DEPARTMENTOFSOCIOLOGY

RESEARCHPROCESS(WS920)
SPRINGTERM20022003
Thursdays09001100hours
Tutors:ChristinaHughes,CecilyJonesandSrilaRoy
AcademicAims
ResearchProcessisapracticalcoursedesignedtohelpstudents
toplananMAdissertationorresearchthesis.Thecourseaimsto
givepracticaltrainingintheformulationofresearchable
problems,issuesandtexts,andtheirtranslationintoresearch
designandimplementation.Itwillbeparticipativeinapproach
andwillfocusontheneedsandproblemsofMAstudents.
LearningOutcomes
Attheendofthecourse,studentswillhave:
Apracticalunderstandingofresearchdesignasitisadaptedto
differentkindsofresearchandtothetimeandresources
available,enablingthemtoprogresstoindependentresearchin
relevantareas;
Knowledgeofthevarietyofresearchmethodswhichmaybe
adoptedininterdisciplinaryresearch;
Practiceinkeyresearchskills;
Communicationskillsthroughoral,writtenandvisual
presentationofwork.
Topics

1.Introduction
2.ResearchDesign
3.LibraryandTextualApproaches(1)
4.LibraryandTextualApproaches(2)
5.FieldworkApproaches(1)
6.FieldworkApproaches(2)
7.ArchivalResearch(1)
8.ArchivalResearch(2)
9.WritingUp
10.Presentations
Assessment
Duringthecoursestudentswillbeaskedtodopracticalworkfor
theplanningoftheirresearchproject.Thiswilltaketheformof
`homework'thatmapsontothetopicsbeingstudied.Attheend
ofthecoursestudentswillbeaskedtosubmita5000word
researchproposalforassessment.Thisproposalshoulddescribe
thequestionstobeposed,theapproachtobeusedandthe
methodologicalissuesraisedintheresearchproject(alsousing
materialfromtheComparativeMethodologiescourse).MA
studentswishingtoapplyforresearchstudentstatusmaysubmit
forassessmentaproposalfortheMPhil/PhDprogrammebut
shouldtakeadvicefromthetutorsonthis.
ReadingList
Eachsessionalsocontainskeyreadings.Copiesoftheseare
availablefromyourlecturers.Whererelevant,furtherresources

areprovidedviaChristinaHughes'homepage(goto
www.warwick.ac.uk/sociologyandclickto`academic'staffand
thenclick`ChristinaHughes',thenTeaching:ResearchProcess)
andthiswillfacilitateindependentstudy.However,thesocial
researchliteratureisvastandyouareencouragedtosearchand
sourcetextsthatfocusonyourparticularinterests.Nevertheless,
akeytextforthiscourseisSeale,C(Ed)(1998)Researching
SocietyandCulture,London,Sage.Youmightconsider
purchasingthis.

Whenstartingthereareanumberofgeneraltextbooksthat
havebeenwrittenforstudentsthatfocusontheprocessesof
dissertationandthesisresearch.Whilstmostoftheseare
concernedwiththePhD,thefollowingarestillwellwortha
browseifyouarewritinganMAdissertation.
Berry,R(1994)TheResearchProject:HowtoWriteIt,
London,Routledge
Brause,R(2000)WritingYourDoctoralDissertation:
InvisibleRulesforSuccess,London,FalmerPress
Cryer,P(1996)TheResearchStudent'sGuidetoSuccess,
Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress
Leonard,D(2001)AWoman'sGuidetoDoctoralStudies,
Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress(notinWarwicklibrarybut
onorder)
Murray,R(2002)HowtoWriteaThesis,Buckingham,Open
UniversityPress
Phillips,EandPugh,D(2000)HowtoGetaPhD,
Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress

