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.

All our books are available on e-inspection for lecturers who want to consider the title(s) for use on their course reading lists. You can order an e-inspection copy here. Click ‘Request Access’ and then use the search function to request a digital sample copy of our titles. You will need to create a username and password to access your book(s).

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Showing 265-276 of 280 items.

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

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

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

Community Development, Social Action and Social Planning 6e

A Practical Guide

The sixth, fully updated edition of this bestselling guide links the theory and practice of community work in an insightful and relatable read for students and practitioners. The textbook features brand new sections on work in health, housing, with children, young people and those with disabilities and the changing role of IT.

Policy Press

Fiction and Research

A Guide to Connecting Stories and Inquiry

Discover the captivating power of fiction in research through this engaging book. With practical insights, this is essential primer will help students embark on their own research-based fiction projects in no time.

Policy Press

The Sociology of Contemporary Work

What It Is, and Why We Need It

This book injects a fresh burst of energy into the sociology of work, offering an invigorating perspective that's both vibrant and deeply informed. Bringing the field up to date, leading sociology of work scholar Marek Korczynski offers an enlightening exploration of sociology of work, as well as the evolving world of work itself.

Bristol Uni Press

Doing Phenomenography

A Practical Guide

This practical handbook is aimed at students who are new to phenomenograpy - a popular research method for its versatility in understanding people’s perceptions. Enabling readers to decide on the appropriateness of the phenomenographic approach for their own research project, it equips them with the necessary tools to embark on their journey.

Policy Press

Why Social Work is Important

Identity, Role and Practice

This book demonstrates that all societies require a social work presence. It symbolises the importance of a community-near professional input to human flourishing and the development of social capital. It challenges economic and political trends that corrode deeply-held human and social values.

Policy Press

The Adult Safeguarding Practice Handbook 2e

The second edition of this best-selling book continues to provide an essential guide to best practice in adult safeguarding. It includes recent legislation, guidance and research-based developments and relates them to practice examples.

Policy Press

The Short Guide to Mental Health

This is a concise introduction to important concepts and debates in the field of mental health. Deirdre Heenan brings together different stakeholders’ perspectives to explore contemporary issues around the prevalence, cost and determinants of mental illness, and the responding attitudes and services, for a comprehensive and accessible primer.

Policy Press

Critical Theory for Social Work

A Simple Introduction

This accessible introductory textbook unpacks how students and practitioners can use theory to think about social work practice. Introducing the work of some notable thinkers as a starting point, the book encourages readers to think theoretically themselves.

Policy Press

Encountering the World with I-docs

Interactive Documentary as a Research Method

This book examines the values of interactive documentary as a social research method, exploring their exciting potential for illuminating and communicating pressing social issues. Providing a template for planning an i-doc, the novel book shows how the planning process alone can open new ways of understanding social research topics.

Policy Press