Max Travers – författare

Although most undergraduates are able to collect qualitative data without too much difficulty, they are often less successful in turning this into an interesting, theoretically-informed analysis.

Qualitative Research through Case Studies will help students improve the quality of their work through introducing a wide range of traditions, including interpretive approaches such as grounded theory, dramaturgical analysis, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and political approaches such as critical discourse analysis, feminism and postmodern ethnography.

Each chapter introduces the theoretical assumptions of the tradition through discussing a number of case-studies: classic or exemplary studies which illustrate how different researchers have used qualitative methods in researching a variety of topics. There are also practical hints on designing undergraduate projects, exercises and a guide to further reading.

The book is intended for students in a wide range of disciplines and should be particularly useful for complete beginners who are interested in conducting qualitative research as part o

Although most undergraduates are able to collect qualitative data without too much difficulty, they are often less successful in turning this into an interesting, theoretically-informed analysis.

Qualitative Research through Case Studies will help students improve the quality of their work through introducing a wide range of traditions, including interpretive approaches such as grounded theory, dramaturgical analysis, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and political approaches such as critical discourse analysis, feminism and postmodern ethnography.

Each chapter introduces the theoretical assumptions of the tradition through discussing a number of case-studies: classic or exemplary studies which illustrate how different researchers have used qualitative methods in researching a variety of topics. There are also practical hints on designing undergraduate projects, exercises and a guide to further reading.

The book is intended for students in a wide range of disciplines and should be particularly useful for complete beginners who are interested in conducting qualitative research as part o

Understanding legal rules not as determinants of behavior but as points of reference for conduct, this volume considers the ways in which rules are invoked, referred to, interpreted, put forward or blurred. It also asks how both legal practitioners and lay participants conceive of and participate in the construction of facts and rules, and thus, through decisions, defenses, pleas, files, evidence, interviews and documents, actively participate in law’s life. With attention to the formulation of notions such as person, evidence, intention, cause and responsibility in the course of legal practices, Legal Rules in Practice provides the outlines of a praxiological anthropology of law – an anthropology that focuses on words, concepts and reasoning as actively used to solve conflicts with the help of legal rules. As such, it will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists and scholars of law with interests in ethnomethodology, rule-based conduct and practical reasoning.

Understanding legal rules not as determinants of behavior but as points of reference for conduct, this volume considers the ways in which rules are invoked, referred to, interpreted, put forward or blurred. It also asks how both legal practitioners and lay participants conceive of and participate in the construction of facts and rules, and thus, through decisions, defenses, pleas, files, evidence, interviews and documents, actively participate in law’s life. With attention to the formulation of notions such as person, evidence, intention, cause and responsibility in the course of legal practices, Legal Rules in Practice provides the outlines of a praxiological anthropology of law – an anthropology that focuses on words, concepts and reasoning as actively used to solve conflicts with the help of legal rules. As such, it will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists and scholars of law with interests in ethnomethodology, rule-based conduct and practical reasoning.

Reflections on Methodology offers a new and engaging means of teaching Honours students or those starting a PhD in Sociology about methodological issues. Instead of the usual survey approach, it shows the importance of debates about methodology, the value of an ethnographic approach and the challenges of applied research through a series of case studies.

The text offers insightful short essays on methodological issues such as critical theory, interpretivism, and mixed methods, alongside Travers'' reflections on significant ethnographic projects in areas like court reform, comparative criminology, and immigration control. The book combines methodological discussions with autobiographical elements, making complex research topics accessible and grounded in real-world applications. The central theme and argument are that the thoughtful sociologist should seek to move from the outside to the inside of institutions and social groups and the transformative effect on understanding is illustrated through a number of ethnographic projects. This is also an "end-of-career" book: it employs an autobiographical, narrative approach in describing how Max Travers’ intellectual interests developed, the importance of methodological debate, and the challenges of doing applied research. There are also chapters that review developments in teaching and research in universities over the last thirty years.

This book offers resources that give variety and encourage Honours students to think critically about research. Each 5,000 words chapter is self-contained with an abstract, provocative guide to further reading, exercise and questions.

Reflections on Methodology offers a new and engaging means of teaching Honours students or those starting a PhD in Sociology about methodological issues. Instead of the usual survey approach, it shows the importance of debates about methodology, the value of an ethnographic approach and the challenges of applied research through a series of case studies.