Potter,S(2002)(Ed)DoingPostgraduateResearch,London,
Sage/OpenUniversity(notinWarwicklibrarybutonorder)
Inaddition,youmightfinditusefultoconsultthefollowing
forresearchontheteachingandlearningexperiencesof
overseasstudents:
BritishCouncil(1999)StudyingandLivingintheUnited
Kingdom:AGuideforInternationalStudents,Plymouth,
BritishCouncilinassociationwithNorthcoteHouse(revised
edition)
Chen,HC(1997)TheListeningProblemsofOverseas
TaiwanesePostgraduateStudentsatWarwickUniversity,
Coventry,UniversityofWarwick(dissertationresDIS
(closed)375.429/CHE)
Kinnell,M(Ed)(1990)TheLearningExperiencesof
OverseasStudents,Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress
McNamara,DandHarris,R(1997)OverseasStudentsin
HigherEducation:Issuesinteachingandlearning,London,
Routledge
Okorocha,E(1997)SupervisingInternationalResearch
Students,London,SRHE
Stagg,G(1993)StudySkillsforInternationalStudents,
Leicester,DeMontfortUniversity(nbnoclassmarkattached
asklibrarianfordetails)
Tseng,CC(1998)AStudyofOverseasPostgraduate
TaiwaneseStudents'AttitudesandDifficulties,Coventry,
UniversityofWarwick(dissertationresDIS199851)
Forthoseofyouplanningtoundertakeprimarilyempirical

socialresearch,thefollowingofferexcellentoverviews:
Bauer,MandGaskell,G(2000)QualitativeResearchingwith
Text,ImageandSound,London,Sage
Bell,J(1999)DoingYourResearchProject:AGuidefor
firsttimeresearchersineducationandsocialscience,
Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress(ThirdEdition)
Blaxter,L,Hughes,CandTight,M(2001)HowtoResearch,
Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress(SecondEdition)
Denscombe,M(1999)TheGoodResearchGuide,
Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress
Denscombe,M(2002)GroundRulesforGoodResearch,
Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress
Mann,CandStewart,F(2000)InternetCommunicationand
QualitativeResearch:AHandbookforResearchingOnline,
London,Sage
Pole,CandLampard,R(2002)PracticalSocialInvestigation:
QualitativeandQuantitativeMethodsinSocialResearch,
Harlow,PrenticeHall
Seale,C(1998)(Ed)ResearchingSocietyandCulture,
London,Sage
Forthoseofyoufocusingontextualanalysis:
Burns,EandBurns,T(1973)(Eds)SociologyofLiterature
andDrama,Harmondsworth,Penguin
Coser,L(1963)(Ed)SociologythroughLiterature:An
IntroductoryReader,EnglewoodCliffs,PrenticeHall

Eagleton,T(1983)LiteraryTheory,Oxford,Blackwell
Filmer,P(1998)AnalysingLiteraryTexts,inCSeale(Ed)
ResearchingSocietyandCulture,London,Sage,pp275284
Hall,J(1979)TheSociologyofLiterature,London,Longman
Laurenson,DandSwingewood,A(1972)TheSociologyof
Literature,NewYork,Schocken
Milner,A(1996)Literature,CultureandSociety,London,
UCLPress
Thomas,J(2001)(Ed)ReadingImages,Basingstoke,Palgrave
Textsthatfocusonfeministmethods:
Hughes,C(2002)KeyConceptsinFeministTheoryand
Research,London,Sage
Kitzinger,CandWilkinson,S(1996)(Eds)Representingthe
Other,London,Sage
Lury,CandSummerfield,P(2000)(Eds)Feminismand
Autobiography:texts,theories,methods,London,Routledge
Maynard,MandPurvis,J(1994)(Eds)ResearchingWomen's
LivesfromaFeministPerspective,London,Taylorand
Francis
Oakley,A(2000)ExperimentsinKnowing:Genderand
methodinthesocialsciences,Cambridge,PolityPress
Ramanazoglu,CwithHolland,J(2002)Feminist
Methodology:ChallengesandChoices,London,Sage

