Social Research

Matthew David is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Science at Durham University, and has undertaken research in the areas of new social movements, online data-services in higher education, online training in rural areas and forms of free online music sharing. He is author of Science in Society (Palgrave 2005) and Peer to Peer and the Music Industry (SAGE 2010), and co-author of Social Research (SAGE, latest edition 2011).

′By far the very best treatment of this topic in the field today ′ - Norman Denzin, University of Illinois ′The second edition of Social Research: An Introduction firmly establishes this book as a standard amongst introductory methods books. It is comprehensive and covers the whole range of frequently used methods. It is clearly built on solid pedagogic and conceptual foundations. David and Sutton write from the position of experienced, theoretically informed researchers with a genuine commitment to pluralism in research methods. It is clearly written, yet sophisticated and is a valuable resource for both students and professionals new to social research and more experienced researchers who wish to expand their methodological repertoire′ - Malcolm Williams, Director of the School of Social Sciences, University of Cardiff Praise for the first edition:′… a valuable addition to the social research literature because it provides practical and detailed support to undergraduates who are conducting research for the first time′ - Professor Tim May, University of Salford′… balanced, user-friendly and timely′ - Norman Denzin, University of Illinois

• PART ONE: STARTING YOUR RESEARCHGetting Started: Theory, Research Question and Research DesignBeing EthicalLiterature Searching and Reviewing Theory and Research: Quality and Quantity PART TWO: DATA-COLLECTION STRATEGIESIntroduction to the Process of Qualitative Research Qualitative Interviewing Focus GroupsEthnographyCase Study ResearchCollecting Textual and Visual Data: Public and PrivateGrounded Theory as an Abductive Approach to Data CollectionIntroduction to Quantitative Research Design Hypotheses, Operationalization and Variables Sampling Survey Design Collecting and Coding Quantitative Data Methodological Innovations: Mixing Methods and E-Research PART THREE: DATA ANALYSISIntroduction to Qualitative Data AnalysisCoding Qualitative Data: Qualitative Content AnalysisSemiotic and Narrative Forms of Discourse Analysis and Doing Conversation Analysis Using Computer Software: Working with Nvivo8 Visual AnalysisIntroduction to Quantitative Data Entry Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis: Describing Single VariablesDescribing and Exploring Relationships between Two VariablesInferential Statistics and Hypothesis-TestingData-Management TechniquesPART FOUR: PRESENTING RESEARCHPresenting Research Findings