What are the problems to which materialist methodologies are posed as a solution? In this book, Aaron M. Kuntz maps the impact of materialism on contemporary practices of inquiry in education and the social sciences. Through this work, the author challenges readers to consider inquiry as a mode of ethically engaged citizenship with implications for resisting our contemporary moment towards a more equitable future. The author engages his own inquiry as radical cartographic work, drawing forth distinctions between dialectical and dialogic formations of materialism in order to develop what he terms relational materialism-an engaged orientation to living that dwells in the entangled relations of affirmative ethics and enduring practices of resistance and refusal. Drawing upon examples from higher education, contemporary culture, and normative assumptions of governance, the author considers the potential that we might generate living alternatives to the contemporary status quo; daily practices no longer dependent on binary division or standardized calculations of what "matters." As such, the author advocates for practices of virtuous inquiry (future-orientated ethical assertions of what one should do) that orient inquiry as materially ethical activity. Despite the often-overwhelming state of inequity and exploitation in our contemporary world, Kuntz generates an affirmative ethical stance that we can become relationally different, guided by a virtuous determination to articulate inquiry as the cartographic work of disruption and imagination. This text will prove valuable to graduate students and faculty who take inquiry seriously and seek the means to understand their work as engaged in the necessary challenge for material change.

Originally published in 1995, Beyond Capital Labor is a comprehensive empirical study about how and how much technology and regional contextual factors may influence company production and productivity growth. The book constitutes a conceptually consistent and empirically efficient study and provides a consolidated model and an analytical framework to examine the contributions of technology and regional factors to company production and productivity growth. This work goes beyond the current state and brings many scattered theoretical components together to establish an integrated model.

Full of practical advice and real-world examples, this step-by-step guide offers you an accessible introduction to doing quantitative social research using Microsoft Excel.

How are we to characterise the context in which organisations operate? The notion that organisational activity is shaped by institutional logics has been influential but it presents a number of problems. The criteria by which institutions are identified, the conflation of institutions with organisations, the enduring nature of those institutions and an exaggerated focus on change are all concerns that existing perspectives do not tackle adequately. This book uses the resources of historical work to suggest new ways of looking at institutional logics. It builds on the work of Roger Friedland who has conceived of institutional logics being animated by adherence to a core substance that is immanent in practices. Development of this idea in the context of organisation theory is supported by ideas drawn from the work of the social theorist Margaret Archer and the broader resources of the philosophical tradition of critical realism. Institutions are seen to emerge over time from the embodied relations of humans to each other and to the natural world on which they depend for material existence. Once emergent, institutions develop their own logics and endure to form the context in which agents are involuntarily placed and that conditions their activity. The approach adopted offers resources to 'bring society back in' to the study of organisations. The book will appeal to graduate students who are engaging with institutional theory in their research. It will also be of interest to scholars of institutional theory, of the history of organisations and those seeking to apply ideas from critical realism to their research.

This book invites the reader to think about collaborative research differently. Using the concepts of 'letting go' (the recognition that research is always in a state of becoming) and 'poetics' (using an approach that might interrupt and remake the conventions of research), it envisions collaborative research as a space where relationships are forged with the use of arts-based and multimodal ways of seeing, inquiring and representing ideas. The book's chapters are interwoven with 'Interludes' which provide alternative forms to think with and another vantage point from which to regard phenomena, pose a question and seek insights or openings for further inquiry, rather than answers. Altogether, the book celebrates collaboration in complex, exploratory, literary and artistic ways within university and community research.

This interdisciplinary collection provides a set of innovative and inventive approaches to the use of video as a research method. Building on the development of visual methods across the social sciences, it highlights a range of possibilities for making and working with video data. The collection showcases different video methods, including video diaries, video go-alongs, time-lapse video, mobile devices, multi-angle video recording, video ethnography, and ethnographic documentary. Each method is presented through a case study, showing how it can be used in practice. The authors offer pragmatic advice and discuss practical issues, including equipment, techniques and skills, analysis, and presentation. They also show how video methods can be used in a range of different contexts - at train stations, on bicycles, in schools, outdoors, and in museums - to investigate worlds that are visible, audible, tangible, and in motion. In doing so, they illuminate the theoretical possibilities that video methods offer for researching the body, identity, everyday life, affect, time, and space.