Reinharz,SwithDavidman,L(1992)FeministMethodsin
SocialResearch,Oxford,OxfordUP
Ribbens,JandEdwards,R(1998)(Eds)FeministDilemmasin
QualitativeResearch,London,Sage
Roberts,H(1980)(Ed)DoingFeministResearch,London,
RoutledgeandKeganPaul
Stanley,L(1990)FeministPraxis,London,Sage
Vaz,K(1997)(ed)OralNarrativeResearchwithBlack
Women,ThousandOaks(Calif),Sage
WinddanceTwine,FandWarren,J(20000)(Eds)Racing
ResearchandResearchingRace,NewYork,NewYorkUP
DEPARTMENTOFSOCIOLOGY
RESEARCHPROCESS(WS920)
SPRINGTERM20022003
ASSESSMENT
AssessedResearchProposal
Tutors:ChristinaHughes,CecilyJonesandSrilaRoy
Theassessmentforthismoduleisa5,000wordresearch
proposal.ThisshouldbehandedtothePostgraduateSecretary
before11.00a.m.onMonday28April2003.
Usingtheworkyouhavedoneontheinitialresearchdesignfor
yourproject,thebibliographyandtheliteraturereview,writea
5,000wordresearchproposal.Giveitatitle,andintroducethe

project,givingrelevantbackgroundinformationandexplaining
whythisisaworthwhileandtimelytopic.Yourreviewofthe
literatureshouldexaminetheconceptualapproachesthatothers
haveusedtolookatyourtopic,identifyingthebenefitsaswell
asthecriticismsofthewaytheseotherstudieshaveapproached
thetopic.
Adiscussionshouldemergefromthisreviewoftheliteraturein
respectofhowyouseeyourresearchproblem,ajustificationof
thespecificresearchquestion/sthatyouwillbeaddressing,
andtheconceptualframeworkthatyouintendtoanalysethe
problem.Specifywhatkindofresearchdesignyouintendto
use:egalibraryprojectbasedontheanalysisofdifferentkinds
oftextsanddocumentaryevidence,suchastheoreticaltexts,
literaryandculturaltexts,officialandunofficialdocuments,
statisticalmaterial;anarchivalprojectbasedonthesearchfor
andanalysisofhistoricaldocumentation;afieldworkproject
basedontheanalysisofevidenceyouhaveobservedor
collectedfromthefield;orsomecombination.
Describeandjustifytheresearchmethodsyouwilluseto
investigatetheproblemorquestion/s,specifyingwhich
particularsourcesofevidenceyouwilluse:egwhichtheoretical,
literaryorculturaltexts,whichhistoricalrecords,whatkindof
fieldworkmaterials,oralhistoryinterviews,surveydataor
statisticalrecords,etc;howandwhyyouwillselectorcollect
thematerialsyouhavechosen;andhowyouwillanalysethem.
Discussanymethodologicalproblemsraisedbytheresearch,
referringtoissuesdiscussedintheComparativeMethodology
course.Includeabibliographyattheend.Finally,proposea
realistictimetableforthevariousstagesinvolvedinthe
research.
Theproposalshouldthereforeincludethefollowingsections,
althoughtheydonothavetobelabelledinthisway:

Title
Introduction
LiteratureReview
ResearchProblemandQuestion/s
ConceptualFramework
ResearchDesignandMethods
MethodologicalIssues
Bibliography
Timetable
DEPARTMENTOFSOCIOLOGY
RESEARCHPROCESS(WS920)
SPRINGTERM20022003
OVERVIEW
Tutors:ChristinaHughes,CecilyJonesandSrilaRoy
WeekOne:Introduction:ChristinaHughes
Whatisthenatureofresearch?Whataretheprocessesand
proceduresthroughwhichfeministknowledgeisgenerated?
Thisfirstsessionintroducesstudentstoanumberofmodelsof
researchandbuildsonthedistinctionbetweenmethodand
methodology.ThetermMethodcanbeunderstoodtorelate
principallytothetoolsofdatacollectionortechniquessuchas

