Designing Social Research: The Logic of Anticipation

Norman Blaikie's popular and accessible text on preparing research designs and proposals for students in the social sciences has been fully revised and updated, taking in the burgeoning literature in the field.

The author places particular emphasis on the formulation of research questions and the selection of appropriate research strategies to answer them. He argues that other design decisions, such as the selection of data sources and methods of data collection and analysis, must be made in the light of the particular assumptions associated with each research strategy. As well as reviewing these assumptions, the book includes:

• a new section on the use of mixed methods
• additional material on the use of case studies
• an expanded discussion of the relationship between theory and research; and
• annotated suggestions for further reading and detailed point summaries at the end of each chapter

The basic requirements for research designs and research proposals are laid out at the beginning of the book, followed by discussion of the major design elements, and the choices that need to be made about them. Four sample research designs at the end of the volume illustrate the application of the research strategies.

Designing Social Research will continue to be an invaluable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students planning their own research. The new edition dovetails with Blaikie's Approaches to Social Enquiry and together the two books offer an innovative and comprehensive guide to research for social scientists.