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Since its founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.
This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. What is the purpose of social science? How can social science make itself relevant to the intractable problems facing humanity in the twenty-first century? The social sciences are under threat from two main sources. One is external, reflected in a global university crisis that imposes the marketization of higher education on the ancient practice of scholarship. The other, internal threat is social science's withdrawal from publicly–engaged teaching and research into the protective bunker of disciplinarity. In articulating a vision for the public role of social science in the twenty-first century, John Brewer argues that these threats also constitute an opportunity for a new public social science to emerge, confident in its public value and fully engaged with the future of humanity in its teaching, research and civic responsibilities, while also remaining committed to science. The argument is presented in the form of an interpretive essay: thought-provoking, forward-looking, and challenging to intellectual orthodoxy. It should be read and debated by all researchers and teachers in the social science disciplines who are concerned by the future of higher education and the relevance of their subjects to the future of humankind.
This practical introduction for first time researchers provides a bridge between how to conduct research and the philosophy of social science, allowing students to relate what they are doing to why. It does not provide a set of rigid recipes for social scientists as many methodology books do, rather it stimulates students to think about the issues involved when deciding upon their research design. By discussing standard approaches to research design and method in various social science disciplines, the authors illustrate why particular designs have traditionally predominated in certain areas of study. But whilst they acknowledge the strengths of these standard approaches, their emphasis is on helping researchers find the most effective solution to their problem by encouraging them, through this familiarity with the principles of various approaches, to innovate where appropriate. This text will prove indispensable for social science students of all levels embarking upon a research project, and for experienced researchers looking for a fresh perspective on their object of study.
A critical examination of the principles and practice of qualitative research is provided in this book which examines the interplay between context and method, making it invaluable for both the experienced and the beginning researcher. A range of methodological and practical issues central to the concerns of qualitative researchers are addressed. These include: the validity and plausibility of qualitative methods; the problems encountered using specific techniques in a range of social settings; and the moral issues raised in qualitative research. These themes are related to practical issues which are illustrated by a breadth of examples and in-depth case studies. The contributors look at the methods and strategies that they have used to study everyday life, and make suggestions to readers on why and how they might conduct their own studies. They raise issues that go beyond `cookbook′ discussions of issues such as how to enter social settings, manage the subjects of one′s research and ask `good′ questions in the process of formulating research strategies. These issues are addressed within the framework of the larger purposes and uses of qualitative research where specific methodological problems are not used as ends in themselves.
Originally published in 1977, this book offered an account of a research programme designed to explain the changes in fertility in post-war England.
Originally published in 1985. Detailed exploration of the dynamics of language within social psychology forms a social psychology of language which is distinct from other approaches. This volume presents some of the growing body of research in this area, with many theoretical models and ideas - chapters consider the relationship between language and social situations, looking at cognitive structures in how communication between individuals develops in childhood and beyond, how it defines social situations, influences others, expresses feelings and values, evokes social categorizations and how it can break down.
The ability to read published research critically is essential and is different from the skills involved in undertaking research using statistical analysis. This New Edition of Thomas R Black's best-selling text explains in clear and straightforward terms how students can evaluate research, with particular emphasis on research involving some aspect of measurement. The coverage of fundamental concepts is comprehensive and supports topics including research design, data collection and data analysis by addressing the following major issues: Are the questions and hypotheses advanced appropriate and testable? Is the research design sufficient for the hypothesis? Is the data gathered valid, reliable and objective? Are the statistical techniques used to analyze the data appropriate and do they support the conclusions reached? Each of the chapters from the New Edition has been thoroughly updated, with particular emphasis on improving and increasing the range of activities for students. As well, coverage has been broadened to include: a wider range of research designs; a section on research ethics; item analysis; the definition of standard deviation with a guide for calculation; the concept of `power' in statistical inference; calculating correlations; and a description of the difference between parametric and non-parametric tests in terms of research questions. Evaluating Social Science Research An Introduction 2nd Edition will be key reading for undergraduate and postgrduate students in research methodology and evaluation across the social sciences.
The readings collected in Organizational Sociology are organized so as to direct attention to the six major theoretical traditions which have emerged since the 1960s to guide research and interpretation of organizational structure and performance. The traditions reviewed are: Contingency theory, Resource dependence. Population and Community ecology, Transactions costs economics, Neo-Marxist theory and Institutional Theory. Major statements of each theory are presented together with examples of related empirical research. A concluding section provides examples of recent attempts to combine and integrate two or more of these theories, as analysts attempt to account for some aspects of organization. Rather than pitting one perspective against another, contemporary analysts are more likely to selectively combine elements from several theories in order to better understand the phenomenon of interest.
Originally published in 1973 Knowledge, Education and Cultural Change surveys the present state of the field of the sociology of education. The book addresses the claim that much of the research in the sociology of education should be extended to issues of wider theoretical significance, the book provides theoretically informed analysis of situations or processes, developing new theoretical perspectives and concepts. The papers also reflect the appropriate theoretical framework for the sociology of education. Underpinning this framework, it looks at the importance of social stratification, arguing that too much work in the sociology of education is carried out using oversimplified models.