -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 8.Unobtrusive Research - Studying Artefacts And Material Traces -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Applications of unobtrusive methods -- Examples of unobtrusive research -- Some issues in research -- Methodological issues: observer bias -- Methodological issues: bias within the data -- Ethical issues: defining `unobtrusive' -- Ethical issues: informed consent -- Ethical issues: deception -- Ethical issues: debriefing --

Contents note continued: Ethical issues: where to from here? -- Putting the approach in context -- The use of new technologies -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 9.Content Research - Coding and Counting -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Looking at coding form -- Hypothesis-testing -- Deciding on what is a case -- Coding: develop a codebook, design a coding form, train the coders -- Drawing a sample -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 10.Secondary Research - More Than Literature Reviews -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Search engines -- Boolean searches -- Hypothesis-testing -- Secondary versus primary research -- Finding gaps in, and running with or against the literature -- Meta-analyses: combining and testing results -- Some issues in research --

Contents note continued: Epistemology and goals of social research -- Putting the approach in context -- Issues in quality assurance -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 11.Semiotic Analysis - Studying Signs and Meanings -- Doing data collection and analysis -- Origins of the approach -- Analysing signs -- Some issues in research -- An aside on rigour -- Structuralism and post-structuralism -- Putting the approach in context -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References -- 12.Autoethnographic Research - Writing and Reading the Self -- Doing data collection and analysis -- An authoethnographic aside -- Origins of the approach -- Autobiography and reflexivity as a case -- Data collection and analysis and reflexivity -- Guidelines for writers -- Analytical autoethnography -- Aims of autoethnography -- Some issues in research -- Epistemology and claims for validity and reliability -- Evaluating autoethnographies -- Putting the approach in context --

Contents note continued: Motivations: the forms of personal documents -- Conclusion -- Further readings -- References.

Added Author:

Curtis, Cate.

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025563293	300.72 C978S 2011	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Original, fresh and relevant this is a theoretically-informed practical guide to researching social relations.

The text provides a mixed methods approach that challenges historical divisions between quantitative and qualitative research. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach to social science research, drawing from areas such as sociology, social psychology and social anthropology.

Explicitly addressing the concerns of emergent researchers it provides both a ′how to′ account of social research and an understanding of the main factors that contextualize research by discussing ′why do′ social scientists work this way.

Throughout the twelve comprehensive chapters procedural (how to) accounts and contextual (why do) issues are usefully applied to major themes and substantive questions.

These key themes include:

(1) Research design

(2) The practices of research and emergent researchers: Beyond ontology, epistemology and methodology

(3) The impact of technology on research

(4) Putting the research approach in context.

A superb teaching text this book will be relished by lecturers seeking an authoritative introduction to social research and by students who want an accessible, enriching text to guide and inspire them.