Research Methods: A Practical Guide for the Social Sciences is an essential resource for the social researcher. It offers a comprehensive introduction for first time researchers right through to thorough and practical advice for those undertaking more advanced work. The book draws on real life experiences from a wide variety of disciplines to show how theory translates into practice, and offers a rigorous analysis of why researchers choose the methods they use. Think about it boxes throughout the text offer questions and ideas to help the researcher to focus on core issues and practical considerations, whilst your research summaries present questions, activities and checklists to help the researcher to develop their ideas. The book is supported by a fantastic companion website that contains learning materials, interactive exercises, videos, questionnaires, datasets and much more. The website can be found at: www.pearsoned.co.uk/matthews Written to reflect the breadth of the social sciences, Research Methods is essential for anyone conducting research in sociology, health policy, social work, criminology, social policy, cultural studies, political studies, public policy and related fields.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART A: Thinking About Research A1: What is Research? A2: Knowledge, Theories, Paradigms and Perspectives A3: The Nature of Data A4: Research Questions, Hypotheses and Operational Definitions A5: Research as an Ethical and Cultural Issue PART B: Preparing for Research B1: Planning a Research Project B2: Reviewing the Literature B3: Research Design B4: Choosing Methods B5: Sampling B6: Research Proposals PART C: Data Collection C1: Collecting Data C2: Data Collection Skills C3: Questionnaires C4: Semi-structured Interviews C5: Focus Groups C6: Observation C7: Narrative Data C8: Documents C9: Secondary Sources of Data C10: Collecting Data Using Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) PART D: Data Analysis D1: Beginning to Analyse D2: Working With Data D3: Statistical Analysis D4: Thematic Analysis D5: Analysing Narrative D6: Discourse Analysis D7: Content Analysis D8: Grounded Theory D9: Using Computers in Data Analysis D10: So What? Drawing Conclusions PART E: Data Presentation and Reports E1: The Importance of Audience E2: Writing for Research: Reports and Dissertations E3: Data Presentation E4: Dissemination and Further Research Glossary