How do you collect and analyze social data in the form of texts (interviews and documents), images (photographs, film and television footage), and sounds (noise and music)? This text shows students which methods are most suitable for particular research problems and what is good practice for each method. Focusing on the pursuit of quality in social research, the authors: explore different ways of collecting and analyzing data; introduce the main analytical approaches for text, image and sound; cover computer-based analysis; and address problems in interpretation and quality criteria for qualitative research. The book has been extensively tested with prostgraduate research methods students at the London School of Economics.

How do you collect and analyze social data in the form of texts (interviews and documents), images (photographs, film and television footage), and sounds (noise and music)? This text shows students which methods are most suitable for particular research problems and what is good practice for each method. Focusing on the pursuit of quality in social research, the authors: explore different ways of collecting and analyzing data; introduce the main analytical approaches for text, image and sound; cover computer-based analysis; and address problems in interpretation and quality criteria for qualitative research. The book has been extensively tested with prostgraduate research methods students at the London School of Economics.