questionnairesandinterviews.Methodologyhasamore
philosophicalmeaningandusuallyreferstotheapproachor
paradigmthatunderpinstheresearch.Thiswouldinclude,for
example,positivism,postpositivism,critical,postmodernand
soforth.
KeyReading
Studentsshouldfollowthissessionbyreading:
Hughes,C(1997)Mystifyingthroughcoalescence:the
underlyingpoliticsofmethodologicalchoices,inKWatson(Ed)
EducationalDilemmas:DebateandDiversity,London,
Cassell,pp413420
Brunskell,H(1998)FeministMethodology,inCSeale(Ed)
ResearchingSocietyandCulture,London,Sage
ResourcePackage
Thissessionissupportedbyawebbasedpackage:
Introduction:WhatisResearch?
WeekTwo:ResearchDesign:ChristinaHughes
Researchdesignisthebasicplanforapieceofresearch.This
planincludesfourmainideas.Theseare:
ThestrategyhowwillIproceedfrominitialidentificationof
researchquestionsthroughtocollectingdataandevidenceand
writingup?
Conceptualframeworkwhatkindsoftheoriesorassumptions
amIbringingtomyanalysis?
Whoorwhatwillbestudied?

WhichtoolsandprocedureswillIusetoundertakemy
research?
Whilstresearchdesignrepresentsthefirststageofaprojectit
involvesthinkingthroughthewholeprocessofresearchfrom
beginningtoend.Forthisreason,akeyaspectofresearch
designisthatofevaluationasyouwillwanttoknowhow
adequatetheresearchyouintendtoundertakeis.Mosttextbooks
onissuesofevaluationanddesignfocusprimarilyonthemore
positivistapproachesintheseareas.Youshouldnote,
nonetheless,thatacriticalunderstandingofevaluationand
designcannotbedevelopedwithoutrecognisingthe
assumptionsthatarebroughttobearaboutthenatureofsocial
realityandthepurposesofresearch.
KeyReading
Kelly,M(1998)WritingaResearchProposal,inCSeale(Ed)
ResearchingSocietyandCulture,London,Sage
ResourcePackage
Thissessionissupportedbyawebbasedpackage:Research
Design
WeekThree:LibraryandTextualApproaches(1):
ChristinaHughes
Theabilitytocarryoutacompetentliteraturereviewisan
importantskillfortheresearcher.Ithelpstoplaceyourworkin
thecontextofwhathasalreadybeendone,allowing
comparisonstobemadeandprovidingaframeworkforfurther
research.Spendingsometimereadingtheliteraturerelevantto
yourresearchtopicmaypreventyoufromrepeatingprevious
errorsorredoingworkthathasalreadybeendone,aswellas
givingyouinsightsintoaspectsofyourtopicwhichmightbe

worthyofdetailedexploration.Puttingtogetheraliterature,
however,notonlyinvolvescompilingalistofkeytexts.Italso
involvescriticalreading,criticalthinkingandcritical
assessment.Theserefertoaconsideredandjustified
examinationofwhatothershavewrittenorsaidregardingthe
subjectinquestion.Animportantskillattheheartofthese
processesistheabilitytorecognise,analyseandevaluatethe
reasoningandformsofargumentationinthetextsandarticles
thatyouwillread.Thisskilliscalledcriticalreasoning.
Developingasystematicapproachtotheanalysisofthe
argumentsofothersisanessentialresearchskill.
KeyReading
Bond,M,Hughes,CandOwen,K(1996)Inthefield,inthe
library:methodologicalanalogiesforlibrarybasedresearchers,
TeachinginHigherEducation,1,3,pp373383
Hart,C(1998)DoingaLiteratureReview,London,Sage,
ChapterOne
Thomson,A(1996)CriticalReasoning:APractical
Introduction,London,Routledge,ChapterOne
ResourcePackage
Thissessionissupportedbyawebbasedpackage:Literature
Reviews
WeekFour:LibraryandTextualApproaches(2):Christina
Hughes
Interpretivetextualanalysesincludesemiotics,rhetorical
analysis,ideologicalanalysisandpsychoanalyticapproaches
amongmanyothers.Theseformsofanalysisseektogetbeneath
thesurfacemeaningsandexaminemoresocialmeanings.Using

