Consulting Skills For Social Researchers

This practitioner-oriented text is the first to help social researchers define research projects, manage the social research process, engage with stakeholders and influence change. It will be invaluable for all those commissioning, managing and conducting social research.

Consulting skills help researchers frame and define research projects, manage the social research process, engage with stakeholders and influence change. This practitioner-oriented text is the first to help social researchers and those active in the social research sector develop these skills. Drawing from the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes’ consulting competence framework, it will aid understanding of effective consulting skills in the UK and international social research community and will be invaluable for all those commissioning, managing and conducting social research.

In this welcome guide, sociologists who have successfully established consulting practices present practical examples of how to apply sociological knowledge and methodological procedures to real life situations. In addition to offering detailed suggestions for training, the contributors explore the many ways in which sociologists can help solve problems faced by business, governmental organizations, social agencies, schools, and churches. The ups and downs of establishing a consulting practice are outlined and supplemented by first-hand accounts of the contributors' experiences.

Social research practitioners and others working in the public and voluntary sectors, in academia and consultancy are increasingly under pressure to provide policy-related evidence with limited resources and rising expectations. Demystifying evaluation is an accessible introductory guide setting the foundations for tackling those challenges, explaining the options open to evaluators, their merits and uses, and how to make appropriate choices of research methods. Drawing on his experience of policy and programme evaluations for the public sector and outside, David Parsons provides a practical roadmap cutting across different evaluation theories. He covers issues such as managing expectations of evaluation, using and mixing quantitative and qualitative methods, engaging stakeholders and providing action-orientated approaches to help end-users.

Social Work students often find research an intimidating and complex area of study, with many struggling to understand the core concepts and their application to practice. This book presents these concepts in an accessible and user-friendly way. Key skills and methods such as literature reviews, interviews, and questionnaires are explored in detail while the underlying ethical reasons for doing good research underpin the text. For this second edition, new material on ethnography is added.

"This is the practical approach I wish I had come across much earlier in my career." Cynthia Pexton-Shaw Whether you are just starting out, considering or already working as a consultant this book is essential reading, enabling you to understand the needs of your client and to get the result they want.

Training Research Consultants is a collection of perspectives and training materials from colleges and universities of many types and sizes that you can adapt for your own context. In four thorough parts--Introduction to Theory and Practice, Library Case Studies, Perspectives from Campus Partners, and Consultant Perspectives--the book covers learning theories, the role of research consultants in encouraging student intellectual development, program administration, hiring practices, training, and assessment. Finally, there are two reflections from research consultants, reminding us of the impac.

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.