Qualitative Research and Social Change

ZVI BEKERMAN teaches anthropology of education at the School of Education and the Melton Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel PAT COX is Researcher and Lecturer in the in the Department of Social Work, University of Central Lancashire, UK DIANA WENDY FITZGIBBON is Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Hertfordshire, UK THOMAS GEISEN is Researcher and Lecturer in the School of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland ROGER GREEN is Director of the Centre for Community Research, University of Hertfordshire, UK STEPHEN HICKS is Reader in Health and Social Care at the University of Salford, UK PAUL HOGGETT is Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for Psycho-Social Studies, University of the West of England, UK KATRIN KRAUS is Researcher and Lecturer in the Department of Vocational Education at the University of Zurich, Switzerland MARJORIE MAYO is Professor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning and Community Engagement at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK CHRIS MILLER is Professor of Social and Community Development and Director of the Centre for Local Democracy at the University of the West of England, UK CAROLYN TAYLOR is Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Science at the University of Lancaster, UK MICHAEL WRENTSHUR is Researcher and Lecturer in the Institute of Education, Department of Social Pedagogy, University of Graz, Austria

'This collection of excellent chapters by a group of international scholars provides much-needed examples of how research can be responsive to the demands of ever-shifting social realities.' -Dr. Anthony Hickey, Professor of Sociology, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina USA. 'This collection brilliantly explores social research that benefits the exploited or excluded groups it is studying. This wide-ranging work will be essential reading for all who are concerned with the social relevance of critical scholarship.' - Professor Marcel van der Linden, Director of Research, International Institute of Social History and Amsterdam School for Social-Scientific Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 'Incorporating questions of emotions and identity, community and family, criminality and health, performance and learning, the authors in this collection advocate the importance of the qualitative approach. As a famous photographer once said: if you want a good picture, you have to get close.' - Dr. Howard Williamson, Professor of European Youth Policy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Wales, UK.

• Introduction: The Importance of Qualitative Research to Social Change - Preliminary Considerations; P. Cox, T. Geisen and R. Green PART I: EXPLORING CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES Changing Research, Research for Change: Exploring the Perspectives of Complexity Science; P. Cox The Notion of Ambivalence: Human Action and Social Change Beyond Analytical Individualism; T. Geisen A Complex Terrain of Words and Deeds: Discourse, Research and Social Change; S. Hicks and C. Taylor PART II: WELFARE ISSUES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Bringing about Social Change: The Role of Community Research; R. Green Forum Theatre as a Participatory Tool for Social Research and Development: A Reflection on 'Nobody is perfect': A Project with Homeless People; M. Wrentschur Psycho-social Perspectives in Policy and Professional Practice Research; C. Miller, P. Hoggett and M. Mayo PART III: ISSUES IN RESEARCH Evaluating Risk Assessment: A Methodological Study of Mentally Disordered Offenders in the London Probation Area; W. Fitzgibbon Educational Research Need Not Be Irrelevant; Z. Bekerman Policy Analysis in Education - Multiplicity as a Key Orientation for Research; K. Kraus Bibliography