Now issued as part of the Routledge Education Classic Edition series, The Qualitative Manifesto provides a "call to arms" for researchers from the leading figure in the qualitative research community, Norman Denzin. Denzin asks for a research tradition engaged in social justice, sensitive to identity and indigenous concerns, brave to risk presentation in forms beyond traditional academic writing, and committed to teaching this to their students and colleagues. A new preface text by the author reflects on the changes in research, society and in social justice since the publication of the original edition. Denzin looks to the past, present and future of the field, underlining the continuing importance of this brief, provocative book.

The new edition of Planning Your Qualitative Research Thesis and Project provides easily accessible worked examples and valuable models which can be used as guides for plans and proposals. By demonstrating the thought and forward planning that is required when proposing a credible interpretivist study, this book provides the reader with all the theory and practical understanding necessary to conduct a successful qualitative research project. This new edition provides examples of contemporary topics related to a range of countries across the developed and developing world, and new chapters which include: An example of a 'perspectives' study Policy studies and the interpretivist paradigm Life history studies Interactionist historical studies The interpretivist paradigm and research based on 'problem focused' ideas With chapters and studies providing contemporary and relevant examples, this new edition is the perfect introductory guide for students looking to complete their first qualitative thesis project. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, it is an accessible introduction, and an invaluable resource for early stage doctoral students, and for students undertaking research and enquiry.

Qualitative Journeys: Student and Mentor Experiences with Research takes a fresh approach to teaching qualitative research. Authors Victor Minichiello and Jeffrey Kottler share stories of student qualitative research experiences that reveal the struggles, the joys, the discoveries, and the surprises that take place during the qualitative research journey. By studying examples of student research (including obstacles and how they were overcome), readers learn through the real-life experiences of other students. Throughout the textbook, the authors offer pragmatic guidance for what works and what does not work, along with suggested solutions. Features and Benefits Provides the nuts and bolts of qualitative research in Part I Includes a dozen "qualitative journeys, narratives that tell the story of research studies, how they evolved, what was involved, and how they were conceived and conducted Focuses on research from the perspective of student experiences and demonstrates the partnership between students and their mentors Includes domestic and international examples of qualitative studies and real-life stories that convey the excitement and meaning of research Considers the lessons learned and the main themes derived from all the qualitative journeys

Qualitative Journeys: Student and Mentor Experiences with Research is appropriate for use as a supplement or core text for courses in Qualitative Research, Counseling Research Methods, or Social Work Research Methods."

This volume presents a collection of chapters focused on the study of multivariate change. As people develop and change, multivariate measurement of that change and analysis of those measures can illuminate the regularities in the trajectories of individual development, as well as time-dependent changes in population averages. As longitudinal data have recently become much more prevalent in psychology and the social sciences, models of change have become increasingly important. This collection focuses on methodological, statistical, and modeling aspects of multivariate change and applications of longitudinal models to the study of psychological processes. The volume is divided into three major sections: Extension of latent change models, Measurement and testing issues in longitudinal modeling, and Novel applications of multivariate longitudinal methodology. It is intended for advanced students and researchers interested in learning about state-of-the-art techniques for longitudinal data analysis, as well as understanding the history and development of such techniques.

