Sigmund Grønmo - Social Research Methods: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches

Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches

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Sigmund Grnmo 2020

First published 2020

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Originally published as Samfunnsvitenskapelige metoder. First edition 2004. Second edition 2016. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019936648

British Library Cataloguing in Publication data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-5264-4123-2

ISBN 978-1-5264-4124-9 (pbk)

Editor: Aly Owen

Assistant editor: Charlotte Bush

Assistant editor, digital: Sunita Patel

Production editor: Ian Antcliff

Marketing manager: Susheel Gokarakonda

Cover design: Shaun Mercier

Typeset by: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India

Printed in the UK

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This book provides an introduction to social research methods for university and college students. The purpose is to describe and discuss methods that are used in different social science disciplines and in multidisciplinary fields based on social research methods. The book contains a number of examples of how various methods are used in different disciplines and fields. In addition to examples from actual research, each chapter presents learning objectives, chapter highlights, student exercises and questions, as well as recommended literature for further reading.

Methodological and ethical issues in social science are discussed, and methods for designing and implementing social science studies are examined. The book presents methods and methodological concerns related to the main elements of the research process, from formulation of research questions and construction of research designs through collection and analysis of data to interpretation of findings and presentation of results. Throughout the book, qualitative and quantitative approaches in social research are described and compared, and reasons and strategies for combining the two approaches in mixed methods research are presented.

The book is based on my experiences from social research and teaching of social research methods at several universities in different countries since the early 1970s. Contact, communication, and interaction with colleagues and students at these universities have been extremely valuable. During the work on this book, I have been affiliated with the University of Bergen, Smi University of Applied Sciences, and Institute for Social Research in Norway, James Cook University and Charles Darwin University in Australia, as well as the University of Cambridge in the UK. I am very grateful to these inspiring academic environments.

Most of the chapters in the book are based on the second edition of a similar book, which I published in Norwegian in 2016 (Samfunnsvitenskapelige metoder). I want to thank the Norwegian publisher, Fagbokforlaget, for permission to publish this book in English. Although these chapters have been partly rewritten, and some new chapters have been added in this book, English translations of most chapters from the Norwegian edition have been very useful in my work on the book. Many thanks to the translator, Diarmuid Kennan.

I have received support or comments from several colleagues. In particular, I want to thank Maria Iacovou, Trond Petersen, and John Scott. Several anonymous reviewers have given very valuable comments at different stages of my work on the manuscript. The Sage editorial team in London has been very helpful and supportive during the whole process, from the first ideas to the final manuscript.

Finally, I am very grateful to Eirun, for her patience and support.

Sigmund Grnmo