Approaches and Processes of Social Science Research

For the social sciences, the approach and processes in research are quite different. The type of evidence that social scientists can collect is often very dependent on the method that has been used to gather the data. The type of findings that can be discussed are often not straightforward at all, and no easy comparison can be made with the natural sciences, although this is not impossible. The methodology in the social sciences has the same role as technology and lab techniques in the natural sciences as these need to be developed rapidly to account for the increasing complexity of the natural objects to be studied. The methodologies in the social sciences need to go through an intense period of critique, reflection, and reformulation to consider the complexity of social issues under investigation. Therefore, the area of social sciences research and methodologies should continually be studied to advance the field. Approaches and Processes of Social Science Research presents new research methodologies in the social science field and aims at providing a broad introduction to the methodology of social research in its main theoretical foundations as well as in its practical applications. Readers will develop a critical thinking attitude about social problems which in turn will sharpen their analytic approach to research. This book includes four main parts: philosophical perspectives, strategies for conducting research, common approaches for handling and collecting data, and critical aspects of research writing throughout the process. While highlighting topics such as critical theory in research, ethical issues, research processes, data analysis, and more, this book is ideal for researchers in the social sciences and practitioners, stakeholders, academicians, and students interested in deepening their understanding of the ideas and the practices of social science research.

About the Author :
Icarbord Tshabangu (PhD), is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Childhood and Education, Leeds Trinity University, UK. He has previously worked as a Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Educational Foundations and Management programmes, teaching postgraduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Arusha, Tanzania and at the University of Namibia, Namibia. He was also associated with the University of Liverpool Online as Honorary Senior Lecturer. He has served as an internal and external examiner at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and continues to be a research supervisor. His teaching and research interests are largely on children’s rights, democratic citizenship, Education policy and qualitative methodologies. He is also a coordinator for Global Citizenship and Children's Rights Network (GLOCCRIN) and Non-Executive Director for Community Development and Services Alliances (CODESA), UK. Stefano Ba’ , PhD, is a lecturer at the Institute of Childhood and Education (ICE), Leeds Trinity University, UK. He has a dual national academic background (a taught doctorate in Political Sciences from the University of Perugia, Italy and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Manchester, UK and at present researches family life, children, and job insecurity. He is a sociologist who has grounding in Critical Theory and has recently published in high impact factor journals such as Work, Employment and Society and Capital and Class. Prior to researching how family life mixes with precarity, he studied the so-called work-family balance (or work and family reconciliation), publishing his finding in a monograph: A Cultural Study of the Work and Family Balance. He also contributed to the following peer-reviewed journals: Sociological Research Online, Community Work and Family and Quaderni di Teoria Sociale [social theory notebooks]. He is a member of the Trans-Pennine Working Group (a group of scholars committed to social critical approaches) and of Critical Political Economy Research Network, contributing regularly to their conferences. Silas Memory Madondo is currently working as a senior researcher. He once worked as a university lecturer and Director of research and consultancy. He published books and several articles in the area of research