Documents Of Life 2

This study champions the use of life stories and other perosnal documents in social research. It considers recent developments in the humanist approach to social research, looking at writing and narrative, memory, and the auto/biographical society.

Documents of Life was originally published in 1983 and became a classic text, providing both a persuasive argument for a particular approach and a manifesto for social research. As a critique of anti-humanist methodology in the social sciences, it championed the use of life stories and other personal documents in research which are now widely used today. This book is a substantially revised and expanded version which takes on recent developments. Providing numerous illustrations from a range of life documents, the book traces the history of the method, examines ways of 'doing life story' research, and discusses the many political and ethical issues raised by such research. The whole book has been substantially re-written and

Reclaiming Men’s Spirituality is a study that investigates men’s spirituality by exploring three research questions: Can a form of spirituality about men be identified and described, how can this spirituality be examined, and what is it that needs to be reclaimed? To answer these questions and at the same time remain committed to the importance of lived experience, this study opted to investigate the lives of men by attending to ten spiritual histories. The study is situated in Malta, and the ten spiritual histories provide access to various features, expressions, and contours that relate closely to men’s being. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with ten spiritual directors who have men as spiritual directees. Their contribution clarifies the structure of men’s spirituality, the effort required when directing male spiritual directees and the impact generated in the lives of men thanks to spiritual direction. To provide a frame of reference for the examination of all the gathered data, John of the Cross’s spiritual framework has been chosen as the mystical instrument against which men’s spiritualities are studied, leading to richer insights into the operations, motives, goals, and problems of such spiritualities.

The Handbook of Qualitative Research in Education offers both basic and advanced discussions of data collection, analysis and representation of all the best qualitative methods used in educational research. It contains four comprehensive yet concise sections on perspectives, settings, data collection and data analysis and representation. Authors from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand contribute to a wide-ranging and provocative Handbook that will inspire novice researchers and re-invigorate experienced scholars. Its 44 well-documented chapters will serve academics and graduate students in educational research across all sectors of education from pre-school to graduate school, and all settings from formal to non-formal.

Case Study Research in Practice explores the theory and practice of case study research. Helen Simons draws on her extensive experience of teaching and conducting case study to provide a comprehensive and practical account of how to design, conduct and communicate case study research. It addresses questions often raised by students and common misconceptions about case research. In four sections the book covers - Rationale, concept and design of case study research - Methods, ethics and reflexivity in case study - Interpreting, analyzing and reporting the case - Generalizing and theorizing in case study research Rich with ′tales from the field′ and summary memos as an aide-memoire to future action, the book provides fresh insights and challenges for researchers to guide their practice of case study research. This is an ideal text for those studying and conducting case study research in education, health and social care, and related social science disciplines. Helen Simons is Professor Emeritus of Education University of Southampton

This substantially revised second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion remains the only comprehensive survey in English of methods and methodology in the discipline. Designed for non-specialists and upper undergraduate-/graduate-level students, it discusses the range of methods currently available to stimulate interest in unfamiliar methods and enable students and scholars to evaluate methodological issues in research. The Handbook comprises 39 chapters – 21 of which are new, and the rest revised for this edition. A total of 56 contributors from 10 countries cover a broad range of topics divided into three clear parts: • Methodology • Methods • Techniques The first section addresses general methodological issues: including comparison, research design, research ethics, intersectionality, and theorizing/analysis. The second addresses specific methods: including advanced computational methods, autoethnography, computational text analysis, digital ethnography, discourse analysis, experiments, field research, grounded theory, interviewing, reading images, surveys, and videography. The final section addresses specific techniques: including coding, focus groups, photo elicitation, and survey experiments. Each chapter covers practical issues and challenges, theoretical bases, and their use in the study of religion/s, illustrated by case studies. The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion is essential reading for students and researchers in the study of religion/s, as well as for those in related disciplines.