Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process

338 Pages·2022·16.339 MB·English

by  Tim May, Beth Perry

FIFTH EDITION
“In this era of bountiful visual, qualitative and informationalised knowledge of the
social world, a conscientious guide to social research is ever more valuable…this is SOCIAL
a knowledgeably written, highly engaging and genuinely interesting book.“ S
Dr Pamela Odih BSoc.Sc. PhD. Senior Lecturer Goldsmiths University of London, UK O
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“A timely focus on intersectionality, decoloniality, as well as digital, participatory,
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collaborative methods and the relationship between knowledge, power and action, A
RESEARCH
are all compelling new additions.” L
Anastasia Christou, Associate Professor of Sociology, Middlesex University, UK R
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“This is the best kind of companion for social researchers: a clear, concise, and
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practical overview of the foundations of the field…grounded in critical reflection Issues, Methods and Process
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about ethics and power, and skilfully assembled to both support and inspire.”
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Dr Oliver Escobar, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh, UK
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Fully revised and updated, Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process 5th edition
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bridges the gap between theory and methods in social research, and clearly illuminates T O
these essential components for understanding the dynamics of social relations. IM S RIS S
The book is divided into three parts. Part One examines the issues and perspectives in M EULA MPA HOD RIES
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• Revised ‘Discuss, Discover, Do’ sections with expanded suggestions for follow-on activities T K N O W E X T
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• Carefully integrated reflections and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic H W
throughout to draw attention to critical issues P L SURVEYS
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The authors aim to support and inspire, with a clear and accessible writing style that
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enables students to identify the key issues in social research and how to successfully D
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navigate them. Social Research 5e is the ideal companion to social research for students
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across the social sciences and for academics and practitioners wishing to remain well-
OBSERVATION
informed on key developments in the field. E
TIM MAY is a Professorial Fellow at the University of Sheffield, UK and an Honorary
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Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield, UK. D
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TIM MAY AND BETH PERRY
Social Research
Fifth Edition

Social Research
Issues, methods and process
Fifth Edition
Tim May and Beth Perry
Open University Press
McGraw Hill
8th Floor, 338 Euston Road
London
England
NW1 3BH
email: [email protected]
world wide web: www.openup.co.uk
First published 1993
Second edition published 1997
Third edition published 2001
Fourth edition published 2011
First published in this fifth edition 2022
Copyright © Open International Publishing Limited, 2022
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and
review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright
Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be
obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London
EC1N 8TS.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 9780335262106
ISBN-10: 0335262104
eISBN: 9780335262113
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
CIP data applied for
Typeset by Transforma Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, India
Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data that may be used
herein (in case studies or in examples) are not intended to represent any real individual,
company, product or event.
Praise page
“Social Research has earned its place as a key staple in the methodolog-
ical canon, guiding generations of researchers through the complexities,
dilemmas, and possibilities of social science. In this edition, May and
Perry manage to turn this essential book into a contemporary classic.
Novice and experienced researchers will appreciate the clear introduc-
tion to the latest developments in methodological thinking and practice,
from digital and participatory research to intersectional and de-colonial
approaches. This is the best kind of companion for social researchers: a
clear, concise, and practical overview of the foundations of the field,
which is grounded in critical reflection about ethics and power, and skil-
fully assembled to both support and inspire.”
Dr Oliver Escobar, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh, UK
“An introductory book that survives through 5 editions over 29 years
operates in a space vital to many kinds of readers and not addressed by
other books. Handbooks, introductory texts, and essays on theory and
method abound. Social Research is all of these things, but is a unique
invitation to enter the world of social research as a thoughtful partici-
pant. Readers are enabled to learn what many of the key issues in social
research are and to see alternative ways forward, along with their
strengths and weaknesses. The reader is not told what to do but is
encouraged respectfully to make a personal decision how to proceed.
Equally valuable for the newcomer and the experienced researcher, the
book is elegantly structured and beautifully written, as is always the
case with May and Perry’s work.”
Davydd J. Greenwood, Goldwin Smith Professor of Anthropology
Emeritus, Cornell University, USA
Corresponding Member, Spanish Royal Academy of Moral
and Political Sciences
“May and Perry’s Social Research has become something of a textbook
institution – an earlier edition even featuring in the BBC’s Eastenders!
Its longevity is richly deserved. It continues to be one of the best intro-
ductions to social research, combining a sophisticated approach to the
unity of theory, method, and context, with clarity and approachability.
The fifth edition effortlessly integrates newer sophisticated debates and
methods, such as those emerging from the digital revolution, into a tried
and tested framework.”
Malcolm Williams, Professor and Co-Director of the Q-Step Centre,
Cardiff University, UK

Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Preface to the second edition ix
Preface to the third edition x
Preface to the fourth edition xi
Preface to the fifth edition xiii
Introduction 1
PART 1: Issues in social research 5
1. Knowing the social world 7
2. Social theory and social research 22
3. Values and ethics in the research process 37
4. Working across boundaries 58
PART 2: Methods and processes of social research 83
5. Official statistics: resource and topic 85
6. Social surveys: design to analysis with Carole Sutton 104
7. Documents: texts and images 123
8. Interviewing: methods and process 143
9. Participant observation: perspectives and practice 168
10. Digital research 191
11. Case study research 208
12. Comparative research: potential and problems 227
PART 3: Research in practice 249
13. Research in practice: a reflexive orientation 251
Bibliography 263
Author Index 313
Subject Index 317
Acknowledgements
The contract for the fifth edition of this book was signed in early 2015 and the
writing of the text has taken place over an extended period of considerable per-
sonal and professional change for both of us. During this time, there are many
people we would like to thank for their friendship, support and encouragement.
Here, we can only name a few.
The fifth edition represents a new collaboration and co-authorship 30 years
after its first draft was written. Beth co-authored two chapters in the fourth edi-
tion and Beth and Tim have worked together for many years on research pro-
jects, books, special issues of journals and the production of articles. It made
sense for Beth to co-author this edition, which includes extensive revisions and
additions. We are pleased that Carole Sutton, an experienced quantitative
researcher and author, was again able to lead the chapter on social surveys and
bring her insights, examples and references to the topic.
We would like to express our gratitude to our colleagues at Sheffield Univer-
sity where we have been employed whilst undertaking most of the revisions to
the text. Being part of vibrant research communities has been critical in provid-
ing exposure to new approaches, insights and interdisciplinary methods that
enrich our understanding of social research. In that time, we have had funding
from Mistra Urban Futures and the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council,
which has generated first-hand experiences of evolving and cutting-edge research
practices. We thank all our co-researchers in the research projects which we have
featured in these chapters.
To our families, we thank you for your patience and endurance over these last
years. Tim would like to thank Vikki for her support and his sons and stepsons –
Cian, Alex, Calum, Nick and Lewis – for the fun times together. Beth would like to
thank Marcus, Anya, Myla, Caroline, Kate and Matthew, for all their encourage-
ment and solidarity. We appreciate their understanding for the time we have
taken and look forward to there being more fun and distraction to come. This
book sits in a long line of various writing commitments (see, for instance, May
and Perry 2017a; 2018) and for this, we have relied upon your inspiration and
support.
Finally, we would like to thank the editorial and production teams at Open
University Press/McGraw-Hill for their support during the production of this book
and above all, to Catherine Barlow and Vicky Simpson for their wonderful work
in copy-editing, referencing and indexing the text.
Preface to the second edition
I was very pleased to learn that this book has been so successful as to warrant a
second edition. Many people have been very supportive in their comments and
letters regarding its aims, structure, style and content. Students, lecturers and
researchers alike found the book to be accessible and comprehensive. It was
therefore with some trepidation that I approached the writing of a second edition.
This book, as with all books, has its limitations, as well as strengths. However,
when it came to taking critical comments onboard in an attempt to rectify any
shortcomings, published reviews, while complimentary, were mixed in relation to
its intended audience. All agreed that it was aimed at undergraduates, but noted
that it was suitable for postgraduates. I also found that while lecturers were defin-
ing it as a ‘textbook’, they were often consulting it in order to update themselves
on current thinking, as well as quoting from it to justify or expand upon their own
investigations.
With these messages in mind, where was I to start? In the end I decided that the
structure of the book should remain intact and it can be read at different levels.
What I thought was required were additions to the content of each chapter in
order to render further justice to ideas on the research process in general, as well
as aspects of its practice in particular. Given this decision, all chapters have been
revised and expanded and I have added suggested further readings to the end of
each chapter.
When it came to the chapter on questionnaires, it is now five years since I have
undertaken, first-hand, survey research through the stages of design, administra-
tion and analysis. This does not reflect so much a methodological preference, but
the ebbs and flows to which one is subjected in the first years of an academic
career, as well as the costs associated with large-scale survey research. Quite
simply, you are not in a position to refuse opportunities that come your way and
these have involved more qualitative aspects of research practice. Thus, although
I have acted in an advisory capacity on survey research projects, Malcolm Wil-
liams, an experienced quantitative researcher and friend with whom I have
worked on several occasions, kindly agreed to assist me in expanding and updat-
ing that chapter.
Overall, the end result is a new edition which takes into consideration recent
developments in the field of social research. In so doing it is hoped that readers
find it as accessible and comprehensive as the first edition and it renders further
justice to a rich and varied field of perspectives and practices. Its basic philoso-
phy, however, remains the same: that is, reflexive researchers will produce the
most insightful research into the social worlds which we inhabit, while the social
sciences are central for understanding social relations and explaining the work-
ings of societies in general.