Review Essay: Is it Real? Problems and Prospects of Research in "the Real World"

Abstract

This handbook will be very useful as an overview of various strategies, methods and research designs in social research, combining quantitative and qualitative research in a critical realist paradigm. The reader is introduced to debates concerning various approaches to research, from the positivist to the relativist, whilst putting forth an argument for a reconstructed scientific approach that the author calls "real world research." Readers are then introduced to research design, methods of gathering data and then, finally, the analysis of data and reporting on one's enquiry. While this will most likely be a useful introductory text for novice or lay researchers, especially those engaged in research with a policy orientation, more specialized readers in some disciplines might not be as well served. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0204471