Qualitative Sociology

Efforts to reconstruct the reality of a social scene have evolved numerous theoretical and methodological strategies. Qualitative sociology fills the gap in existing literature by providing a comprehensive and detailed treatment of the broad range of non-quantitative methods currently being used in sociological research, with the conceptual rationales for each method. Recognizing the need for a clear, concise discussion of both the theoretical and practical aspects of "reality reconstruction" and "formal sociology," Drs. Schwartz and Jacobs draw on the theories and strategies of Weber, Mead, Blumer, Glaser, Straus, Simmel, Goffman, Schutz, Garfinkel, and Cicourel, among others, to justify, explain, and illustrate: field studies participant observation (ethnography) interviewing life histories and personal accounts the analysis of unobtrusive measures audio-visual techniques methods of studying and subjectivity phenomenology and more Thus, the authors not only describe the various theories and methods, but they add to the reader's understanding by providing insight into who has used the methods and why, and by evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each method. They also supplement the text throughout with a collection of case studies which illustrate the kind of substantive work qualitative research can produce. No other available text covers as many methods as are described in Qualitative Sociology. All the methods are examined in an informal, conversational style, making the discussion accessible to the student with no previous knowledge of qualitative theories and practices.

Qualitative Research in Sociology offers a hands-on guide to doing qualitative research in sociology. It provides an introductory survey of the methodological and theoretical dimensions of qualitative research as practiced by those interested in the study of social life. Through a detailed yet concise explanation, the reader is shown how these methods work and how their outcomes may be interpreted. Practically focused throughout, the book also offers constructive advice for students analyzing and writing their research projects. The book has a flowing narrative and student-friendly structure which makes it accessible to and popular with students. It will be an invaluable resource for students and researchers, helping them to undertake effective qualitative research in both sociology and courses in social research across the social sciences.

While the volumes hitherto published in the Springer Series in Synergetics have been devoted almost exclusively to the self-organized formation of structures in physics, chemistry and biology, the present monograph by Weidlich and Haag deals with the formation of "structures" (or "patterns") in society. At first glance it would seem a daring enterprise to deal with the complex processes in society using concepts and methods first developed in physics. But over the past decade it has been shown that there is a large class of phenomena in a variety of fields to which unifying concepts can be applied. This is particulary true of situations in which a system composed of many parts or individuals acquires a new structure on macroscopic scales. Indeed, this is the definition of synergetics which I formulated more than a decade ago, and which formed the basis of my survey on the profound analogies in the behaviour of complex systems, includ ing those of sociology (H. Haken: Synergetics. An Introduction, Volume 1 of this series). As I have pointed out on many occasions, the universal validity of these concepts is neither accidental nor is it caused by a mere extension of physical rules to other fields, but is instead a consequence of deep-rooted struc tural properties of systems of interacting parts which are due to rigorous mathe maticallaws. Generally speaking, concepts and methods originally used in physics can be applied to sociological phenomena in two ways.

This volume examines the ways that sociological understanding can help with daily experiences, highlighting how everyday life can affect research agendas, and vice versa. The essays are organized around the notion of space - public spaces, family spaces, interior spaces, and workplaces.

How do we interact with people in our everyday life? Who are the people we are connected to? What are the consequences of overlapping social circles and how people deal with the potential emerging conflicts? What are the structural and cultural mechanisms that regulate social worlds? Network science is a scientific approach to the study of network dependencies and associations which tries to answer these and many other questions. This book explores the underlying mechanisms that regulate social life as they are produced, reproduced, modified, and abandoned in the spatial and temporal patterns of interactions. The mixed methods approach, that combines formal network analysis with qualitative materials and statistical tools, shows the importance of contextualising structural mechanisms in their social and cultural environment, and allows overcoming the traditional methodological boundaries that shape the field of social sciences.

Issues in Sociology and Social Work Research and Application: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Social Work. The editors have built Issues in Sociology and Social Work Research and Application: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Social Work in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Sociology and Social Work Research and Application: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

As qualitative researchers incorporate computer assistance into their analytic approaches, important questions arise about the adoption of new technology. Is it worth learning computer-assisted methods? Will the pay-off be sufficient to justify the investment? Which programs are worth learning? What are the effects on the analysis process? This book complements the existing literature by giving a detailed account of the use of four major programs in analyzing the same data. Priority is given to the tasks of qualitative analysis rather than to program capability and the programs are treated as tools rather than as a discipline to be acquired. The key is not what the programs allow researcher to do, but whether the tasks that researchers need to undertake are facilitated by the software. Thus the study develops a user-centred approach to the adoption of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis. The author emphasises qualitative analysis as a creative craft, but one which must increasingly be subject to rigorous methodological scrutiny. The adoption of computer-aided methods offers opportunities, but also dangers and ultimately this book is about the scientific qualitative research. Written in a distinctive and succinct style, this book will be valuable to social science researchers and students interested in qualitative research and in the potential for computer-assisted analysis.

When technology has been applied in business environments, its justification has usually been cast in terms of saving time or saving money. In the social sciences, the justification must be different; the viability of sociology as a profession, for example, will not be enhanced by cost reductions. The focus in this volume is on a different bottom l