Policy Press

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.

Take a look at our textbooks below or browse by subject.

We have more resources, including free journal articles and Open Access titles, available on our student resources page.

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Showing 13-24 of 279 items.

Urban Informality

An Introduction

This book provides an introductory overview to the concept of ‘urban informality’, taking an international perspective across the global North and South. It explores theoretical understandings of the term, and looks at how it affects ways of living, such as land use, housing and basic services, working lives and political informality.

Bristol Uni Press

Introduction to Convict Criminology

This book is the first to organize and explain current scholarship on convict criminology, corrections and criminal justice in an accessible manner. From activism to the emergence of undergraduate programmes in prisons, it provides a clear guide to the complexities of the field.

Bristol Uni Press

Photovoice Reimagined

Over the past decades ‘photovoice’ has emerged as a participatory and creative research method where participants capture and discuss their reality through photographs. This unprecedented ‘how-to’ book takes novice and experienced researchers through the practicalities and ethics of applying this approach.

Policy Press

Health Policy in the United States

Access, Cost and Quality

Introducing the fundamentals of health policy and offering analysis of major health care programmes and reflections on issues around access, quality, cost and the ethics of provision, this book provides a comprehensive exploration of the role and influence of public policy on the medical system in the United States.

Policy Press

Diverse Voices in Tort Law

Edited by Kirsty Horsey

Integrating marginalised perspectives into the curriculum and discourse, this indispensable textbook amplifies under-represented voices in the field and paves the way for a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of tort law.

Bristol Uni Press

Elements of Research Design

This concise and accessible guide to designing a dissertation, thesis or other major study helps researchers achieve the best possible outcomes. It sets out approaches that are not limited by conventions, but instead give the researcher the confidence to handle questions, literature reviews, data collection, analysis and other processes.

Policy Press

Critical Social Work with Children and Families

Theory, Context and Practice

This fully-updated, accessible textbook considers the theory and practice of critical social work in addressing inequality and social injustice. It is essential reading for students, educators and practitioners of child and family social work.

Policy Press

Understanding Theories and Concepts in Social Policy

Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this dynamic and fully updated second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory. It includes a new chapter featuring debates around disability, sexuality and the environment.

Policy Press

Politics and Policy Making in the UK

Written by leading voices in UK public policy and politics, this text examines the shifting UK political and policy landscape while also highlighting the features of politics that have endured. The book equips students with a robust understanding of public policy and enables them to locate this within a broader theoretical framework.

Bristol Uni Press

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.

Policy Press

Applying Social Policy to Criminal Justice Practice

What Every Practitioner Should Know

Exploring the important interrelationship between social policy, criminology and criminal justice, this book enables students and criminal justice practitioners to understand how social policy concepts can better inform practice with those involved in the criminal justice system.

Policy Press

Foundations of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Research

A Reader

This reader on the theory and practice of interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity provides a thorough grounding on the subject. With reviews, commentaries and examples of excellence in aspects including development, funding, evaluation and dissemination, it shows the potential of the approaches and lays the foundations for future scholarship.

Bristol Uni Press