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.

In Questioning Qualitative Inquiry Martyn Hammersley raises fundamental questions about the current state of qualitative social research. He examines some of the changes that have taken place within it over the past fifty years, suggesting that the move away from natural science as a model, and towards an appeal to literature and art, involves rejection of key principles that are essential to research of any kind.

Hammersley argues that, in important respects, qualitative inquiry has not lived up to the claims originally made on its behalf, and that more recent developments have worsened the situation. Insufficient attention has been given to the problems surrounding leading ideas like thick description, analytic induction, and constructionism. The argument is pursued through discussion of the work of influential writers - such as Clifford, Geertz, Denzin and Lincoln - and by detailed examination of concrete issues, like the value of interview data, the rationales for discourse and conversation analysis, the role of rhetoric in research reports, and the nature of assessment criteria.

At a time when qualitative inquiry is coming under renewed challenge in some quarters, the task of addressing the methodological problems it faces has become urgent. These essays on current developments and debates are essential reading for anyone interested in the future of qualitative research.

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.