Social Research Methods

• An introductory one-stop reference work for researchers that covers a broad spectrum of both qualitative and quantitative methods to cater for all research projects.
• Provides the reader with a preparatory tool kit with which to analyse quantitative data without mathematical formulae and instead provide insightful guidance on appropriate method selection and the interpretation of research findings.
• Presented in a clear and accessible format, this work offers a range of user-friendly pedagogical features and instructions to help students analyse their quantitative and qualitative data using the latest versions of SPSS and NVivo.
• The textbook is accompanied by an online resource centre which provides additional guidance and information for lecturers and students; featuring an Excel tutorial guide, case studies, interactive project guidance and real-life student experiences.

New to this edition

• A new 'supervisor experience' feature has been added for the fourth edition, giving a supervisor's perspective on the research process to provide helpful tips for successful research projects.
• A new chapter one sets the scene for the rest of the book by outlining some basic issues relating to social research methods and easing the reader into the subject.
• A new chapter on sampling in qualitative research examines the sampling issues faced by qualitative researchers in a more consolidated fashion than in previous editions.
• The internet research chapter has been substantially updated in order to reflect the significant developments in this area.

Readership: This textbook is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate social science students.

Alan Bryman, Professor of Organisational and Social Research, University of Leicester

Alan Bryman is Professor of Organisational and Social Research at the University of Leicester

"Alan Bryman is to Research Methods as Paganini to the violin: he makes a daunting, complex field accessible, informative, enlarging and pleasurable. This is already "required reading" in the field. The new edition is so good that it is now "required reading" on pain of death." - Chris Rojek, Professor of Sociology and Culture, Brunel University

"Perfectly organised and precisely written, Bryman's Social Research Methods remains the essential text for anyone interested in how to do social research. The book will continue to underpin research methods teaching across the social sciences, and to shape, guide, and spur on the work of current and future generations of social researchers." - Richard Giulianotti, Professor of Sociology, Durham University

"Alan Bryman is one of the very few working social researchers who are as comfortable with qualitative research as quantitative. That he can communicate clearly his enthusiasm and expertise in decent prose, with a sensitive eye to the student experience, is a bonus. This new, fourth edition of Social Research Methods can only enhance the reputation of its predecessors. As a one-stop, authoritative handbook, there are no serious competitors." - Richard Jenkins, Professor of Sociology, University of Sheffield

Part One
1: The nature and process of social research
2: Social research strategies
3: Research designs
4: Planning a research project and formulating research questions
5: Getting started: Reviewing the literature
6: Ethics and politics in social research
Part Two
7: The nature of quantitative research
8: Sampling
9: Structured interviewing
10: Self-completion questionnaires
11: Asking questions
12: Structured observation
13: Content analysis
14: Secondary analysis and official statistics
15: Quantitative data analysis
16: Using SPSS for Windows
Part Three
17: The nature of qualitative research
18: Sampling in qualitative research
19: Ethnography and participant observation
20: Interviewing in qualitative research
21: Focus groups
22: Language in qualitative research
23: Documents as sources of data
24: Qualitative data analysis
25: Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis: using NVivo
Part Four
26: Breaking down the quantitative/qualitative divide
27: Mixed methods research: combining quantitative and qualitative research
28: E-research: Internet research methods
29: Writing up social research

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