Tom Clark - Brymans Social Research Methods

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This edition is dedicated to the memory of Professor Alan Bryman (19472017).

Hundreds of thousands of students across six continents have been fortunate enough to learn from Alans publications. Few contemporary UK academics have had such a profound effect on learning. At Oxford University Press we are incredibly proud of Alans significant achievements over the many years we worked with him. We thank him for everything he has done for research methods as a discipline, and for his tireless dedication to the pursuit of shining the light of understanding into the dark corners of students minds. It was a real pleasure to work with him.

Alan Bryman originally wrote this book, and we have updated it, with two main groups of readers in mind. The first are undergraduates in social science subjects such as sociology, social policy, criminology, human geography, politics, and education who take a research methods module as part of their course. The second group comprises undergraduates and postgraduates on these courses who carry out a research project or dissertation as part of their studies, usually towards the end of their programme of study.

As well as providing you with practical advice on doing research, this book explores the nature of social research and the key arguments and debates that surround our methodological choices. It covers both the theory and the practice of a wide range of research methods, including key research strategies, common research designs, important methods of data collection and analysis, and ethical considerations. The book will be invaluable to both groups of readers.

No professional turns up to work without the skills, knowledge, and instruments that they need in order to do their job properly, and social research is no different. If you want to take on the vital job of investigating the social world in all its fascinating (and often messy) complexity then you need the right tools, and studying research methods is the way to get them.

Studying research methods is partly about acquiring the practical skills that will allow you to carry out your own researchhow best to design a questionnaire, observe people or settings, analyse documents, and so on. So this book will enable you to learn about the practices to follow when implementing particular data collection methods and approaches to analysing data, and the many pitfalls to be avoided. But studying research methods is also about gaining an appreciation of the wider issues that impact on the practice of doing social research. Crucially, knowledge of research methods will help you develop the critical awareness that allows you to understand not only how research is conducted but why, and with what assumptions.

Essentially, studying research methods sensitizes you to the choices that are available to social researchers. This knowledge and awareness will empower you to understand and critically evaluate the work that you encounter in books, in journals, and on your module or course, and it will also help you make the most appropriate choices for your own project.

Thinking beyond university, a training in research methods gives you transferable skills that are highly valued by employers. Knowing how to sample, how to design a questionnaire, how to conduct semi-structured interviews or focus groups, how to harness and analyse large quantities of data, and so on will be relevant in many spheres, and being able to interrogate evidence and reflect on practice are key skills in all areas of work.

Finally, studying research methods is important because it is what unites us as social scientists. You will have chosen to study social science because you are fascinated by how people relate to each other individually and in groupshow institutions shape us and how we shape institutions; how opinions and attitudes differ by demographic groups; and how ideas, norms, and practices change over time. Every social scientist has their own specific interests, driven by curiosity, personal experience, or a sense of social justiceour own interests range widely, from social media (Luke), to ageing (Liam), to the sociology of evil (Tom)but we are all united by our commitment to understanding the social world through empirical inquiry. Research methods is the common language (albeit with some slightly different dialects) that allows us to work together to explore and try to address social issues.

Social research has many different traditions, one of the most fundamental of which is the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research. Throughout his career Alan Bryman was steadfast in his belief that research methods need to be tailored to the problem that they are intended to address, and that the strict division between quantitative and qualitative research is not always helpful. Indeed, this was one of the reasons he was such an advocate for mixed methods approaches in research. This problem-based approach to research methods is one that Liam, Luke, and Tom also very much agree on. All methods present opportunities and challenges; the key is to understand what each one offers and to reflect on and attempt to mitigate its shortcomings.

However, we are also experienced enough to know that having some degree of separation can aid the learning process, particularly where that process actually involves