Description: The chapters in this innovative guide share a common belief that thinking alongside ideas is an integral part of the research process. This book encourages the researcher to think through three key moments of the research process: the production of a research question; fieldwork; and analysis and writing.
Brief description: Before joining the Open University I worked in the School Management, UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology), the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, and the Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London. I was a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Study and a Fellow of St John's College, University of Durham from 1 October to 20 December 2007. I am a co-editor of the new Journal of Cultural Economy.
Review Quotes: `If there is a single question that presses upon the intellect of the current generation of human geographers, it is surely: "What do the great insights of social theory imply for the way we conduct geographic research?" Until now there has been no single text to turn to that explores the epistemological complexities of field work, the problems of writing and language, and of the logics of inquiry that link theory, method and evidence. Using Social Theory is a magisterial effort to open up the black box of research methods, and to provide students, in a way that no other geographical text has done, with a road map for the practice of geography′ -
Michael Watts, Chancellor′s Professor of Geography and Director Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley