This book provides a new and innovative introduction to the methodology of social research. The aim of the author is to provide a bridge between recent theoretical debates in the social sciences and methodological issues. It is not just a 'how to' book for social researchers, or simply a description of research techniques. Rather, the work seeks to develop new strategies of research by marrying new perspectives in social analysis to problems of concrete research. The result is a text which is accessible yet sophisticated.

Apart from developing an original argument about research, the book is also designed as a resource text for students and more experienced researchers interested in developing theory from their own field research. It contains overviews of grounded theory and middle-range theory; a research resource map; strategies for developing theory; and guidelines and checklists for field research at the end of chapters.

About the Author
Derek Layder is the author of The Realist Image in Social Science (Macmillan, 1990). He is Reader in Sociology at the University of Leicester.

Reviews
'This is one of the most important books to have been written on social research... equally as able to draw on 'grounded theory' as on 'middle range theory', and to relate these systematically to contingencies ranging from the personal, through the situational, to the institutional and contextual arenas of action as a historically constituted process. ... The future frame of sociological research training, if I am not very much mistaken, should be defined by Derek Layder's New Strategies in Social Research.' Stewart Clegg, University of St. Andrews

'Highly original ... a book that should be read by both novice and expert researchers in order that they may gain a new and deeper perspective on their own research and that of others.' Paul F. Secord, University of Houston

'A good introduction for undergraduates. Clearly written and crowded with signposts, it enables them to look at different facets of social life, rather than being blinkered by one.' Times Higher Education Supplement

'The book will work best in the role of an advanced undergraduate text in research methods. ... The research map that he provides, and the emphasis that he gives to the role of the map in generating research questions, will [also] be useful for students.' Philip Guest, Mahidol University, Thailand

Book Information
ISBN 9780745608815
Author Derek Layder
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Polity Press
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 369g
Dimensions(mm) 250mm * 200mm * 15mm