First published in 1984, Social Texts and Context illustrates the ways in which familiar psychological concepts – femininity, the environment, groups, the self – are constructed in discourse. Novels by Thomas Hardy, Barbara Cartland, Doris Lessing, C. P. Snow, Charles Dickens and Robert Musil are examined, and the theoretical approaches of Roland Barthes, Rom Harre, Jonathan Culler, Henri Tajfel, Irving Janis and Paul Willis are discussed. Development in literary theory – such as ...

`This is an admirable book which can be recommended to students with confidence, and is likely also to become an indispensable source of reference for those researching fact construction′ - Discourse & SocietyHow is reality manufactured? The idea of social construction has become a commonplace of much social research, yet precisely what is constructed, and how, and even what constructionism means, is often unclear or taken for granted. In this major work,...

Focus Group Practice is unique in providing a picture of focus group moderation and interaction that is based on the study of what actually happens in high-class market research focus groups and in using recent theories of interaction, for example discourse and conversation analyses, to throw light on the practice of moderation. It is written in clear, engaging and non-technical manner and richly illustrated by examples from focus groups in a wide range of different contex...

This book offers an innovative reassessment of the way Victorians thought and wrote about visual experience. It argues that new visual technologies gave expression to new ways of seeing, using these to uncover the visual discourses that facilitated, informed and shaped the way people conceptualised and articulated visual experience. In doing so, the book reconsiders literary and non-fiction works by well-known authors including George Eliot, Charles Dickens, G.H. Lewes, Max Nordau, Herbert...

Student Essentials: Critical Thinking – in one hour helps you master the essentials of this core study skill in just 60 minutes. If you are studying for an undergraduate degree at university, critical thinking and analysis is imperative when studying and can often be the difference between an acceptable grade and a great grade. This book will help you develop the key essentials of this crucial skill in just one hour so you can successfully apply it to your studies straight away.

This book provides students with a concise introduction to the philosophy of methodology. The book stands apart from existing methodology texts by clarifying in a student-friendly and engaging way distinctions between philosophical positions, paradigms of inquiry, methodology and methods. Building an understanding of the relationships and distinctions between philosophical positions and paradigms is an essential part of the research process and integral to deploying the methodology and met...

Learning From Strangers is the definitive work on qualitative research interviewing. It draws on Robert Weiss's thirty years of experience in interviewing and teaching others how to do it. The most effective interviews, says Weiss, rely on creating cooperation -- an open and trusting alliance between interviewer and respondent, dedicated to specific and honest accounts of both internal and external events. Against the eclectic background of his work in national sample surveys, stu...

The work of Erving Goffman has had an enormous impact throughout the social sciences. Yet his writings have not received the detailed scrutiny which they deserve.This new book is the first comprehensive and accessible account of Erving Goffman's contributions, ranging in its scope from his very earliest work right up to the projects upon which he was engaged at the time of his death. Goffman's writings, Manning argues, are much more systematic and conceptually powerful than is ordi...

Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching has influenced the way thousands of teachers have taught English. This classic guide to developing the way you teach has been an essential resource to new and experienced teachers worldwide, and is now in its third edition. Each chapter focuses on a different teaching approach, describing it being used in the classroom, analyzing what happened, and helping you think how you could apply it to your own teaching. New features of the third edition...

This comprehensive new edition of Wardhaugh’s textbook incorporates additional study features and numerous new and updated references to bring the book completely up-to-date, whilst maintaining the features that made the book so popular with lecturers and students: accessible coverage of a wide range of issues, clearly written, and with useful student study features.A fully revised new edition of Ronald Wardhaugh’s popular introduction to sociolinguistics, which now includes ...

"Cathy Riessman is the leading figure in narrative research and her new book is a delight. Covering basic issues of transcription and research credibility as well as visual data and engagingly written, it is a goldmine for students and researchers alike. If we want to make narrative research serious and revealing, it is to this book that we should turn."—David Silverman, Professor Emeritus, Goldsmiths′ College, University of London*"*Narrative Methods for th...

When is language considered 'impolite'? Is impolite language only used for anti-social purposes? Can impolite language be creative? What is the difference between 'impoliteness' and 'rudeness'? Grounded in naturally-occurring language data and drawing on findings from linguistic pragmatics and social psychology, Jonathan Culpeper provides a fascinating account of how impolite behaviour works. He examines not only its forms and functions but also people's understandings of it in both public...