Designing Social Research

A Guide for the Bewildered

Ian Greener

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781849201902, 9781849201896
• eBook ISBN: 9781446259696
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

Designing Social Research aims to guide students and new researchers using everyday non-jargonised language through the jungle of setting up their own research study. Ian Greener provides readers an accessible combination of guidance on how to practically plan one?s research and understand the underpinning methodological principles that should inform the decisions we make about the methods we plan to use.

This is the perfect starter book for anyone looking to design their own research project and make sense of and justify the many decisions that go into the research design process. The goal throughout is to enable students and researchers to assess the appropriateness of a range of methods and to get understanding of the strengths and limitations of different approaches to research.

Greener highlights key debates in the field - both philosophical and practical - and presents them in such a way that they remain constantly relevant to research practice of his readers. Coverage includes:

- Framing an effective research question/problem;

- Examining the jargon of social research;

- The links between theory, methodology and method;

- The role of literature reviewing in research design;

- Managing and planning the research process;

- Sampling;

- Qualitative designs;

- Quantitative designs;

- Mixed methods designs;

- Data analysis.

Designing Social Research will be ideal first reading for M-level students and undergraduates planning significant research projects for their dissertations. It will also be invaluable to first year PhD students considering how they will go about their research projects.

Index

• abduction 15, 16, 41, 201
• actor-network theory (ANT) 16–18, 19–20, 112, 115–116, 119, 121–123, 127, 158–159, 160, 166
• American Sociological Association 143–144
• annotating pdfs 27, 180
• anonymity 31, 38, 51–52, 53, 87, 144, 145, 146–147, 148
• anthropological research 16, 17, 73, 84–89, 95, 106, 158, 160, 195
• Archer, Margaret 19, 121, 129, 201
• argumentation 23, 26, 33, 157–173, 178, 186, 188
• Ariely, Dan 13, 46, 52, 134,
• ASBOs 31
• avoidance of harm 52, 77, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150, 197
• Ayres, Ian 61, 71–72

• balance in research 147, 150–151, 170–171, 173
• Bhaskar, Roy 117, 201
• Blaikie, Norman 55
• books as sources 23, 25, 26, 27
• Bryman, Alan 61
• Byrne, David 15, 60, 61, 132, 158

• Case studies 74, 137–138, 139, 140, 166
• Causality 15, 17, 112–115, 116–119, 122–124, 132, 137
• Choice, Paradox of 54
• class analysis 14–16, 17, 18, 19, 31...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Publisher Note
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Illustration List
• About the Author
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• One Introduction to Social Research Design – or what are you Talking about?
• Two Reviewing what other People have Said – or how can I Tell if others' Research is any Good?
• Three Surveys and Questionnaires – or how can I Conduct Research with People at a Distance?
• Four Elements of Quantitative Design: Sampling and Statistics – or what can I do with Numbers?
• Five Ethnography as a Research Approach – or what do I Gain from Watching People and Talking to them?
• Six Dealing with Qualitative Data – or what should I do with All these Words?
• Seven Causality in your Research – or how Deep should Ontology Go?
• Eight Dealing with Time and Control – or what Time Period Suits my Research, and how do I Stop the World from Interfering in it?
• Nine Ethics – or what Practices are Appropriate in my Research?
• Ten Writing up your Research – or what can I Say i've Found?
• Eleven Writing up Reviews and Putting Together Proposals – or can you Provide Some Examples of All of this?
• Twelve Conclusion – or Getting on with Social Research
• Glossary
• References
• Index