Qualitative Research in Sociology offers a hands-on guide to doing qualitative research in sociology. It provides an introductory survey of the methodological and theoretical dimensions of qualitative research as practiced by those interested in the study of social life. Through a detailed yet concise explanation, the reader is shown how these methods work and how their outcomes may be interpreted. Practically focused throughout, the book also offers constructive advice for students analyzing and writing their research projects. The book has a flowing narrative and student-friendly structure which makes it accessible to and popular with students. It will be an invaluable resource for students and researchers, helping them to undertake effective qualitative research in both sociology and courses in social research across the social sciences.

Efforts to reconstruct the reality of a social scene have evolved numerous theoretical and methodological strategies. Qualitative sociology fills the gap in existing literature by providing a comprehensive and detailed treatment of the broad range of non-quantitative methods currently being used in sociological research, with the conceptual rationales for each method. Recognizing the need for a clear, concise discussion of both the theoretical and practical aspects of "reality reconstruction" and "formal sociology," Drs. Schwartz and Jacobs draw on the theories and strategies of Weber, Mead, Blumer, Glaser, Straus, Simmel, Goffman, Schutz, Garfinkel, and Cicourel, among others, to justify, explain, and illustrate: field studies participant observation (ethnography) interviewing life histories and personal accounts the analysis of unobtrusive measures audio-visual techniques methods of studying and subjectivity phenomenology and more Thus, the authors not only describe the various theories and methods, but they add to the reader's understanding by providing insight into who has used the methods and why, and by evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each method. They also supplement the text throughout with a collection of case studies which illustrate the kind of substantive work qualitative research can produce. No other available text covers as many methods as are described in Qualitative Sociology. All the methods are examined in an informal, conversational style, making the discussion accessible to the student with no previous knowledge of qualitative theories and practices.

This volume examines the ways that sociological understanding can help with daily experiences, highlighting how everyday life can affect research agendas, and vice versa. The essays are organized around the notion of space - public spaces, family spaces, interior spaces, and workplaces.

While the volumes hitherto published in the Springer Series in Synergetics have been devoted almost exclusively to the self-organized formation of structures in physics, chemistry and biology, the present monograph by Weidlich and Haag deals with the formation of "structures" (or "patterns") in society. At first glance it would seem a daring enterprise to deal with the complex processes in society using concepts and methods first developed in physics. But over the past decade it has been shown that there is a large class of phenomena in a variety of fields to which unifying concepts can be applied. This is particulary true of situations in which a system composed of many parts or individuals acquires a new structure on macroscopic scales. Indeed, this is the definition of synergetics which I formulated more than a decade ago, and which formed the basis of my survey on the profound analogies in the behaviour of complex systems, includ ing those of sociology (H. Haken: Synergetics. An Introduction, Volume 1 of this series). As I have pointed out on many occasions, the universal validity of these concepts is neither accidental nor is it caused by a mere extension of physical rules to other fields, but is instead a consequence of deep-rooted struc tural properties of systems of interacting parts which are due to rigorous mathe maticallaws. Generally speaking, concepts and methods originally used in physics can be applied to sociological phenomena in two ways.

An introduction to theories about language in attempts to understand and transform women's lives. This evolving body of work encompasses linguistics, anthropology, literary and cultural theory, psychoanalysis and postmodern philosophy.

How do we interact with people in our everyday life? Who are the people we are connected to? What are the consequences of overlapping social circles and how people deal with the potential emerging conflicts? What are the structural and cultural mechanisms that regulate social worlds? Network science is a scientific approach to the study of network dependencies and associations which tries to answer these and many other questions. This book explores the underlying mechanisms that regulate social life as they are produced, reproduced, modified, and abandoned in the spatial and temporal patterns of interactions. The mixed methods approach, that combines formal network analysis with qualitative materials and statistical tools, shows the importance of contextualising structural mechanisms in their social and cultural environment, and allows overcoming the traditional methodological boundaries that shape the field of social sciences.

Whether a student, an instructor, a researcher, or just someone interested in understanding the roots of sociology and our social world, The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology, Volume 1 is for you. This first volume of the Handbook focuses on core areas of sociology, such as theory, methods, culture, socialization, social structure, inequality, diversity, social institutions, social problems, deviant behavior, locality, geography, the environment, and social change. It also explains how sociology developed in different parts of the world, providing readers with a perspective on how sociology became the global discipline it is today. Each essay includes a discussion of how the respective subfield contributes to the overall discipline and to society. Written by some of the most respected scholars, teachers, and public sociologists in the world, the essays are highly readable and authoritative.