Designing Social Science Research

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 1-9

3. Scientific Knowledge and Practice

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 11-27

4. Social Science as Reconstruction of Social Phenomena

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 29-51

5. The Logic and Methodological Rules of Reconstruction

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 53-72

6. Design of Research Projects

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 73-96

7. Variable-Centred Designs

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 97-113

8. Case Designs

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 115-140

9. Integrated Designs

   • Oddbjørn Bukve

   Pages 141-160

10. Comparative Designs

    • Oddbjørn Bukve

    Pages 161-177

11. Intervention-Oriented Designs

    • Oddbjørn Bukve

    Pages 179-192

12. The Design Process

    • Oddbjørn Bukve

    Pages 193-214

13. Back Matter

    Pages 215-219

    PDF

This book presents different research designs, their respective purposes and merits as well as their underlying assumptions. Research designs are characterised by a certain combination of knowledge aims and strategies for data production. An adequate design is the key to carrying out a successful research project. Nevertheless, the literature on design is scarce, compared to the literature on methods. This book clarifies the basic distinction between variable-oriented designs and case designs, and proceeds to integrated, comparative and intervention-oriented designs. A step-by-step guide to the design process and the choices to make is also included. The book's clear style makes it an excellent guide for master students and PhD students doing their first research exercises, while it is also useful for more experienced researchers who want to broaden their design repertoire and keep up to recent innovations in the field of research design.

• research goals
• knowledge goals
• strategies for data construction
• research design
• research techniques
• data collection
• rules and standards
• characteristics of scientific knowledge
• development of scientific knowledge
• cognitive frames
• theoretical lenses
• objective knowledge
• social facts
• social patterns and processes
• positivism
• hermeneutics
• theory testing
• theory development
• theoretical interpretation
• intervention orientation

• Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway

  Oddbjørn Bukve

Oddbjørn Bukve is Professor of Organisation and Management at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Campus Sogndal, Norway. His research covers regional and local governance, economic development and innovation, and health service organisations, using a wide range of research designs.

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