Martin Davies is Professor Emeritus at the University of East Anglia, UK. He has extensive social science research experience, having held research posts in the Home Office, the National Health Service and the Universities of Manchester and East Anglia, where he supervised the research dissertations of more than 750 graduate and undergraduate students. Nathan Hughes is Director of Education and Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Social Work at the Institute of Applied Social Studies, University of Birmingham, UK.

• PART 1 PLANNING YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT1. So you’re going to do a research project2. Let’s make a start3. Preparing for a successful research project4. The principles of sampling5. Carrying out your survey6. Questionnaires7. The art and science of survey interviewing8. Analysing your survey data9. Testing for statistical significance: into more complex territory10. A quantitative researcher’s briefing sheetPART 3 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH11. Studying a small sample12. Qualitative research interviewing13. There is more to qualitative research than interviewing14. Analysing qualitative data15. A qualitative researcher’s briefing sheetPART 4 THE LAST LAP16. Writing your report.

"This book contains all the advice a student needs to design a hands-on methods project, to reflect on the process and to acquire transferable skills for the future." - Ann Taylor, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Newcastle NSW, Australia "This is an excellent guide for undergraduate students conducting research projects in the social sciences. It addresses many of the issues that students encounter and offers excellent practical advice. It is the best text on this topic I have seen." - Patrick White, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Leicester, UK "Clearly-written and well-organized, this book is an excellent, introductory text covering a broad scope of research methods for beginning students." - Gerardo Marti, L. Richardson King Associate Professor of Sociology, Davidson College, USA 'I became really engaged with this text from the offset. The authors' straightforward approach belies significant depth and sophistication which is clearly underpinned by their own expert advice... I would highly recommend it.' Trish Hafford-Letchfield, Reader in Social Work, Middlesex University, UK