Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: An African Perspective

Product Details:
Author(s):
Bless, C ,
Higson-Smith, C and
Sithole, L
Year Published:
2013
Edition
5th Edition
Type:
Print | Soft Cover
Language:
English
About this publication
Healthy societies can only be built on a realistic understanding of people and their world. The call for African solutions to the continent’s problems demands an innovative pool of knowledgeable and skilled social researchers.
Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: An African Perspective draws examples from a broad spectrum of fields including agriculture, public health, social welfare, community development and regional planning. The material is compatible with social science methods courses in sociology, economics, political science, psychology and education.
Content
The different methods of acquiring knowledge
The scientific method applied to social reality
Research ethics
Problem conception and background information
The types of research
Research questions and variables
Participatory and action research
Research and community development
Project monitoring and evaluation
Research planning and design
Sampling
Data collection: Basic concepts and techniques
Interest / Benefit to
This text is suitable for students and non-professional researchers who are interested in conducting social research, be they practitioners, community activists, government administrators, policy-makers or business people.
 
With this vision in mind, the fifth edition of Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: An African Perspective has been transformed to include a far broader set of research skills than previous editions. This edition includes qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research, as well as an extensive new section on the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. As a result, the new edition offers a solid and comprehensive foundation to the practice of social research.