Designing Social Research : The Logic of Anticipation

"Designing Social Research is a uniquely comprehensive and student-friendly guide to the core knowledge and types of skills required for planning social research. The authors organize the book around four major steps in social research - focusing, framing, selecting and distilling - placing particular emphasis on the formulation of research questions and the choice of appropriate 'logics of inquiry' to answer them. The requirements for research designs and proposals are laid out at the beginning of the book, followed by a discussion of key design issues and research ethics. Four sample research designs on environmental issues illustrate the role of research questions and the application of the four logics of inquiry, and this third edition includes new material dedicated to social research in a digital, networked age. Fully revised and updated, Designing Social Research continues to be an invaluable resource to demystify the research process for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Together with the authors' Social Research: Paradigms in Action and Blaikie's Approaches, to Social Enquiry, it offers social scientists an informative guide to designing social research."--Back cover A guide to planning social research in a digital networked age, advising on the appropriate logistics of inquiry. Student friendly. This is a uniquely comprehensive, systematic and student-friendly guide to the core knowledge and types of skills required for planning social research. The authors organise the book around the four major steps in social research - focusing, framing, selecting and distilling - placing particular emphasis on the formulation of research questions and the choice of appropriate 'logics of inquiry' to answer them. The basic requirements for research designs and proposals are laid out at the beginning of the book, followed by a discussion of key design issues such as the role of theoretical and other abstract ideas, varieties of method, sourcing and making sense of data, and research ethics. Four sample research designs on environmental issues illustrate the role of research questions and the application of the four logics of inquiry Introduction1 About the book2 Preparing Research Designs3 Four Research Design Tasks4 Research EthicsPart 1: Focussing5 Research Questions and PurposesPart 2: Framing6 Logics for Answering Research QuestionsPart 3: Selecting7 Concepts, Theories, Hypotheses and Models8 Types, Forms, Sources and Selection of DataPart 4: Distilling9 Methods for Answering Research Questions: Data Gathering, Generation, Reduction and AnalysisResearching Networked Worlds10 Design Considerations11 Ethics ConsiderationsIllustrations12 Sample Research DesignsPostscript