Social Research Methods: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches

Framing research as the process of asking and answering questions, this book demonstrates how to identify good research questions and how to structure and explore them successfully.  Whether you are just beginning your research journey or are a seasoned traveller, it helps you:  • Decide what you want to achieve with your research • Know what options you have to explore your goals • Navigate the nuances of different research approaches • Understand the decisions of other researchers • Choose what path best suits your project.  Through real-life examples demonstrating different types of research, the book introduces qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches so you can compare different methods at every stage of the research process, from initial idea and design to data collection and analysis.  This new edition includes new chapters on collecting and analysing mixed methods data, and additional content on qualitative data analysis. New examples reflect the cultural and global diversity of social research, and extra visual aids and summaries support understanding of key research concepts and stages.  The book is accompanied by an online teaching guide, including videos, additional case studies, annotated articles, and critical thinking exercises.

Table of Contents:
Part I Researching Society Chapter 1 How and why we study society Chapter 2 Methods and methodologies in social science Chapter 3 The ethics and politics of research Part II Designing Social Research Chapter 4 Creating research questions Chapter 5 Doing a literature review Chapter 6 Choosing a research design Chapter 7 Finding sources and data Chapter 8 Sampling Part III Data Collection and Data Quality Chapter 9 Ethnography and participant observation Chapter 10 Structured observation Chapter 11 Unstructured interviews and focus groups Chapter 12 Questionnaires and surveys Chapter 13 Documentary sources and qualitative content analysis Chapter 14 Quantitative content analysis Chapter 15 Collecting qualitative and quantitative data: Comparisons and combinations Chapter 16 Data quality, reliability and validity Part IV Data Analysis Chapter 17 Qualitative data analysis: Coding, categorization and concept development Chapter 18 Qualitative data analysis: Typologies, hypotheses and holistic understanding Chapter 19 Quantitative data analysis: Indexes and distributions Chapter 20 Quantitative data analysis: Relationships between variables Chapter 21 Generalizing empirical findings Chapter 22 Analyzing qualitative and quantitative data: Comparisons and combinations Part V Asking and Answering Questions in Social Science Chapter 23 Description, explanation and understanding Chapter 24 Time, space and level Chapter 25 Relations, networks and structures Chapter 26 Big data and computational social science Part VI Writing and Presenting Research Chapter 27 Working with data visualization Chapter 28 Writing about research

About the Author :
Sigmund Grønmo is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and former Rector (Vice-Chancellor) of the University of Bergen, Norway. He is affiliated with the Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway, and he is a Life Member of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge, UK. Previously, he was Professor at the Norwegian Business School, Adjunct Professor at the University of Oslo, and Sámi University of Applied Sciences, as well as Research Director and Executive Director at the Norwegian Fund for Market and Distribution Research. He is an elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and Academiae Europaea, as well as a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He has been a Visiting Professor at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada; Illinois State University, USA; University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; James Cook University, Cairns, Australia; and University of Cambridge, UK. He has also been an Honorary University Professorial Fellow at Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia. He has published numerous books and a large number of journal articles, book chapters and papers, especially within economic sociology, the sociology of time, social network analysis, and social science methodology. He has extensive experience in teaching social research methods at universities and colleges in Norway and several other countries.

Review :
"This is a must-have. Sigmund Grønmo′s book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to contemporary social research approaches, designs and methods. This second edition includes timely and valuable new materials; particularly those on comparisons and combinations when collecting and analysing data. Like the first edition, this one will go straight to my reference bookshelf ... and onto all my major course reading lists." "Research methods manuals are often too technical and devoid of any real-life examples. This book however provides a rather apt account of society and contextualises the use of research methods in a rather effective manner. " Studying children and youth has never been more important than today and Sigmund Gronmos′ Social Research Methods (2nd edition) is the text I use to introduce my students on the chronological and methodological hows and whys of doing research.  Not only are ethical considerations included, but also Gronmos has two engaging and well-written chapters on asking and answering questions in new areas of child research as well tips for teaching my students how to present research once their assignments are completed.  Social Research Methods lays the foundation for my students to continue working on their research topics in fourth-year independent and post-graduate studies. This second edition remains an important resource for students. Everything is covered! From asking the right questions to learning about using digital tools or developing different ways of writing and presenting research. Extra resources in each chapter, including contemporary case studies, will equip students with everything they need to know about doing social research.