Do It Yourself Social Research

Yoland Wadsworth is a pathbreaker in research methodology and its use in social research in health, community and human services for over forty years. She has been an applied sociologist and consultant to community-based non-government organisations, self-help groups, and state, federal and local governments; an Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University; Principal Fellow in the McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, University of Melbourne; and deputy to the Director of the Policy & Research Branch in Premier & Cabinet, Victorian government. She is also author of the best-selling Everyday Evaluation on the Run (Vol 2 in this 40th anniversary Routledge trilogy) and culminating magnum opus, Human Inquiry for Living Systems: Building in Research and Evaluation for Life (Vol 3 in this same Routledge trilogy).

‘Yoland Wadsworth’s Do It Yourself Social Research is one of the most remarkable products of Australian social science. Practical, sophisticated, ... I know of nothing else that is half as good.’R.W. Connell, Professor of Education, University of Sydney‘ . . . incredibly useful . . .’Elizabeth Reid, United Nations Development Programme, New York‘It raised my view of research from ‘‘something I have to do’’ to ‘‘something I want to do’’.’First-year university student

• 1. Who and what this book is for 2. What is social research? 3. Why do you want to do it? 4. Managing, timing, budgeting and some common mistakes to avoid 5. How to go about ‘finding out’ 6. Other possible resources 7. Interpretation and organising ideas 8. Getting your findings into action Appendix A. Some examples of good do it yourself social research Appendix B. Translations of some common research language