Designing Social Science Research

This book presents different research designs, their respective purposes and merits as well as their underlying assumptions. Research designs are characterised by a certain combination of knowledge aims and strategies for data production. An adequate desi

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Oddbjørn Bukve

Designing Social Science Research

Oddbjørn Bukve Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Sogndal, Norway Translated by Bjørg Hellum

This translation has been published with the financial support of NORLA.

ISBN 978-3-030-03978-3    ISBN 978-3-030-03979-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03979-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018964561 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Chris Parsons / Getty Images This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

Starting a research project is a challenging task whether you are a student or a novice researcher. I have had the opportunity to observe this through many years as a supervisor of master’s degree and PhD theses, as head of research at a number of institutions, and as a teacher at seminars for research strategies and method. I believe that the knowledge of how research projects can be designed in a good way is sadly underestimated as compared with the knowledge of methods and general theory of science. A great number of books on research methods exist. The teaching within the social sciences that prepares students for research activities usually takes these books as its starting point, often in combination with textbooks on theory of science. What I have been missing in my capacity as a facilitator is a book that in a clear way bridges the gap between perspectives from the theory of science and the practical use of method. In other words, what I missed was a book on how to justify and deal with the basic choices in a research project—the design of the project. This book is

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