Introducing Research Methodology

A significant effort has been made to present a detailed, contemporary overview of designing and conducting social research. The author goes beyond the usual content covered in this type of textbook, by elaborating on worldview methodological approaches to research.

This continues to be a stand-out resource for students who are undertaking their first social research project, and this edition brings many welcome updates. Particularly welcome are the strengthening of the section on ethics, and the integration of online and digital research throughout the text.

Uwe Flick is Senior Professor of Qualitative Research in Social Science and Education at the Freie Universitt Berlin, Germany. He is a trained psychologist and sociologist and received his PhD from the Freie Universitt Berlin in 1988 and his Habilitation from the Technical University Berlin in 1994. He has been Professor of Qualitative Research at Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, Germany and at the University of Vienna, Austria. Previously, he was Adjunct Professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. Johns, Canada; a Lecturer in research methodology at the Freie Universitt Berlin; a Reader and Assistant Professor in qualitative methods and evaluation at the Technical University Berlin; and Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Sociology at the Hannover Medical School. He has held visiting appointments at the London School of Economics, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, Cambridge University (UK), Memorial University of St Johns (Canada), University of Lisbon (Portugal), Institute of Higher Studies in Vienna, in Italy and Sweden, and the School of Psychology at Massey University, Auckland (New Zealand). His main research interests are qualitative methods, social representations in the fields of individual and public health, vulnerability in fields like youth homelessness or (forced) migration and chronical illness in everyday live. He is the editor of The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design (2 Vols.; Sage 2022). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis (Sage, 2014), The SAGE Qualitative Research Kit (Sage, 2nd edn, 2018), A Companion to Qualitative Research (Sage, 2004), Psychology of the Social (Cambridge University Press, 1998). His most recent publications are the seventh edition of An Introduction to Qualitative Research (Sage, 2023), Doing Grounded Theory (Sage, 2018), Doing Triangulation and Mixed Methods (Sage, 2018), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Collection (editor, Sage, 2018), the third edition of Introducing Research Methodology Thinking Your Way through Your Research Project (Sage, 2020) and Doing Interview Research - The Essential How To Guide (Sage 2022). In 2019, Uwe Flick received the Lifetime Award in Qualitative Inquiry at the 15th International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry.

Part I: Orientation Chapter 1: Why Social Research? Chapter 2: Worldviews in Social Research Chapter 3: Ethical Issues in Social Research Chapter 4: From Research Idea to Research Question Part II: Planning and Design Chapter 5: Reading and Reviewing the Literature Chapter 6: Planning Social Research: Steps in the Research Process Chapter 7: Designing Social Research Part III: Method Selection Chapter 8: Deciding on Your Methods Chapter 9: Triangulation and Mixed Methods Part IV: Working with Data Chapter 10: Using Existing Data Chapter 11: Collecting Data Chapter 12: Analyzing Data Part V: Reflection and Writing Chapter 13: What is Good Research? Evaluating Your Research Project Chapter 14: Writing up Research and Using Results