Research Methods in the Social Sciences : An A-z of Key Concepts

Research Methods in the Social Sciences is a comprehensive yet compact A-Z for undergraduate and postgraduate students undertaking research across the social sciences, featuring 71 entries that cover a wide range of concepts, methods, and theories.

Each entry begins with an accessible introduction to a method, using real-world examples from a wide range of academic disciplines, before discussing the benefits and limitations of the approach, its current status in academic practice, and finally providing tips and advice for readers on when and how to apply the method in their own research. Wide ranging and interdisciplinary, the text covers both well-established concepts and emerging ideas, such as big data and network analysis, for qualitative and quantitative research methods.

All entries feature extensive cross-referencing, providing ease of navigation and, pointing readers to related concepts, and to help build their overall understanding of research methods.

Jean-Frédéric Morin, Full Professor, Political Science Department, Université Laval,Christian Olsson, Associate Professor in International Relations, Université libre de Bruxelles,Ece Özlem Atikcan, Associate Professor in Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

Jean-Frédéric Morin is Full Professor at Université Laval (Canada) and chairholder of the Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy. His current research projects look at the design of environmental treaties, interactions between international institutions, and the governance of space debris. His most recent co-authored books include Global Environmental Politics (OUP, 2020) and Greening through Trade (MIT Press, 2020).

Christian Olsson is Associate Professor at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) and Director of its REPI Research Unit (Recherche et Etudes en Politique Internationale). His research concerns the transformations of warfare in the context of Western overseas military operations, the political dynamics of non-state armed groups and the privatization of security and military operations. Recent articles have been published in Millenium, Critical Military Studies and Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.

Ece Özlem Atikcan is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the European Institute of the University College London in the UK. Her research combines a theoretical focus on political campaigns, issue framing, politicisation of trade agreements, transnational social movements, and diffusion with a regional focus on the European Union. Her recent work has appeared in European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties, Journal of Public Policy, and as books with Cambridge University Press and McGill-Queen's University Press.