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How to Study Social Life
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How to Study Social Life



December 2024 | 240 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

Do you want to study what people do, the things they say, or what they think?

This book offers a lively and questioning account of the essential elements of social research, from defining your research purpose to producing the right output for your audience.

Fostering inquisitiveness and ingenuity and drawing on lots of examples and experiences, it will inspire you to think afresh about the various things you might do as a social researcher.

It will also:

  • Reveal the lived realities of research, sharing honest and illuminating stories along the way;
  •  Draw on plenty of past exercises with students to consider how different activities work
  • Demystify the process so you can think for yourself about how to do effective projects.

Original, engaging and candid, this book will help any undergraduate or postgraduate navigate the dynamic and challenging landscape of social research with confidence and creativity.

 
Chapter 1. Introduction: What is the point of this book and how to use it
 
Chapter 2. Warrants: Starting with what you want your study to achieve
 
Chapter 3. Observing: On learning to learn from different social scenes
 
Chapter 4. Taking part: Considering the benefits of getting involved ourselves
 
Chapter 5. Staging talk: How to do and imagine interviews
 
Chapter 6. Engaging people: Seeing social research as a relationship
 
Chapter 7. Asking questions: Exploring a basic act that features in many methods
 
Chapter 8. Playing with words: Strategies for seeing and exploring patterns
 
Chapter 9. Looking at pictures: Ways of getting drawn into social worlds
 
Chapter 10. Choosing: How thinking about cases and samples can make for innovative projects
 
Chapter 11. Writing: How to present the material we’ve collected

Finally—a social research methods book that will make you eager to dive into fieldwork! With humour, wisdom, and a healthy dose of curiosity, Russell and Alan are the ultimate companions for your research adventure. From the first spark of an idea to the final write-up, this book is jam-packed with practical tips, surprising insights, and real-world examples that break down every barrier—including the ones no one else talks about! Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned pro, this is the game-changing methods guide you've been waiting for!

Professor David Bissell
University of Melbourne

This book has a delightful, informal style that immediately draws readers in while providing detailed guidance based on extensive experience. Evidently rigorous and thoroughly tested, the authors are also deeply motivated by the fact that doing social research is fun!

Professor Cecily Maller
RMIT University, Melbourne.

Russell Hitchings

Russell Hitchings was a Professor of Human Geography at University College London. His research focused on everyday practice, energy consumption and nature experience and he had been lucky to study these themes in a variety of contexts all around the world. He was particularly interested in how we use talk to examine these topics, having done a lot interviewing about them. He also used focus groups, solicited diaries, observation, and survey methods when that seemed like a good idea. Originally from South Wales, he spent many years at UCL, London. More About Author

Alan Latham

Alan Latham is another Professor of Human Geography at University College London. His research focuses on sociality, social infrastructure, and the public life of cities more generally. He’s studied those themes in all sorts of places around the world too. In undertaking this work, he’s explored a range of research approaches – including the use of photo-diaries, diary-interviews, social contact logs, and video recording and analysis. He’s interested in doing whatever works to get as close as possible to the realities of people’s experience. Originally from New Zealand, he’s also been in London, and UCL, for quite a long time too. More About Author

For instructors