Pioneering Social Research

Paul Thompson is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex. He is Founder-Editor of Oral History and Founder of National Life Stories at the British Library. He is a pioneer of oral history in Europe and author of the international classic The Voice of the Past (4th edition 2017). His other books include The Edwardians and Living the Fishing. He is co-author of Growing Up in Stepfamilies, of The Myths We Live By (with Raphael Samuel), and (with Daniel Bertaux) Pathways to Social Class.Ken Plummer (1946-2022) was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex. He researched and wrote widely on sexuality, especially lesbian, gay and queer studies. His methodological concerns were with the development of narrative, life story, symbolic interactionism and the post-modern turn. Neli Demireva is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Essex. Her research interests include migration, inter-ethnic ties, social cohesion, ethnic penalties and multiculturalism. She uses a variety of methods in her research, both quantitative and qualitative, and believes strongly in mixing methods to uncover the ‘deep stories’ of sociology.

• Chapter 1 ~ Introduction: the pioneers of social research studyVoices 1 ~ Moments of discoveryChapter 2 ~ Life stories: biography and creativityVoices 2 ~ BeginningsChapter 3 ~ Contexts: Empire, politics and cultureVoices 3 ~ Old boundaries, new thoughtsChapter 4 ~ Organising: creating research worldsVoices 4 ~ Old and new trendsChapter 5 ~ Fighting or mixing: quantitative and qualitative researchVoices 5 ~ Into the fieldChapter 6 ~ Fieldwork: making methodsVoices 6 ~ On the marginsChapter 7 ~ Social divisions: class, gender, ethnicity – and moreVoices 7 ~ Reflections for the futureChapter 8 ~ Conclusion: what can we learn?Chapter 9 ~ Epilogue