Clive Seale is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Human Sciences, Brunel University, UK. His recent publications include Researching Society and Culture, The Quality of Qualitative Research and Qualitative Research Practice.

1. Methodological Awareness 2. Social Research as Science 3. Collecting Quantitative Data 4. Analysing Quantitative Data 5. Critiques of Quantification 6. The Limits of Science 7. Ethnography: The qualitative alternative 8. Qualitative Interviewing 9. Other Sources of Qualitative Data 10. Analysing Qualitative Data 11. Structuralism, Post-Structuralism and the Linguistic Turn 12. Reflexivity and Representation 13. Postmodernism 14. Political and Ethical Aspects of Research Practice 15. Paradigm Disputes and Resolutions

Bringing together many of the core classic and contemporary works in social and cultural research methods, this book gives students direct access to methodological debates and examples of practical research across the qualitative/quantitative divide. The book is designed to be used both as a collection of readings and as an introductory research methods book in its own right. Topics covered include:
research methodology
research design, data collection and preparation
analyzing data
mixing qualitative and quantitative methods
validity and reliability
methodological critique: postmodernism, post-structuralism and critical ethnography
political and ethical aspects of research
philosophy of social science
reporting research.
Each section is preceded by a short introduction placing the readings in context. This reader-text also includes features such as discussion questions and practical exercises.