Social Research

Philosophy, Politics and Practice

"Martyn Hammersley's own track record in this territory has ensured that the choice and ordering of the contributions is excellent. The book is presumably intended for postgraduate students and will serve them well. I should like to think that managers, policymakers, and others who commission and use social research might take the time to study this book in order to disabuse themselves of the notion that the research process is simply about collecting and connecting 'facts.'" --Steve Harrison in Health Services Management Research "The collection is focused on the cutting edge, the interface between social research, philosophy, politics, and practice. In both classic and more recent contributions, the authors lucidly and critically raise important methodological issues, none of which can be understood in purely technical terms." --Jaber F. Gubrium, University of Florida "An important guide to current issues and debates in social research. Hammersley has assembled a useful range of source material for the beginning student." --Robert Burgess, University of Warwick Social research takes many forms and is carried out under a wide variety of conditions. It is not surprising that there is a considerable amount of disagreement and debate about the methodological issues it involves. In recent years this debate has intensified, and differences regarding the appropriate methods and goals have become more critical. Social Research draws together a key set of readings to explore the issues that are at the center of the debates. Some of the issues examined are the relationship between quantitative and qualitative methods; positivism, and the role of the natural sciences as a model for social research; the purpose of research--knowledge of the social world or its transformation; issues of race, gender, and power in social research; the politics and ethics of data collection; and the validity and relevance of social research. This thought-provoking volume will be of value to researchers, academics, and undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences, education, nursing and related fields.