In today's society we increasingly create and consume written content and images. This includes a range of sources, from social media posts to records held within organisations, and everything in between, including news articles, blogs, shopping lists and official government documents. Critically reading these 'documents' can help us to understand a huge amount about society. Doing Excellent Social Research with Documents includes guidance on how to 'read between the lines', and provides an overview of six research projects which use documents as data. Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138038653_oachapter8.pdf

The Rowman & Littlefield Guide to Writing with Sources offers the most thorough and up-to-date discussion of plagiarism and the proper use of sources available today. The new edition incorporates the latest revisions to MLA, CSE, and CMS styles and the lexicon of electronic materials. This succinct and accessible handbook helps writers of all levels to assess, quote, cite, and present information from a variety of sources, including electronic and Internet sources. It features samples, updated throughout, of writing and style sheets, as well as a checklist for quoting and paraphrasing, to help strengthen writing in any field.

This book presents theoretical discussions and practical examples of Action Research from Scandinavia, Latin America and Africa, primarily dealing with how to combine nature conservation and management with local democratic community development, seeing the renewal of Commons as a way to transcend the present dichotomy between these two dimensions.

This unique book is the first comprehensive guide to the discovery, analysis, and evaluation of natural experiments - an increasingly popular methodology in the social sciences. Thad Dunning provides an introduction to key issues in causal inference, including model specification, and emphasizes the importance of strong research design over complex statistical analysis. Surveying many examples of standard natural experiments, regression-discontinuity designs, and instrumental-variables designs, Dunning highlights both the strengths and potential weaknesses of these methods, aiding researchers in better harnessing the promise of natural experiments while avoiding the pitfalls. Dunning also demonstrates the contribution of qualitative methods to natural experiments and proposes new ways to integrate qualitative and quantitative techniques. Chapters complete with exercises and appendices covering specialized topics such as cluster-randomized natural experiments, make this an ideal teaching tool as well as a valuable book for professional researchers.

This book provides thorough guidance on various forms of data generation and analysis, presenting a model for the research process in which detailed data analysis and generalization through the development of concepts are central. Based on an inductive principle, which begins with raw data and moves towards concepts or theories through incremental deductive feedback loops, the 'stepwise-deductive induction' approach advanced by the author focuses on the analysis phase in research. Concentrating on creativity, structuring of analytical work, and collaborative development of generic knowledge, it seeks to enable researchers to extend their insight of a subject area without having personally to study all the data generated throughout a project. A constructive alternative to Grounded Theory, the approach advanced here is centred on qualitative research that aims at developing concepts, models, or theories on basis of a gradual paradigm to reduce complexity. As such, it will appeal to scholars and students across the social sciences with interests in methods and the analysis of qualitative data of various kinds.

This book offers a collection of methods and approaches aimed at resolving some of humanity's most pressing problems on a local and global level. Many of the techniques are practical, with straightforward application and demonstrated positive outcomes, while others are more visionary. Important for transitioning to a more sustainable world, these methods allow for the constructive challenging of existing Western development and governance. The four specific areas covered are: increasing the sustainability of cities, improving governance for sustainability, transitioning to more sustainable economies and encouraging sustainable living. Designing methodologies for change requires competence and knowledge, combined with courage to experiment and willingness to address a challenge. This book provides much-needed methodological solutions, which will have direct implications for the way policies are developed and decisions are made. It challenges many established notions and practices, such as democracy, innovation, urban planning, community participation and marketing. Innovative and creative, the approaches described in this book will be of particular interest to those at the frontier of knowledge development. With 30 contributors from 12 countries, the book will appeal to a global readership, including academics, professionals, practitioners, policy-makers, activists, civil society and anyone interested in sustainability. Contributors include: G. Allegretti, T. Atlee, A. Blinov, D. Bogueva, T. Bouricius, G. Burke, J. Byrne, P. Devereux, C. Eon, D. Galloway, L. Gorissen, X. Guo, J. Hartz-Karp, C. Hendrigan, K. Holmes, J. Hong, J. Kenworthy, D. Marinova, M. Marinova, A. Matan, P. Newman, L. Peral, S. Petrova, J. Pope, T. Raphaely, E. Safonov, L. Stocker, V. Todorov, R. Weymouth, S. White

