Successful societies can only be built on a realistic understanding of people and their world. The call for African solutions to the continent’s problems demands an innovative pool of knowledgeable and skilled social researchers. With this vision in mind, the sixth edition of Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: An African Perspective has been transformed to include a far broader set of research skills, compared to previous editions.

This edition covers qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research, and includes an extensive new section on the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The new edition therefore offers a solid and comprehensive foundation for the practice of social research. Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: An African Perspective draws examples from a broad spectrum of fields including agriculture, public health, social welfare, community development and regional planning.

The material is compatible with social science research methodology courses in anthropology, public health, sociology, economics, political science, psychology and education. The textbook is suitable for students and non-professional researchers who are interested in conducting social research, whether they are practitioners, community activists, government administrators, policymakers or businesspeople. The fifth edition of this textbook is developed for a modern audience. As authors we believe the world is a different place. Knowledge is available to almost everyone, and competitive social media is accessible to even people in remote areas. The book is still focused upon a wide range of professions such as social work, psychology, sociology, criminology, nursing, business studies and other social contexts such as community development and governments. The book is still intended to be a practical book, for novice researchers, as well as for more experienced researchers.  

The authors recognise the growing role of generative artificial intelligence, large language models and machine learning that increasingly play a disruptive role in people’s ways of negotiating the world. Within this unstable and dynamic social world context, we still believe in solid textbooks that teach the fundamentals of social research in a practical and applied manner. Africa, like the rest of the world is no exception. With increased internet accessibility and the opening of learning abilities for all, the world has become a smaller place, and most people now have the potential to tap into the vast resources and tools for social science researchers. We trust that this text remains a fundamentally essential text for Africa, for general social researchers, and those who aspire to master the skills of research.

The present revision not only updates the material but also introduces substantial additions. We follow a simple, narrative and illustrative manner of describing highly abstract concepts, with real-world examples and case studies to assist us in transferring the essentials of social science research methodologies. In this sense, this is a local work and an indigenous way of knowledge transfer. The chapters end with questions and tasks to be answered by the reader, intended to reinforce learning. Many of the questions can be used for assessment purposes, all to increase the excitement of learning about social research. The authors are passionate about research and eager to make available and unlock the complexities of the philosophy of research. We trust the reader will enjoy this text and gain from the many examples, case studies and situations that pose challenges to everyday researchers.

More than 15,000 people have been killed, and 500,000 displaced, during years of low-intensity civil war in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. This book describes the work of the KwaZulu-Natal Programme for Survivors of Violence (KZN-PSV), which (with the support of Oxfam) helps communities to grapple with the complex social, economic, political, and psychological problems posed by the conflict. A framework to guide interventions in such circumstances is outlined, and the application of this framework in work with children, youth, women, and local leadership is described in detail. The final chapter summarizes the principles of intervention which inform the work of KZN-PSV, and identifies the fundamental elements that have contributed to its sustained success.The book is written for community leaders in any society damaged by civil conflict; for development agencies which support such communities; and for students and teachers of community-development theory and practice. Its theoretical framework is sufficiently non-specific to be applied usefully in a broad range of situations.

International Perspectives on Youth Conflict and Development brings together in one volume essays discussing the social, political, and economic contexts of youth conflict across fourteen countries on seven continents. Distinguished contributors from around the world draw on research and interventions to describe young people's participation in armed conflict, fighting, and social exclusion from the time they enter the public sphere to adulthood, as defined in their local environments.
Case studies include children involved in armed conflict in Mozambique, Angola, the Philippines, and Nigeria; young people exposed to post-war tensions in Bosnia, Croatia, and South Africa, youth in the streets in Brazil and Colombia; Arab and Jewish youth in the ongoing crisis in Israel; children socialized to hate, mistrust, or exclude those of other ethnic, economic, or social identities in the United States, Germany, and Korea; and young people experiencing the dramatic political and economic transition in China. Rather than focusing on character flaws and socio-cognitive deficits or other problems of individual youth, their families, or cultures, the volume examines youth conflict as a social practice embedded in local, national, and international processes.
The volume aims to shift the foundation of youth conflict study from the more typical focus on maturation, behavior, and personality to a characterization of youth as participants in society. It also expands the analysis of youth development to include societal problems such as political instability, unequal access to material resources, racism, and social injustice. Offering new insights about the interdependent spheres of conflictinvolving young people, this groundbreaking, international compilation describes processes of a violent world rather than of violent youth.