Filmer(1998)asakeysourcethissessionfocusesonthe
analysisofliterarytextsintwoways.First,itwillexaminehow
researchcanilluminatethesocialcontextwithinwithtextsare
produced.Second,itwillshowhowresearcherscananalysethe
structuresofrelationswithinthetext.
KeyReading
Filmer,P(1998)AnalysingLiteraryTexts,inCSeale(Ed)
ResearchingSocietyandCulture,London,Sage,pp275284
Morrison,T()Recatatif,inMGoldenandSShreve(Eds)Skin
Deep:BlackWomenandWhiteWomenWriteaboutRace,
NewYork,AnchorBooks
FurtherSources
ForinternetsourcestryDanielChandler'smassmediasite
http://www/aber/ac/uk/media/Sections/textan.html
WeekFive:FieldworkApproaches(1):ChristinaHughes
Thereisastrangemythologyintheresearchmethodsliterature.
Thisisthatfeministsdon'tdostatisticalresearch.Thissession
hastwointerrelatedaims.Theprimaryaimistodevelop
students'literacyintheuseandreadingofresearchthatuses
quantitativedata.Thesecondistoenhancestudents'confidence
intheirunderstandingsofsuchapproaches.Toachievethese
aimsthesessionwillintroducestudentstoanumberofbasic
statisticaltechniquesthatareusedinsocialresearch.Inaddition
thesessionwillexploresomecommonconceptsthatunderpin
quantitativesocialresearch.
KeyReading
Pugh,A(1990)Mystatisticsandfeminismatruestory,inL
Stanley(Ed)FeministPraxis,London,Routledge

Slater,D(1998)UsingOfficialStatistics,inCSeale(Ed)
ResearchingSocietyandCulture,London,Sage
Stanley,L(1990)AReferralwasMade,inLStanley(Ed)
FeministPraxis,London,Routledge
ResourcePackage
Thissessionissupportedbyawebbasedpackage:Developing
LiteracyinQuantitativeMethods.Thosestudentswhoare
planningtocombinequalitativewithquantitativemethodsmight
alsowanttoconsultthepackageQualitativeQuantitative
Research.
WeekSix:FieldworkApproaches(2):ChristinaHughes
Thissessionintroducesstudentstoqualitativeapproachesto
research.Qualitativeresearchisconcernedwiththestudyof
peopleintheirnaturalsettings.Qualitativeresearchersusea
varietyoftoolsandtechniquesinordertodevelopdeep
understandingsofhowpeopleperceivetheirsocialrealitiesand
inconsequence,howtheyactwithinthesocialworld.Theyseek
tomakeconnectionsbetweenevents,perceptionsandactionsso
thattheiranalysesareholisticandcontextual.Beyondthese
broadassumptions,qualitativeresearchersareverycarefulto
stressthemultiplicityandvarietyofqualitativeapproaches.
KeyReading
Hughes,C(1992)Astrangerinthehouse:researchingthe
stepfamily,inRBurgess(Ed)StudiesinQualitative
Methodology:LearningfromFieldwork,London,JAIPress,
pp3362
FurtherReading

Oakley,A(1981)InterviewingWomen:AContradictionin
Terms,inHRoberts(Ed)DoingFeministResearch,London,
RoutledgeandKeganPaul
Seale,C(1998)QualitativeInterviewing,inCSeale(Ed)
ResearchingSocietyandCulture,London,Sage
Tang,N(2002)InterviewerandIntervieweeRelationships
betweenWomen,Sociology,36,3,pp703721
ResourcePackage
Thissessionissupportedbyawebbasedpackage:Qualitative
Methods.Thosestudentswhoareplanningtocombine
qualitativewithquantitativemethodsmightalsowanttoconsult
thepackageQualitativeQuantitativeResearch.
WeekSeven:ArchivalApproaches(1):DoingFeminist
HistoricalResearch:CecilyJones
Thereisastrikingabsenceinalltheliteratureonfeminist
researchmethodshowto`do'`feminist'historicalresearch.
Thisomissionissurprisingbecausesomeofthetechniques
utilisedintherecoveryofwomen'shistorieseganalysisof
primaryandsecondarysourcesmaybeusefullyappliedwithin
otherdisciplines.Inthisworkshop,wewillexploretheutilityof
someofthesourcesavailabletostudentsengagedinthe
recoveryofwomens'histories,andconsiderthemethodological
implicationsofusingdifferentkindsofsources.
KeyReading
Purvis,June(1994)DoingFeministHistory:ResearchtheLives
ofWomenintheSuffragetteMovementinEdwardianEngland,
inMaryMaynardandJunePurvis(Eds)ResearchingWomen's
LivesfromaFeministPerspective,London,Taylorand

