Challenge-Led Research Practices

This important book examines how social science is applied now and how it might be applied in the future in relation to social transformation in a time of crisis.

This much-needed, original book analyzes efforts and systems in nine countries to mobilize research knowledge, describing the various factors that support or inhibit that work to provide an unprecedented view of the way education research is produced and shared.

This original edited collection explores the value of public engagement in a wider social science context. Its main themes range from the dialogic character of social science to the pragmatic responses to the managerial policies underpinning the restructuring of Higher Education.

In examining how our identity shapes the knowledge we produce, Mental health service users in research considers ways of 'doing research' which bring multiple understandings together effectively, and explains the sociological use of autobiography and its relevance.

This book examines the nature of participatory research in the social sciences and its role in increasing participation among vulnerable or marginalised populations. It examines the ways in which inclusion and collaboration in research can be enhanced among vulnerable participants, and shows how useful it can be with these groups.

This unique book explores the growing practice of participatory democracy and uses comparative analysis of cases in the UK, the Netherlands and Italy to show how policy makers, practitioners, students and academics can communicate more effectively.

The novel theoretical framework offered in this book presents a radical reconception of the place of knowledge in contemporary policy making in Europe.

This unique book is the first to critique the past, present and future welfare state from a participatory perspective. Peter Beresford demonstrate the value of ‘user knowledge’ by challenging orthodox social policy and the limitations of both Fabian and Neo-liberal perspectives drawing on service users ‘ own ideas and experience.

This is the first single authored book to trace the emergence of Convict Criminology and explore its relevance beyond the USA to the UK and other parts of Europe. It presents uniquely reflexive scholarship combining personal experience with critical perspectives on contemporary penology, focussing explicitly on men.

Indigenous Criminology comprehensively explores Indigenous people’s contact with criminal justice systems in a contemporary and historical context. It addresses both the theoretical underpinnings of the development of a specific Indigenous criminology, and canvasses the broader policy and practice implications for criminal justice.

This book offers both a road map and a vision of what being a scholar can be when reimagined in the digital era to enliven the public good. It discusses digital innovations in higher education as well as reflecting upon what these mean in an age of austerity.

Universities are increasingly taking an active role as research collaborators with citizens, public bodies, and community organisations but they, their funders and institutions struggle to articulate the value of this work. This book addresses the key challenges in collaborative research in the arts, humanities and social sciences.