Social Research Methods

With a diverse range of case studies, and chapters co-written between academics and community partners, this book shows that co-produced research can be an empowering force by which communities stake a claim in the places they live.

This book sets out practical and theoretically robust approaches for understanding and tracking change that any organisation can use to evaluate their contribution to social change and become more efficient and effective.

We know the statistics, but what does it feel like to be forced to turn to foodbanks for help? What does it take to get emergency food, and what's in the food parcel? This is a powerful insight into the harsh reality of foodbank use from the inside.

Drawing on empirical research with the UK’s two largest Food Banks, this book explores the prolific rise of food charity over the last 15 years and its implications for overcoming food insecurity.

This book innovatively explores how we can better apply a ‘bottom-up’ approach to the design of regulatory systems that recognise the capabilities, knowledge, passions and creativity of citizens in communities at the margins.

Measuring research impact and engagement is a much debated topic in the UK and internationally. This book is the first to provide a critical review of the research impact agenda, situating it within international efforts to improve research utilisation.

This text brings together academics, artists, practitioners and ‘community activists’ to explore the possibilities for and tensions of social justice work under the contemporary drive for community-oriented ‘impact’ in the academy.

This book provides practical guidance for professionals and pre-qualifying students on how to gather and generate evidence of the impact of projects in the community. It includes case studies from a range of community settings and is full of easy to implement ideas, tools and examples of methods to demonstrate the impact of work in the community.

Through stories and visual vignettes, it presents a range of stakeholders involved in the design, construction, management and habitation of third-age housing in the UK, highlighting the importance of design decisions for the everyday lives of older people.

This book examines how interprofessional collaboration and service user participation are challenged in multi-agency meetings, demonstrating how collaborative and integrated welfare policy is contingent on the interactional practices of professionals and service users and providing examples of best practice.

Tailored to meet the demands of blended learning, this versatile and accessible textbook is ideal for research students embarking on their research journey, complete with a variety of pedagogical and digital tools to aid learning.

Based on the results of a European Social Fund project, this book critically appraises the benefits and challenges of involving service users in social work research, practice and education.