Table of Contents

PART ONE: STARTING YOUR RESEARCH
Getting Started
Being Ethical
Data and Data Collection
The Qualitative and the Quantitative in Social Research
What Is Social Research?
Examples from the Field
PART TWO: RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION
Introduction to the Process of Qualitative Research
Qualitative Interviewing
One-to-One and Focus Groups
Ethnography and Case Study Research
Collecting Textual Data
Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis
Introduction to Quantitative Research Design
Hypotheses, Operationalization and Variables
Sampling
Survey Design
Collecting and Coding Data
PART THREE: DATA ANALYSIS
Introduction to Qualitative Data Analysis
Coding Qualitative Data (Qualitative Content Analysis)
Semiotic and Narrative Forms of Discourse Analysis and Doing Conversation Analysis
Using Computer Software
Working with NVivo/N6
Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis
Describing Single Variables
Describing and Exploring Relationships
Inferential Statistics and Hypothesis Testing
Data Manipulation
PART FOUR: PRESENTING RESEARCH FINDINGS
Producing a Written Report
Presenting Research Findings to an Audience

About the Author

Matthew David is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Science at Durham University, and has undertaken research in the areas of new social movements, online data-services in higher education, online training in rural areas and forms of free online music sharing. He is author of Science in Society (Palgrave 2005) and Peer to Peer and the Music Industry (SAGE 2010), and co-author of Social Research (SAGE, latest edition 2011).

Reviews

`This is a valuable addition to the social research literature because it provides practical and detailed support to undergraduates who are conducting research for the first time′ - Tim May, University of Salford