Using Biographical Methods in Social Research
- Barbara Merrill - University of Warwick, UK
- Linden West - Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
Arts & Humanities (General) | Educational Research Methods | Social Research Methods
Barbara Merrill and Linden West consider important questions about who and what research is for and what makes it valid, alongside the practical business of interviewing, transcribing, analyzing and writing up of biographical data. The authors draw on their sociological and psychological orientations to provide a truly interdisciplinary approach to the subject, and provide numerous examples of biographical research across the social sciences.
This book will equip students with all the skills necessary to undertake biographical research as well as to fully understand what they are doing and the assumptions they make about the nature of truth, knowledge, story telling and being human. It will be useful for students and researchers using biographical methods in a range of disciplines, including sociology, social policy, social psychology, health care and education.
Excellent additional reading for students
Useful supplement to narrative research approaches.
This a very helpful text which is accessible and offers ways to think about integrating personal story into research.
the book is very good for enabling students to understand the significance of the personal story in terms of qualitative research. Due to methodology being explored and appraised the text is supplemental reading, however, this would be a really useful text for post graduate students who are undertaking research using personal stories to elicit themes
A superb book which makes accessible to a wide readership the conttext and methodologies of narrative and auto/biographical research. Written in a style which is non nonsence with clear examples of some of the theories and approaches being discussed.
This book provides a good overview of biographical methods and data analysis. I recommend it fo rmy students working om subjects based on this methodological approach
I enjoyed this book and it provides an very useful introduction to biographical methods, and to key debates in using biographical methods in research. Only a small number of students doing the undergraduate research course in education will want to use biographical approaches and I will steer those students specifically in the direction of this book.
A very good text and will be used recommended as essential reading for students adopting a Biographical approach for their dissertation module.
A very readable textbook. Unpicks methods for students in accessible way which is encouraging rather than daunting.
Useful text for those students seeking to use a biographical appraoch in their research.
