Researching Social Life
- Nigel Gilbert - University of Surrey, UK
- Paul Stoneman - Goldsmith College, London, UK
Paul Stoneman and Nigel Gilbert breathe new energy into this classic bestselling textbook providing clear, relevant advice and extensive coverage of all the research methods you need to understand today’s society.
Packed full of examples from across the social sciences, Researching Social Life sets out all of the challenges and opportunities of interpreting and conducting research with qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods.
The book follows the chronology of a typical research project, from initial conception through to the collection, management and analysis of data; it also includes material on how best to write up and disseminate your research. This pragmatic approach mirrors the reality of conducting research and allows the handpicked, internationally renowned contributors to embed real case studies from their own research in each chapter.
The student-oriented pedagogy is carefully woven throughout the book and further supported by a cutting-edge website. Key tools include:
- In-depth worked examples
- Case studies
- Discussion questions
- Checklists
- Annotated further reading
- Practical top tips for doing research.
With unparalleled breadth and depth this trusted and respected textbook is an essential guide for anyone engaging with social research.
Supplements
This text is recommended as an introduction for students who are new to social research,the structure, content and style are excellent. I particularly like how each section and chapter builds on the former creating cohesive thread. The content comprehensively covers the wide range of research methods that students might wish to use making links between quantitative and qualitative methods apparent. Furthermore I really like the way most chapters end with a project, allowing the reader to practice the aforementioned theory.
A useful text for students/researchers think of adopting participatory approaches or visual methodologies
This edition, once again, provides some excellent discussion of a wide range of topics. The presentation is student friendly with helpful recommended activities at the end of each chapter.
Appropriate as a supplementary text for a masters level course on digital research methods, demonstrating how longstanding research methods are relevant/have been affected by digital.
This is a good and comprehensive general research methods text book. It is one of the books that I use in developing lecture notes.
For Dissertation students, this is a very useful guide to social research methods, with additional online support and links. It helps students design their research, manage and analyse the data, and provides some useful guidelines on how to write up their research.
This is a useful guide to social research methods, which students in this Year 2 course will need for their work.
A useful addition to the range of methods texts recommended for our MA students doing our Qualitative Research methods module
Brilliantly written by all contributing authors, this wide-ranging book is one I recommend to all students writing BSc and MSc theses.
Extensive but highly relevant coverage. An interesting style of mixing instruction with critical engagement