Ethnography and qualitative research methodology in general have witnessed a staggering proliferation of styles and genres over the last three decades. Modes and channels of communication have similarly expanded and diversified. Now ethnographers have the opportunity to disseminate their work not only through traditional writing but also through aural, visual, performative, hypertext, and many diverse and creative multimodal documentation strategies. Yet, many ethnographers still feel insufficiently proficient with these new literacies and opportunities for knowledge mobilization, and they therefore still limit themselves to traditional modes of communication in spite of their desire for innovation. As university-based, community-driven and politically mandated agendas for broader knowledge transfer keep increasing worldwide, the demand for public scholarship continues to grow. Arguing for the need to disseminate innovative ethnographic knowledge more widely and more effectively, this book outlines practical strategies and tools for sharing ethnographic and qualitative research through widely accessible media such as magazines, trade books, blogs, newspapers, video, radio, and social media. Drawing from practical experiences and hands-on lessons, Doing Public Ethnography provides social scientists across all disciplines with concrete tactics for mobilizing knowledge beyond the academic realm.

A Practical Psychoanalytic Guide to Reflexive Research offers an accessible guide to enriched qualitative research. In this novel approach, the researcher's feelings and empathy in relation to participants take centre stage, leading to fresh, exciting and usable research findings. The psychoanalytic concept of reverie refers to those startling and unexpected images, feelings and daydreams which can come to mind as we interact with other people in the world. Qualitative research involves interacting with human subjects, and the book shows how uncanny or troubling reverie experiences can be turned to good use by being linked back to deeper research questions and hypotheses. Joshua Holmes critically explores the role of self-reflection (reflexivity) in psychoanalysis and qualitative research. Practical guidance is offered while planning research; conducting research interviews; analysing interview data; teaching methods which foster the capacity for reverie; and in relation to research groups. Examples are given throughout, including the author's own missteps along the way, in which he shares the importance of learning from experience. The book breathes life into research processes offering much-needed clinical relevance. The method moves away from one-size-fits all, formulaic research procedures and brings tenor, colour and texture into the research process, to create vivid, real-life meaningful findings. A Practical Psychoanalytic Guide to Reflexive Research will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate qualitative researchers wishing to enhance their reflexive practice, while psychotherapists and psychoanalysts will find a genuinely psychoanalytic research method, where their clinical skills become vital capacities rather than an awkward hindrance.

Published in 1996, this book advocates and persuasively exemplifies a qualitative sociology of childhood, spoken repeatedly through children's voices. After a long period of dormancy, interest in the sociology of childhood became a focus of attention and scholarly interest. Developments in practice by professionals working and learning in the fields of welfare, education, and youth and community studies have been paralleled by the emergence of specialist courses within sociology degrees. Yet the challenges raised by the sociology of childhood remain marginalised within the social sciences more generally. A Case of Neglect? provides an accessible reader and review of the field. Heard wherever possible through children's and young people's voices, it provides a penetrating insight into their understandings and experiences of their own and adults' worlds. It also provides a readable and absorbing review of qualitative applications in the sociology of childhood, and a counter to the common reliance on evidence derived from quantitative approaches. The fieldwork applications range across the often hidden worlds of children's and young people's involvement in prostitution, their experience of abuse, black children's experiences of social services, children's school cultures, naturist children and childlessness. Always arresting and sometimes poignant, A Case of Neglect? works towards a sociology which is both of and for childhood. This book was originally published as part of the Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research series edited by Paul Atkinson, Sara Delamont and Amanda Coffey. The series publishes original sociological research that reflects the tradition of qualitative and ethnographic inquiry developed at Cardiff. The series includes monographs reporting on empirical research, edited collections focussing on particular themes, and texts discussing methodological developments and issues.

