An Invitation to Social Research
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-4473-6387-3 (ISBN)
Description
Tailored to meet the demands of blended learning, this versatile and accessible textbook is ideal for research students embarking on their research journey, complete with a variety of pedagogical and digital tools to aid learning.
More details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bristol University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 170 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4473-6387-3 (9781447363873)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Matthew Wall
An Invitation to Social Research
Book
approx. 10/2026
1st Edition
Policy Press
€129.50
Not yet published
Person
Matthew Wall is Associate Professor, Politics, Philosophy and International Relations at Swansea University.
Content
PART I: SETTING THE SCENE
From the outside in: entering the world of social research
An ongoing conversation: how research pieces interest and interact
A tangled web: traditions, theory and methods
The why and how of research: the purpose of research and the nature of data
PART II: EXPLAINING THE SOCIAL WORLD THROUGH NUMBERS
May I ask you a few questions?: survey methods
Society as a laboratory: experimental methods
Lies, damn lies, and statistics: observational statistical methods
From words to numbers: quantitative content analysis
Through a glass, darkly: forecasting and prediction
PART III: EXPLORING THE SOCIAL WORLD THROUGH WORDS
It's good to talk: the interview method
Group chat: focus groups
Mining text: qualitative analysis of text
Language in context: discourse analysis
Being there: observational methods
PART IV: INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH
The best of both worlds: mixed methods research
Parallel lines: multiple methods research
PART V: CHANGING THE SOCIAL WORLD THROUGH RESEARCH
Beyond the malestream: feminist research methods
Part of the solution: action research methods
Mad world: critical research methods
Judgement calls: evaluative research
PART VI: CONCLUSIONS
Where to from here? From consumer to creator of new knowledge
Do the right thing: research as an ethical practice
From the outside in: entering the world of social research
An ongoing conversation: how research pieces interest and interact
A tangled web: traditions, theory and methods
The why and how of research: the purpose of research and the nature of data
PART II: EXPLAINING THE SOCIAL WORLD THROUGH NUMBERS
May I ask you a few questions?: survey methods
Society as a laboratory: experimental methods
Lies, damn lies, and statistics: observational statistical methods
From words to numbers: quantitative content analysis
Through a glass, darkly: forecasting and prediction
PART III: EXPLORING THE SOCIAL WORLD THROUGH WORDS
It's good to talk: the interview method
Group chat: focus groups
Mining text: qualitative analysis of text
Language in context: discourse analysis
Being there: observational methods
PART IV: INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH
The best of both worlds: mixed methods research
Parallel lines: multiple methods research
PART V: CHANGING THE SOCIAL WORLD THROUGH RESEARCH
Beyond the malestream: feminist research methods
Part of the solution: action research methods
Mad world: critical research methods
Judgement calls: evaluative research
PART VI: CONCLUSIONS
Where to from here? From consumer to creator of new knowledge
Do the right thing: research as an ethical practice