Martyn Hammersley – författare

`Martyn Hammersley has produced a remarkably complete analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of educational research. I believe the analysis to be fair to all parties' - Lewis Elton, British Journal of Educational Technology

Educational research and its relationship with policy making and practice has been a perennial concern. This book deals with some basic and controversial questions about that issue, including:

- Can there be harmony in the relationship between researchers and educational policymakers or practitioners?

- Do increases in knowledge always lead to practical improvement, and never to undesirable consequences?

- Would educational research flourish if it were subjected to more central, and external, control?

- What is the role of research reviews in making the results of research publicly available?

Educational Research maps the demands now being made on educational research against the background complexities of the relationship between research and practice.

This book is for students on methodology courses, taught courses and research degrees in education, social science disciplines, social policy and health studies both at masters and doctoral level.

`Martyn Hammersley has produced a remarkably complete analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of educational research. I believe the analysis to be fair to all parties' - Lewis Elton, British Journal of Educational Technology

Educational research and its relationship with policy making and practice has been a perennial concern. This book deals with some basic and controversial questions about that issue, including:

- Can there be harmony in the relationship between researchers and educational policymakers or practitioners?

- Do increases in knowledge always lead to practical improvement, and never to undesirable consequences?

- Would educational research flourish if it were subjected to more central, and external, control?

- What is the role of research reviews in making the results of research publicly available?

Educational Research maps the demands now being made on educational research against the background complexities of the relationship between research and practice.

This book is for students on methodology courses, taught courses and research degrees in education, social science disciplines, social policy and health studies both at masters and doctoral level.

Recent years have seen a growing range of challenges to the idea that research should be governed by the principle of value neutrality. Critical, feminist, antiracist and postmodernist analyses have argued that social research is intrinsically political. In this stimulating and often controversial book, Martyn Hammersley weighs the arguments offered in support of these positions. He considers the fundamental issues that the debate raises about the nature of social research, its political dimensions and its contemporary relevance. At the same time he provides a robust defence of value neutrality as a constitutive principle of social research, and makes a reassessment of the role of research in modern societies.

Praise for The Politics of Social Research

`For anyone interested in the nature of social research, who has enough grasp of the issues to access the text, this book is a must' - British Journal of Educational Psychology

`All in all Hammersley has produced a text which provides us with much to think about. As I have said, certain chapters will, no doubt, attract considerable debate. Almost all of the chapters could stand alone but the broad political theme used to bring chapters and topics together works well almost always' - Local Government Studies

`Not only is Hammersley a leading exponent of sociological research, he is also a key writer and thinker on the problems of undertaking research. This collection, some of which has been published elsewhere and some not, therefore is a welcome addition to the literature on social research... interesting and well-argued' - Disability and Society

Recent years have seen a growing range of challenges to the idea that research should be governed by the principle of value neutrality. Critical, feminist, antiracist and postmodernist analyses have argued that social research is intrinsically political. In this stimulating and often controversial book, Martyn Hammersley weighs the arguments offered in support of these positions. He considers the fundamental issues that the debate raises about the nature of social research, its political dimensions and its contemporary relevance. At the same time he provides a robust defence of value neutrality as a constitutive principle of social research, and makes a reassessment of the role of research in modern societies.

Praise for The Politics of Social Research

`For anyone interested in the nature of social research, who has enough grasp of the issues to access the text, this book is a must' - British Journal of Educational Psychology

`All in all Hammersley has produced a text which provides us with much to think about. As I have said, certain chapters will, no doubt, attract considerable debate. Almost all of the chapters could stand alone but the broad political theme used to bring chapters and topics together works well almost always' - Local Government Studies

`Not only is Hammersley a leading exponent of sociological research, he is also a key writer and thinker on the problems of undertaking research. This collection, some of which has been published elsewhere and some not, therefore is a welcome addition to the literature on social research... interesting and well-argued' - Disability and Society

Social Research is a set book for The Open University course DEH313 Principles of Social and Educational Research.

The authors argue that the starting point for any discussion of research ethics must be the values intrinsic to research, above all the commitment to knowledge-production. However, the pursuit of inquiry is rightly constrained by external values, and the book focuses on three of these: minimising harm, respecting autonomy, and protecting privacy. These external values are shown to be far from unequivocal in character, often in conflict with one another (or with the commitments of research), and always subject to situational interpretation and practical judgment. Nevertheless, it is contended that in the present challenging times it is essential that qualitative researchers uphold research values.

Martyn Hammersley is Professor of Educational and Social Research at The Open University.

Anna Traianou is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London.

Key questions explored include:

- Is scientific research evidence-based?

- What counts as evidence for evidence-based practice?

- Is social measurement possible, and is it necessary?

- What are the criteria by which qualitative research should be judged?

The book also discusses the case for action research, the nature of systematic reviews, proposals for interpretive reviews, and the process of qualitative synthesis.

Highly readable and undeniably relevant, this book is a valuable resource for both academics and professionals involved with research.

Originally published in 1990, Classroom Ethnography examines the interplay between empirical research and methodological reflection. It explores the nature, the methods, the role, and the limitations of ethnographic research on school classrooms.

Beginning with examples of Hammersley’s empirical research, the book then moves on to a number of reflections about the methodology of ethnographic research, covering such matters as the role of theory and the relative contributions of qualitative and quantitative work.

Classroom Ethnography will be of use to those with an interest in educational research methodology and, in particular, of ethnographic research on classrooms.

Originally published in 1990, Classroom Ethnography examines the interplay between empirical research and methodological reflection. It explores the nature, the methods, the role, and the limitations of ethnographic research on school classrooms.

Beginning with examples of Hammersley’s empirical research, the book then moves on to a number of reflections about the methodology of ethnographic research, covering such matters as the role of theory and the relative contributions of qualitative and quantitative work.

Classroom Ethnography will be of use to those with an interest in educational research methodology and, in particular, of ethnographic research on classrooms.

There can be little doubt that pupils’ own interpretations of what happens in their schools represent a crucial link in the educational chain. We need to understand how pupils respond to different forms of pedagogy and school organization, and why they respond in the ways they do, in order to increase the effectiveness of our schooling.

In the ten years prior to first publication ethnographic studies of pupils in schools had increased in number and importance. They had come to represent a leading area of inquiry which is still of relevance to practising and student teachers today. However, this material was not easily accessible, being widely distributed across educational and sociological journals and books. Originally published in 1984, this book collects together significant contributions to the field in a single volume, and will still be of relevance to practising and trainee teachers, and students of sociology and education.