You are here

In observance of the 2024 holiday season, Sage offices will be closed Monday December 23rd through Wednesday January 1st. Normal operations, including shipping for orders placed during the closure, will resume on Thursday January 2nd. For technical support during this time, please visit our technical support page for assistance options. 

We wish you a wonderful holiday season. Thank you. 

Disable VAT on Taiwan

Unfortunately, as of 1 January 2020 SAGE Ltd is no longer able to support sales of electronically supplied services to Taiwan customers that are not Taiwan VAT registered. We apologise for any inconvenience. For more information or to place a print-only order, please contact uk.customerservices@sagepub.co.uk.

Self and Subjectivity in Social Research
Share
Share

Self and Subjectivity in Social Research



May 2025 | 288 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

This is a book that thinks about what it means to be human and what this could mean for social research. 

Addressing ontological shifts across the social sciences, the book reconsiders the nature of self, experience and social reality and their implications for doing research differently. It delves into wide-ranging topics from the self in crisis, through the self and the nature of language, to ethics and the self. 

The book also:

  • Helps you understand epistemology and ontology in practice with case studies of real world research;
  • Critiques dominant approaches and examines global perspectives and contexts that challenge them;
  • Explores the potential of interdisciplinary approaches to resolve tensions in social research;
  • Discusses how ontology can shape research practice, policy development and social support systems.

This book will help postgraduate students, academics, researchers and teachers embrace new ways of thinking about self and subjectivity.

Donna M. Thomas is a Research Fellow at the University of Central Lancashire and Co-director of ICreateS International Research Unit & Research.

Sarah Durston is head of the Sentience and Science Foundation, the Netherlands, honorary professor at UCLan and co-director of the ICreateS research unit, and professor in developmental neuroscience at Utrecht University, the Netherlands.


 
Chapter 1 The Trouble with Self and Subjectivity in Social Research
 
Chapter 2 What are Self and Subjectivity?
 
Chapter 3 Self in the Context of Social Research
 
Chapter 4 Who Knows? Self and Knowledge in Social Research
 
Chapter 5 The Importance of Epistemology & Ontology in Social Research
 
Chapter 6 Self and the Intersection between Medical Science & Social Research
 
Chapter 7 Cultural Perspectives on Self & Subjectivity in Research
 
Chapter 8 Self, Language & Social Research
 
Chapter 9 Visualising Self: Literacies in Social Research
 
Chapter 10 Doing Research Differently
 
Chapter 11 Ideas of the World and Social Research
 
Chapter 12 Society in Crisis: The Importance for Researching Self & Subjectivity

Unpacking a variety of research methods through the course of the book, Thomas and Crook have produced an accessible and thorough overview of how researchers in disciplines such as sociology, cultural studies and media studies might navigate complex issues of self and subjectivity. Ontological and epistemological concerns are thoroughly explored through a comprehensive outline of ideas by many key theorists and philosophers. Recognising that the more abstract of these ideas can be difficult for some students, the scholarly analysis here is deliberately pitched at a digestible but challenging level that is ideal for undergraduate teaching. This is complemented by a selection of demonstrative case studies throughout and interesting tasks at the end of each chapter, both of which are useful tools for lecturers teaching in the previously mentioned disciplines.

Michael Waugh
Deputy Degree Programme Director for Media, Communication & Cultural Studies, Newcastle University

Sage College Publishing

You can purchase or sample this product on our Sage College Publishing site:

Go To College Site