Researching Social Life

'Researching Social Life remains the classic, essential guide to social research methods with updated and innovative chapters brought together by a superb team of editors and contributors'. Lisa Dikomitis, Department of Social Sciences, University of Hull, UK.

'This is an excellent and easily accessible compendium of essential research techniques in the social sciences. It is a comprehensive introduction to the field of qualitative social research and a faithful companion during the first steps into empirical research'. Tino Mietz, Faculty of Humanities, Eberhard Karls Universitat Tubingen, Germany.

'Unlike other method texts, this one tells students in clear, readable language how to conduct research in the real world. Students will appreciate the global perspective and the intuitive organization of the book'. Leeda Copley, Department of Sociology, Gerontology and Substance Abuse Studies, University of Central Oklahoma, US. 

Nigel Gilbert is Professor of Sociology at the University of Surrey, Guildford, England. He is the author or editor of 34 books and many academic papers and was the founding editor of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. His current research focuses on the application of agent-based models to understanding social and economic phenomena, especially the emergence of norms, culture, and innovation. He obtained a doctorate in the sociology of scientific knowledge in 1974 from the University of Cambridge and has subsequently taught at the universities of York and Surrey in England. He is one of the pioneers in the field of social simulation and is past president of the European Social Simulation Association. He is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences and of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Conceptualising Social Life - Geoff Cooper and Rob Meadows Research: Theory and Method - Nigel Gilbert Formulating and Refining a Research Question - Nicola Green Conducting Systematic Reviews - Karen Bullock and Daniel McCarthy The Foundations of Quantitative Research - Paul Stoneman and Ian Brunton-Smith Grounded Theory - Paul Hodkinson Mixed Methods - Victoria Alexander et al Participatory Approaches to Social Research - Christina Silver Evaluation Research - Mike McGuire The Ethics of Social Research - Janet Boddy Designing Samples - Patrick Sturgis Designing Questionnaires - Charles Leddy-Owen Measuring Attitudes - Tom Scotto Focus Groups - Ann Cronin Qualitative Interviewing - Nigel Fielding and Hilary Thomas Ethnography - Nigel Fielding The Internet and Research Methods - Christine Hine Coding and Managing Data - Jane Fielding Analysing Survey Data - Paul Stoneman International Comparative Research - Linda Hantrais CAQDAS - Ann Lewins Thematic Analysis - Alex Seal Narrative Analysis - Sarah Earthy and Ann Cronin Conversation and Membership Categorisation Analysis - Andrew King and Lorraine Locke Analysing Visual Methods - Victoria Alexander Digital Social Research - Christine Hine Writing about Social Research - Nigel Gilbert The Impact of Social Research - Paul Stoneman and Nigel Gilbert