Textbooks
Education is at the heart of our mission to make a difference. Our goal is to support students’ learning with materials that foster understanding, confidence and skills.
We have a diverse and growing programme of textbooks and learning resources that are designed for Social Science courses at university and college level. We take pride in publishing quality content at affordable prices, and we cater to a wide range of learning styles in print and digital formats.
All of our textbooks are available on inspection and e-inspection (order here or use the link on the book pages). Lecturers are welcome to request print or digital inspection copies for potential recommendation on their reading lists and for student and library purchase. In return, we just ask for feedback on the books’ suitability for teaching purposes, in order to help us develop our publishing.
INSPECTION COPY REQUEST FORM
Take a look at our textbooks below or browse by subject.
Understanding Research for Social Policy and Social Work (Second Edition)
Themes, Methods and Approaches
Understanding inequality, poverty and wealth
Policies and prospects
This major textbook provides students with a critical understanding of poverty and social exclusion in relation to wealth, rather than as separate from it.
Understanding Family Meanings
A Reflective Text
Understanding Family Meanings provides an overview of the basic concepts and theories related to families using readings with questions and analysis to encourage reflection and learning. It focuses on family meanings as the key underpinnings for academic study and professional training.
Understanding equal opportunities and diversity
The social differentiations and intersections of inequality
This book challenges the official discourse that shapes the debates on Equal Opportunities and Diversity (EO&D) at national, regional and European level and will be a key text for students and researchers of EO&D in many fields.
Understanding Crime and Social Policy
Understanding crime and social policy encourages readers to reflect upon the close connections, and sometimes tensions, between crime reduction and social policy agendas.
Understanding Childhood
A Cross Disciplinary Approach
Understanding childhood is a fresh look at how childhood has changed in recent years and reveals how children's needs and experiences have achieved a new visibility
Studying Public Policy
An International Approach
This is the first book to explore the public policy process through 19 contributions from diverse scholars from all over the world, using empirical material to demonstrate how many of the key theories and concepts may be applied to its analysis.
Straightforward Statistics
This clear and concise guide provides the introduction to descriptive statistical analysis that all students need to draw insightful conclusions from their data. Assuming no prior expertise, it presents jargon-free and practical advice for analysing and presenting numbers.
SPSS Step by Step
Essentials for Social and Political Science
A logically ordered guide to analysing everyday problems, SPSS Step by Step is distinctive in being both easy to grasp and readable.
Social work in Northern Ireland
Conflict and change
Written in an accessible style, this book highlights the distinctive aspects of social work policy and practice in Northern Ireland.It will be essential reading for academics and students of social work and social policy in Northern Ireland and a valuable resource for practitioners and policy makers.
Social work in end-of-life and palliative care
Social work should help to strengthen individuals to achieve a respectful death and families to move forward in their lives. This valuable book focuses on practice interventions, advocating open communication and skilled interpersonal practice to help dying and bereaved people, their families and carers.