Researching Society and Culture / Edition 3

by Clive Seale

Overview

In this undergraduate textbook, contributors describe and analyze the theoretical and practical issues of research on society and culture. General topics include research contexts, case studies of collecting and analyzing visual data, and a description of one researcher's practice. Essays discuss the history, policies and theories of social research; literature reviews and surveys; combining qualitative and quantitative data; conducting statistical reasoning and analysis; and preparing the final report. The book closes with a collection of workshop and discussion exercises. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849207997
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	02/22/2012
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	656
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Clive Seale has been Professor of Sociology (or Medical Sociology) at Goldsmiths and Queen Mary's (both University of London) and Brunel University. His work has concerned communication in health care and death in modern society. He has published extensively on research methods. His books include Constructing Death: the sociology of dying and bereavement (Cambridge University Press, 1998), The Quality of Qualitative Research (Sage, 1999), Media and Health (Sage, 2003) and Gender and the Language of Illness (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2010, with Jonathan Charteris-Black). Recently, he has turned to fiction, publishing a novel, Interrogating Ellie (Cloiff Books, 2015) using the pen name Julian Gray. He is currently writing another novel.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Clive Seale
PART ONE: PHILOSOPHY, METHODOLOGY AND HISTORY
Selected Issues in the Philosophy of Social Science - David Lazar
Developments in Social Theory - Paul Filmer et al
Feminist Methodology - Heather Brunskell
Gender, Ethnicity and Fieldwork - Anne-Marie Fortier
A Case Study
The History of the Social Survey - Fran Tonkiss
Historical and Comparative Research - Josep Llobera
PART TWO: BEGINNING RESEARCH
Research and Social Policy - David Silverman
Research and Social Theory - David Silverman
Writing a Research Proposal - Moira Kelly
PART THREE: DOING RESEARCH
Doing Social Surveys - Clive Seale and Paul Filmer
Coding and Analyzing Data - Clive Seale and Moira Kelly
Statistical Reasoning - Clive Seale
From One to Two Variables
Statistical Reasoning - Clive Seale
Causal Arguments and Multivariate Analysis
Using Official Statistics - Don Slater
Qualitative Interviewing - Clive Seale
Doing Ethnography - David Walsh
Analyzing Cultural Objects - Don Slater
Content Analysis and Semiotics
Analyzing Discourse - Fran Tonkiss
Analyzing Conversation - David Silverman
Analyzing Literary Texts - Paul Filmer
Reading and Writing Research - Les Back
PART FOUR: WORKSHOP AND DISCUSSION EXERCISES

Editorial Reviews

Concise and to the point. This is a highly useful methods book for approaching and teaching research on society and culture from start to finish, between qualitative and quantitative approaches.

--Robert Hafner (6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM)

This book has the potential to be a market leader. Seale put together a comprehensive collection of chapters that inspires students to take their classroom examination of methods out into the real world. This book moves ahead of many others by explaining concepts in a way that actively encourages students to engage with them and visualize how they can be used with actual problems. The authors address students directly on a personal level, rather than lecturing, which turns the book into the 'story of methods'. Such an experience means that chapters on theory and ethics draw students into everyday life reassuring them that these are important topics to consider within actual research.

--Grant Coates (7/21/2017 12:00:00 AM)

This brilliant book offers an authoritative exposé of all major aspects of empirical social research. The authors balance consideration for detail, necessary for hands-on research, with general methodological discussion, and show how both are necessary to achieve research excellence.
--Rasmus Helles (7/18/2017 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

This book has the potential to be a market leader. Seale put together a comprehensive collection of chapters that inspires students to take their classroom examination of methods out into the real world. This book moves ahead of many others by explaining concepts in a way that actively encourages students to engage with them and visualize how they can be used with actual problems. The authors address students directly on a personal level, rather than lecturing, which turns the book into the ‘story of methods’. Such an experience means that chapters on theory and ethics draw students into everyday life reassuring them that these are important topics to consider within actual research.

Grant Coates

This brilliant book offers an authoritative exposé of all major aspects of empirical social research. The authors balance consideration for detail, necessary for hands-on research, with general methodological discussion, and show how both are necessary to achieve research excellence.

Rasmus Helles

Concise and to the point. This is a highly useful methods book for approaching and teaching research on society and culture from start to finish, between qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Robert Hafner