Francis
FurtherReading
Jordanova,Ludmilla(2000)HistoryinPractice,Arnold(esp
Chapters6and7)
Scott,Joan(1988)GenderandthePoliticsofHistory,
Columbia,ColumbiaUP
WeekEight:ArchivalApproaches(2):Women'sPersonal
NarrativesandOralHistory:SrilaRoy
Followingtheworkundertakenonqualitativeresearchmethods,
thissessiontakesacloserlookattheinterviewingprocess
developedoutofthealliancebetweenfeministtheoryandoral
history.Themainfocusofthissessionwillbewomen'spersonal
narratives,themultiplewaysinwhichtheycanbe`read'by
feministresearchers,andthenumerouswaysinwhichwomen's
oraltestimoniesandlifehistorieshavebeenexploredand
interpreted.UsingtheworkofthePersonalNarrativesGroup,
theaimofthissessionistointroducestudentstothedifferent
approachestheycantaketothepersonalnarrative,andthe
variousquestionsthatcanberaisedinthisprocess.Thesession
willalsolookat`memorywork'fromafeministperspectiveasa
distinctsociologicalandculturalmethodology.
KeyReadings
Gluck,SandPatai,D(1991)Women'sWords:thefeminist
practiceoforalhisotry,NewYork,Routledge
PersonalNarrativesGroup(1989)InterpretingWomen's
Lives:feministtheoryandpersonalnarratives,Bloomington,
IndianUniversity

Haug,Fandothers(1987)Sexualisierung.English.Female
Sexualisation:Acollectiveworkofmemory,London,Verso
(introductiononly)
WeekNine:WritingUp
Withintheresearchmethodologyliteraturetheissueofwriting
iseitherignoredorisconsideredprimarilyintechnicaltermsof,
say,style,format,writingdraftsandthinkingaboutpotential
audiences.Indeed,astandardviewofwritingisthatthisisan
actoftranscriptionofone'sthinkingwhereoneneedstoengage
intheactofthinkingpriortoputtingthosethoughtsontopaper.
However,writingisthinking.Onenotonlybecomesconscious
ofone'sthinkingthroughwritingbutwritingshapesand
transformsourthinking.Here,therefore,weneedtobecome
muchmoreawareofwhatitmeansforuswhenwewrite.One
wayofachievingthisistoengageinavarietyof`riskfree'
writingtasksthatincludefreewritingandexploratorywriting.In
addition,writingisverymuchconnectedtooursenseofidentity
andwemightwanttoask`Whatkindsofidentitiesare
privilegedthroughexistingpractices?Thissessionfocuseson
thepersonalandthepracticalissuesinvolvedinwritinga
dissertation.
KeyReading
Back,L(1998)ReadingandWritingResearch,inCSeale(Ed)
ResearchingSocietyandCulture,London,Sage
Grant,BandKnowles,S(2000)Flightsofimagination:
Academicwomenbe(com)ingwriters,InternationalJournal
forAcademicDevelopment,5,1,pp619
ResourcePackage
Forthosestudentswhowanttowritethemselvesintotheir

researchdissertations,youmightfindthewebbasedpackage
DevelopingReflexivityinResearchuseful.
WeekTen:Presentations
Thissessionisdevotedtoyourpresentations,orrepresentations,
ofyourplannedresearchdesign.Youareaskedtoproducea
posterthatwillvisually,andcreatively,summariseyour
researchfocus,questions,approachandconceptualframework.
Theseposterswillbedisplayedinclassandyoushouldbe
preparedtoanswerquestionsfromcolleaguestudentsabout
yourwork.