The a-Z of Social Research : A Dictionary of Key Social Science Research Concepts

`A detailed and valuable addition to the literature that will be a very useful resource for lecturers, as well as having a wide appeal among students′ - Tim May, University of Salford

Have you ever wondered what a concise, comprehensive book providing critical guidance to the whole expanse of social science research methods and issues might look like? The A-Z is a collection of 94 entries ranging from qualitative research techniques to statistical testing and the practicalities of using the Internet as a research tool. Alphabetically arranged in accessible, reader-friendly formats, the shortest entries are 800 words long and the longest are 3000. Most entries are approximately 1500 words in length and are supported by suggestions for further reading. The book:

- Answers the demand for a practical, fast and concise introduction to the key concepts and methods in social research

- Supplies students with impeccable information that can be used in essays, exams and research projects

- Demystifies a field that students often find daunting

This is a refreshing book on social research methods, which understands the pressures that modern students face in their work-load and seeks to supply an authoritative study guide to the field. It should fulfil a long-standing need in undergraduate research methods courses for an unpatronising, utterly reliable aid to making sense of research methods.

John D. Brewer is President of the British Sociological Association and Sixth-Century Professor of Sociology and former Head of Department (2004-2007) at Aberdeen University, moving from Queen’s University Belfast in July 2004. He was Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy at Queen’s between 1993-2002. He has held visiting appointments at Yale University (1989), St John’s College Oxford (1992), Corpus Christi College Cambridge (2002) and the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University (2003).  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (elected 1998), an Academician in the Academy of Social Sciences (elected 2003), a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (elected 2004), then only the third sociologist to be elected in the Academy’s 217-year history, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (elected 2008).  He was a member of the Training and Development Board of the ESRC (2005-2007) and has been Chair of the British Sociological Association (2004-2006), a member of the National Committee for Economics and Social Science of the Royal Irish Academy (1997-1999) and a member of the International Assessment Panel of the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (2002-07). He currently sits on the Council of the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences and is a member of the ESRC′s Research College. In 2001 he became a member of the Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. In 2010 he became a member of the United Nations Roster of Global Experts.