Reflections on Research : The Realities of Doing Research in the Social Sciences

·What is it really like to do social science research?
·In what ways can research go wrong and what can you do to put it right again?
·How do research methods and research ethics relate in practice?

This is a ‘how it went’ rather than a ‘how to do’ research methods book. It is based upon the reflections and experiences of a wide range of established social researchers, the majority of whom undertake research in the field of health care. By drawing upon anecdotal accounts of setting up research projects, negotiating access, gathering data and disseminating findings, the book highlights the practical and ethical complexities involved in the conduct of empirically based research.

By focussing upon the real-life experiences of social science researchers Reflections on Research provides insight into the day-to-day realities of conducting research – the pleasures and the pitfalls. As such, it is essential reading for all students and researchers in the social sciences as well as academics and professionals interested in research and research ethics.

Contributors
Priscilla Alderson, Professor of Childhood Studies at the Institute of Education; Kathryn Backett-Milburn, Senior Research Fellow at the Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change and Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh; Rosaline Barbour, Professor of Health and Social Care at the University of Dundee; Hannah Bradby, Lecturer in Medical Sociology at Warwick University; Elizabeth Chapman, Research Associate at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge; Susan Cox, Assistant Professor and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar at The W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics, University of British Columbia; Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Reader in Public Health Sciences and Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh; Gill Dunne, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Plymouth; Susan Eley, Lecturer at the Department of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling; Elizabeth Ettorre, Professor of Sociology, University of Plymouth; Catherine Exley, Lecturer in Medical Sociology in the Centre for Health Services Research, University of Newcastle upon Tyne; Calliope (Bobbie) Farsides, Senior Lecturer in Medical Ethics at the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics, King's College London; Claire Foster, Chartered Health Psychologist and Senior Research Fellow at The Institute of Cancer Research ; Jonathan Gabe, Reader in Sociology in the Department of Social and Political Science at Royal Holloway, University of London; Wendy Gnich, Research Fellow at the Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change, University of Edinburgh; Trudy Goodenough, Research Assistant working at the Centre for Ethics in Medicine, University of Bristol; Susan Gregory, Research Fellow at the Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change, the University of Edinburgh; Rachel Grellier, Assistant Health & Social Development Specialist at Options Consultancy Service; Nina Hallowell, teaches Social Science and Ethics in the department of Public Health Sciences, the Medical School, University of Edinburgh; Khim Horton, Lecturer (clinical) at the European Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey; Julie Kent, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of West of England; Julia Lawton, Research Fellow at the Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change, the University of Edinburgh; Abby Lippman, Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at McGill University; Liz Lobb, Researcher in familial cancer and palliative care at Edith Cowan University in Perth.Lesley Lockyer, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of the West of England; Alice Lovell, teaches Psychology at Birkbeck College, Faculty of Continuing Education; Marion McAllister, Macmillan Genetic Counsellor and Honorary Lecturer at the North West Genetics Knowledge Park (Nowgen) and Regional Genetics Service/Academic Unit of Medical Genetics, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester; Richard Mitchell, Research Fellow in the Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change (RUHBC), University of Edinburgh; Virginia Morrow, Research Lecturer at the Child-Focused Research Centre, Department of Health & Social Care, Brunel University, London; Melissa Nash, University College London; Odette Parry, Professor of Social Welfare & Community Justice and head of the Social Inclusion Research Unit (SIRU) at NEWI, The University of Wales; Stephen Platt, Director of the Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change, University of Edinburgh; Laura Potts, Senior Lecturer in the School of Management, Community and Communication at York St John College, York; Shirley Prendergast, Reader in Research at Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge; Martin Richards, Director of the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge; Deborah RitchieSenior Lecturer in Health Promotion at Queen Margaret University College; Ann Robertson, Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto; Susan Robinson, Research Associate in the Department of General Practice at King's College, London; Tom Shakespeare, Director of Outreach at PEALS, a University of Newcastle-based research centre ; Hilary Thomas, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, University of Surrey; Stefan Timmermans, Associate Professor at Brandeis University; Kay Tisdall, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh; Jonathan Tritter, Research Director of the Institute of Governance and Public Management, University of Warwick; Julia Twigg, Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Kent; Clare Williams, Research Fellow in the Department of Midwifery and Women's Health, King's College London; Emma Williamson, Wellcome Trust Research Fellow for the EPEG Project, Centre for Ethics in Medicine, University of Bristol .

Nina Hallowell teaches Social Science and Ethics in the Department of Public Health Sciences, the Medical School, University of Edinburgh. She has published extensively in the area of social and ethical implications of new genetic technologies. She is a member of the University Research Ethics committees and Medical Research Ethics committees at both the University of Oxford and King's College, London. Dr Julia Lawton is a Research Fellow at the Research Unit in Health, Behavior and Change at the University of Edinburgh. She is a social anthropologist, and published author. Susan Gregory is a Research Fellow at the Research Unit in Health, Behavior and Change at the University of Edinburgh. She has co-edited a book and an international journal, and has taught on research methods courses at the Universities of Surrey and Edinburgh. She is currently a member of the British Sociological Association Executive Committee.