Raymond Lee - Böcker

“a book all self-respecting social researchers should read” SRA News

* What are unobtrusive methods in social research?* How are they undertaken and what are their advantages?* What are the problems associated with their use?Webb et al's 1966 classic, Unobtrusive Methods introduced the concept of unobtrusive research. Since then very little else has been written in the field. This book revisits the ground covered by Webb et al, re-contextualizing it for the information age and putting the case for an increased use of unobtrusive methods. Unobtrusive Methods in Social Research provides an updated discussion of the role of unobtrusive methods in social research. It explores the theoretical underpinnings of Webb et al's approach in order to understand more explicitly how unobtrusive methods are generated and examines some of the wider ethical issues raised by the use of unobtrusive methods in social research. In addition, it offers a discussion of using the Internet as a tool for unobtrusive research.Unobtrusive Methods in Social Research is a worthy successor to Webb et al. It is up to date, comprehensive and clearly written. It will help undergraduates to understand what has become a standard topic on research methods courses and it is hoped that it will encourage postgraduate students and professionals to make more use of unobtrusive methods in their research.

A comprehensive introduction to the underlying technologies of e-commerceThis book explores the full range of technologies, protocols, and techniques necessary for building successful e-commerce sites. The authors begin with an overview of the Internet and the Web, then quickly move on to explain server-side programming techniques, cryptography and Internet security, and how to take advantage of leading-edge technologies such as mobile agents, WAP, XML, and data mining tools. Placing this technical know-how in business context, the authors then walk readers through actual e-commerce applications, from Internet payment systems to Web advertising and publishing. A running case study depicting a Virtual Book Store (VBS), step-by-step programming exercises, and real-world examples round out this highly practical, easily accessible guide.

The use of computers in qualitative research has redefined the way social researchers handle qualitative data. Two leading researchers in the field have written this lucid and accessible text on the principal approaches in qualitative research and show how the leading computer programs are used in computer-assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS).

The authors examine the advantages and disadvantages of computer use, the impact of research resources and the research environment on the research process, and the status of qualitative research. They provide a framework for developing the craft and practice of CAQDAS and conclude by examining the latest techniques and their implications for the evolution of qualitative research.

This is a comprehensive assessment of recent developments in the use of computers in qualitative research, an increasingly important and rapidly growing area of interest among social scientists and graduate students.

Using Computers in Qualitative Research profiles and compares the principal programs available, identifying their particular strengths and limitations. It outlines the sorts of research problems that existing and forthcoming software can and cannot handle. The contributors also draw on their experiences of teaching computer-based techniques to suggest ways in which these could be incorporated into research methods training. [Reprinted with updated information on computer resources, 1992]

This book is a comprehensive guide to the methodological, ethical and practical issues involved in undertaking research on sensitive topics. Raymond M Lee explores the reasons why social research may be politically or socially contentious: its relation to issues of social or political power; its capacity to encroach on people's lives; and its potentially problematic nature for the researcher.

Issues examined include: the choice of methodologies for sensitive research; problems of estimating the size of hidden populations; questions of sampling, surveying and interviewing; and sensitivity in access and the handling of data. The book also discusses the political and ethical issues at stake in the relations between the researcher and the researched, and in the disclosure, dissemination and publication of research.

This textbook provides a contemporary and comprehensive overview of Natural Language Processing (NLP), covering fundamental concepts, core algorithms, and key applications such as AI chatbots, Large Language Models and Generative AI.