The text offers insightful short essays on methodological issues such as critical theory, interpretivism, and mixed methods, alongside Travers'' reflections on significant ethnographic projects in areas like court reform, comparative criminology, and immigration control. The book combines methodological discussions with autobiographical elements, making complex research topics accessible and grounded in real-world applications. The central theme and argument are that the thoughtful sociologist should seek to move from the outside to the inside of institutions and social groups and the transformative effect on understanding is illustrated through a number of ethnographic projects. This is also an "end-of-career" book: it employs an autobiographical, narrative approach in describing how Max Travers’ intellectual interests developed, the importance of methodological debate, and the challenges of doing applied research. There are also chapters that review developments in teaching and research in universities over the last thirty years.

This book offers resources that give variety and encourage Honours students to think critically about research. Each 5,000 words chapter is self-contained with an abstract, provocative guide to further reading, exercise and questions.

This textbook on the sociology of law is organised according to the theoretical traditions of sociology, and oriented towards providing an accessible, but sophisticated, introduction to, and overview of, the central themes, problems and debates in this field. The book employs an international range of examples - including the state, minority rights, terrorism, family violence, the legal profession, pornography, mediation, religious tolerance, and euthanasia - in order to distinguish a sociological approach to law from ''black-letter'', jurisprudential and empirical policy-oriented traditions. Beginning with ''classical'', ''consensus'' and ''critical'' sociological approaches, the book covers the full range of contemporary perspectives, including the new institutionalism, feminism, the interpretive tradition, postmodernism, legal pluralism and globalisation. It then concludes with a consideration of current theoretical issues, as well as a reflection upon the importance of a sociological approach to law.

Understanding Law and Society provides a clear, but critical, discussion of the relevant literature, along with study questions and guides to further reading. It is designed to support courses in law and society and in the sociology of law, but will also be of value to others with interests in these areas.

This textbook on the sociology of law is organised according to the theoretical traditions of sociology, and oriented towards providing an accessible, but sophisticated, introduction to, and overview of, the central themes, problems and debates in this field. The book employs an international range of examples - including the state, minority rights, terrorism, family violence, the legal profession, pornography, mediation, religious tolerance, and euthanasia - in order to distinguish a sociological approach to law from ''black-letter'', jurisprudential and empirical policy-oriented traditions. Beginning with ''classical'', ''consensus'' and ''critical'' sociological approaches, the book covers the full range of contemporary perspectives, including the new institutionalism, feminism, the interpretive tradition, postmodernism, legal pluralism and globalisation. It then concludes with a consideration of current theoretical issues, as well as a reflection upon the importance of a sociological approach to law.

Understanding Law and Society provides a clear, but critical, discussion of the relevant literature, along with study questions and guides to further reading. It is designed to support courses in law and society and in the sociology of law, but will also be of value to others with interests in these areas.

There has already been much discussion and critique of the New Public Management, and the impact of auditing and inspection on professional work in schools, hospitals, local government and the police. This study, by a qualitative sociologist, uses interpretive methods to examine this new form of regulation from the inside.

Based on interviews with inspectors, quality assurance managers, and auditors, as well as with professionals struggling with red tape, it offers a critical and insightful account of organisational change. The author includes vivid accounts of how quality assurance procedures and systems work in practice, conveying a sense of what is practically involved in the work of counting, measuring and managing quality, and the everyday frustrations of professionals dealing with ever-increasing amounts of paper work and red tape.

This book should be essential reading for anyone concerned about the rise of this new bureaucracy and the contemporary state of the professions. It is intended to support courses on quality assurance and the New Public Management in public administration and management. It also provides an accessible introduction for students in socio-legal studies, sociology and social policy about the effects of neo-liberalism on public sector work.

Immigration has been a controversial and contentious area of public policy since the Commonwealth Immigration Act ended most primary immigration in 1962. This study looks in detail at the work of practioners in the court-system that hears appeals from immigrants and asylum seekers against decisions made by the British Government.

The book contains chapters about decision making in primary purpose and the asylum appeals, the administrative problems faced by successive British governments, and the perspectives of pressure groups and politicians.

The British Immigration Courts transforms our understanding of immigration as a political issue through preserving a sense of routine work in the courts, civil service and political process which is ignored or idealised by other approaches. It is essential reading for practioners, academics and students interested in current debates about policy.