Foundations Of Social Research

Choosing a research method can be bewildering. How can you be sure which methodology is appropriate, or whether your chosen combination of methods is consistent with the theoretical perspective you want to take? This book links methodology and theory with great clarity and precision, showing students and researchers how to navigate the maze of conflicting terminology. The major epistemological stances and theoretical perspectives that colour and shape current social research are detailed and the author reveals the philosophical origins of these schools of inquiry and shows how various disciplines contribute to the practice of social research as it is known today.

This book probes the complex methodological choices facing social researchers and students who are applying or learning the methods of social research. The author shows how an understanding of social research requires close consideration of the underlying conceptual frameworks - from neopositivism to structuralism, hermeneutics and anti-foundationalism - that shape how one studies society. Baranov introduces each philosophical tradition and shows how decisions about research design and methodology are affected by them. He also explains the practical and ethical consequences that follow from methodological choices. The book's approach is non-doctrinaire and the prose style is accessible, concrete, and jargon-free.

Choosing a research method can be bewildering. How can you be sure which methodology is appropriate, or whether your chosen combination of methods is consistent with the theoretical perspective you want to take? This book links methodology and theory with great clarity and precision, showing students and researchers how to navigate the maze of conflicting terminology. The major epistemological stances and theoretical perspectives that colour and shape current social research are detailed and the author reveals the philosophical origins of these schools of inquiry and shows how various disciplines contribute to the practice of social research as it is known today.

This interdisciplinary volume provides the most comprehensive evaluation, to date, of the merits and problems of Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. Outstanding repersentatives of several academic disciplines assess from opposite intellectual and political positions the achievements and shortcomings of the social theory that emerged from this school of thought. The volume also includes several newly translated but previously inaccessible essays by leading critical theorists such as Georg Lukács and Jürgen Habermas.

This is an introductory text on social research, useful for a student or a practitioner who has had limited background training, or no training, in methodology. It differs from other existing texts in that equal treatment has been given to three topics which are usually either treated separately or given different amounts of attention: theory construction, the use of statistics, and the procedures of social research (generally known as "research methods").

Designed for introductory research courses in the professional fields and social sciences, this text acquaints students and beginning researchers with a broad view of research methodologies and an understanding of the assumptions that inform each of these approaches. More experienced researchers will also find the book useful in acquainting them with methodologies and theoretical frameworks that are new to them. The text is distinguished by its avoidance of using the discreet categories of qualitative and quantitative methods to organize the chapters. While some chapter authors rely more on one or the other, many employ multiple methodologies to investigate particular problems and questions. Further, the book is not organized into single, contradictory positivist-interpretivist categories of research; chapter authors often situate methodologies within a variety of, and sometimes multiple, theoretical positions, particularly as these approaches are shaped by the historical context of social science research. Focus points in Foundations for Research: Methods of Inquiry in Education and the Social Sciences: *research ethics. *intertwined relationship of theory and research design. *systematic examination of ways to design and implement high-quality, trustworthy research across varying research designs. *specific methods for implementing research within various frameworks. *pedagogical strategies.

Bernard does an excellent job of not only showing how to practice research, but also provides a detailed discussion of broader historical and philosophical contexts that are important for understanding research.

Parts one and two of this volume present the theoretical lenses used to study the social contexts of education. These include long-established foundations disciplines such as sociology of education and philosophy of education as well as newer theoretical perspectives such as critical race theory, feminist educational theory, and cultural studies in education. Parts three, four, and five demonstrate how these theoretical lenses are used to examine such phenomena as globalization, media, popular culture, technology, youth culture, and schooling. This groundbreaking volume helps readers understand the history, evolution, and significance of this wide-ranging, often misunderstood, and increasingly important field of study. This book is appropriate as a reference volume not only for scholars in the social foundations of education but also for scholars interested in the cultural contexts of teaching and learning (formal and informal). It is also appropriate as a textbook for graduate-level courses in Social Foundations of Education, School and Society, Educational Policy Studies, Cultural Studies in Education, and Curriculum and Instruction.