includes index and biblioraphy

This book introduces students and researchers to the key ideas and issues that inform research practice. An invaluable guide for the first time researcher embarking on his/her own small-scale research project, it provides answers to the following questions: > What is social research, and why do we conduct it? > What is or is not acceptable knowledge about the social research? > What are (and are not) the acceptable methods for acquiring social knowledge? > What are the primary debates about the relative merits and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research styles? > To what extent is it possible to combiine methods in a single research study? > Can, and should, social research ever be objective and value-free? > How can we ensure that our research methods are ethical, valid and reliable? > What are the possible consequences of our research project, and how might it affect the world around us? Superbly written, this is the essential guide to the theory and practice of research, and to the best ways of planning and managing research.