Distinguishing itself from the numerous manuals written for students, this is the first book dedicated to helping teachers in all fields, at both secondary and college levels, to teach the research paper more effectively. It is a comprehensive response to the challenges raised by this ubiquitously assigned and commonly dreaded exercise. The essays here cover all aspects of research paper instruction, from the debate over the value_and even the existence_of the research paper, to practical advice. Some essays outline entire research paper courses and units, while others offer solutions to very specific common problems, like teaching library search strategies and note taking, discouraging plagiarism, and taking advantage of computers. In addition to the essays, many written especially for the volume, the bibliographies that follow each section offer many more useful ideas.

This venture aspires to be a mix of a textbook at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and a monograph to catch the attention of researchers in theoretical and practical aspects of survey sampling at diverse levels demanding a comprehensive review of what useful materials have preceded, with an eye to what beacons to the depth of the imminent future.

Prepares readers to analyze data and interpret statistical results using the increasingly popular R more quickly than other texts through LessR extensions which remove the need to program. By introducing R through less R, readers learn how to organize data for analysis, read the data into R, and produce output without performing numerous functions and programming first. Readers can select the necessary procedure and change the relevant variables without programming. Quick Starts introduce readers to the concepts and commands reviewed in the chapters. Margin notes define, illustrate, and cross-reference the key concepts. When readers encounter a term previously discussed, the margin notes identify the page number to the initial introduction. Scenarios highlight the use of a specific analysis followed by the corresponding R/lessR input and an interpretation of the resulting output. Numerous examples of output from psychology, business, education, and other social sciences demonstrate how to interpret results and worked problems help readers test their understanding. www.lessRstats.com website features the lessR program, the book's 2 data sets referenced in standard text and SPSS formats so readers can practice using R/lessR by working through the text examples and worked problems, PDF slides for each chapter, solutions to the book's worked problems, links to R/lessR videos to help readers better understand the program, and more. New to this edition: o upgraded functionality and data visualizations of the lessR package, which is now aesthetically equal to the ggplot 2 R standard o new features to replace and extend previous content, such as aggregating data with pivot tables with a simple lessR function call.

Originally published in 1986, this book's focal point is a field study which asks whether the social childrearing context of daycare transmits to young children values different from those within America's dominant value tradition of individualism. Daycare critics were concerned that this social childrearing within daycare would weaken the family and promote collectivist rather than individualistic values, and thereby threaten the social continuity of America's values. Through participant observation four daycare teachers' interactions as they emphasize children's individual learning experiences and children's social learning experiences are examined. By focusing on the actions and words of daycare teachers and their children in their daily activities over time, this field study provides a conceptual model for an initial understanding of the relationship of daycare to the continuity of America's values.

Continuing to be THE guide to the whole qualitative research process for students, this book looks at both the theory behind qualitative research and how to put it into practice in your own work. For students across a range of social science disciplines and beyond, this is a must to help you enhance your research project. This edition introduces: a decolonisation of methodologies a range of indigenous, queer and feminist perspectives on methodologies assistance with defending a viva and alternative forms of assessment to suit a changing world. More additions to this seventh edition include a section on the subjectivity of a researcher, and how your identity will shape your research. The further reading has been curated to include more than just western voices, providing you with global perspectives on qualitative research. This text introduces how to sensitively undertake ethical and inclusive research with marginalised groups. This book will help you master a comprehensive understanding of qualitative research.

Legal Life-Writing provides the first sustained treatment of the implications of life-writing on legal biography, autobiography and the visual history of law in society through a focus on neglected sources, and on those usually marginalized or ignored in legal biography and legal history, such as women and minorities. * Draws on a range of sources and disciplinary approaches including legal history, life-writing, sociology, history, art history, feminism and post-colonialism, seeking to build a bridge-head between them * Challenges the methodologies employed in conventional accounts of legal lives * Aims to ignite debate about the nature of the relationship between socio-legal studies and legal history * Aims to enlarge the fields of legal biography, legal history, history and socio-legal studies, and to foster a closer and more inter-disciplinary dialogue between these disciplines