Nervous about statistics? This guide offers you a clear, straight to the point break down of exploratory and descriptive statistics and its potential. Anchored by lots of examples and exercises to enhance your learning, this book will give you the know-how and confidence needed to succeed on your quantitative research journey.

Risks, Identities and the Everyday focuses on the individual and the lived experience of everyday risks - a departure from the focus on risk from a macro level. The contributors look at risk and how perceptions of risk, risk taking, and risk assessment increasingly dominate our everyday lives and explore it in a variety of settings not previously associated with risk theory, including: plastic surgery, teenage sub-cultures, ageing and independent travel. The volume moves risk away from abstract theorising about what people may or may not fear about risks, to focus on how it actually materialises and operates in everyday 'real' social interactions and contexts. It also interrogates the rational self at the heart of macro social theories by thinking through the construction of risk choices and the socio-cultural dynamics that 'present' some risks as acceptable, appropriate and necessary.

Ethnography in Social Science Practice explores ethnography's increasing use across the social sciences, beyond its traditional bases in social anthropology and sociology. It explores the disciplinary roots of ethnographic research within social anthropology, and contextualizes it within both field and disciplinary settings.

The book is of two parts: Part one places ethnography as a methodology in its historical, ethical and disciplinary context, and also discusses the increasing popularity of ethnography across the social sciences. Part two explores the stages of ethnographic research via a selection of multidisciplinary case studies. A number of key questions are explored:

• What exactly is ethnographic research and what makes it different from other qualitative approaches?
• Why did ethnography emerge within one social science discipline and not others?
• Why did its adoption across the social sciences prove problematic?
• What are the methodological advantages and disadvantages of doing ethnographic research?
• Why are ethnographers so concerned by issues of ethics, politics, representation and power?
• What does ethnography look like within different social science disciplines?

The book is aimed at social science students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and each chapter has pedagogic features, including reflective activities and suggested further readings for students.

Ethnography in Social Science Practice explores ethnography s increasing use across the social sciences, beyond its traditional bases in social anthropology and sociology. It explores the disciplinary roots of ethnographic research within social anthropology, and contextualizes it within both field and disciplinary settings.

The book is of two parts: Part one places ethnography as a methodology in its historical, ethical and disciplinary context, and also discusses the increasing popularity of ethnography across the social sciences. Part two explores the stages of ethnographic research via a selection of multidisciplinary case studies. A number of key questions are explored:

• What exactly is ethnographic research and what makes it different from other qualitative approaches?
• Why did ethnography emerge within one social science discipline and not others?
• Why did its adoption across the social sciences prove problematic?
• What are the methodological advantages and disadvantages of doing ethnographic research?
• Why are ethnographers so concerned by issues of ethics, politics, representation and power?
• What does ethnography look like within different social science disciplines?

The book is aimed at social science students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and each chapter has pedagogic features, including reflective activities and suggested further readings for students.

Risks, Identities and the Everyday focuses on the individual and the lived experience of everyday risks - a departure from the focus on risk from a macro level. The contributors look at risk and how perceptions of risk, risk taking, and risk assessment increasingly dominate our everyday lives and explore it in a variety of settings not previously associated with risk theory, including: plastic surgery, teenage sub-cultures, ageing and independent travel. The volume moves risk away from abstract theorising about what people may or may not fear about risks, to focus on how it actually materialises and operates in everyday 'real' social interactions and contexts. It also interrogates the rational self at the heart of macro social theories by thinking through the construction of risk choices and the socio-cultural dynamics that 'present' some risks as acceptable, appropriate and necessary.

Being the Chosen explores Christian fundamentalism in the USA, focusing particularly on the belief system of Protestant fundamentalists. It establishes the key characteristics of the Protestant worldview, investigating the degrees to which these are adhered to amongst different groups and how such belief systems are constructed and reinforced through everyday life. By presenting rich empirical material, Being the Chosen sheds light on the manner in which the Protestant fundamentalist worldview shapes and constructs the beliefs and actions of its adherents, providing them with agency and reinforcement in the face of oppositional forces. As such, it will interest not only sociologists, but also scholars of religion and the culture and society of the USA.

Being the Chosen explores Christian fundamentalism in the USA, focusing particularly on the belief system of Protestant fundamentalists. It establishes the key characteristics of the Protestant worldview, investigating the degrees to which these are adhered to amongst different groups and how such belief systems are constructed and reinforced through everyday life. By presenting rich empirical material, Being the Chosen sheds light on the manner in which the Protestant fundamentalist worldview shapes and constructs the beliefs and actions of its adherents, providing them with agency and reinforcement in the face of oppositional forces. As such, it will interest not only sociologists, but also scholars of religion and the culture and society of the USA.

This three-volume Major Work explores the subject of ethics as an aspect of research practice. As many researchers have noted, research design and implementation are two different things; in the 'field', ethical issues can change and new issues can emerge. What are and are not ethical issues, and the contested and evolving nature of ethics, are a couple of key aspects considered in this collection's collated literature, and particularly in relation to the different ethical strategies utilised by researchers. The selected papers in this Major Work are contextualised by introductory passages written by the editor, which explore the rationale, key themes and issues. Volume One: Power, politics and reflexivity Volume Two: Covert research Volume Three: Contemporary issues and challenges