Real Life Methods ran from October 2005 to January 2009. This website is archived and no longer maintained. For up to date information, please see www.manchester.ac.uk/realities
Methods Workshops: Localities
Date: Thursday 19 October 2006, 3pm – 5pm
Location: Harold Hankins Building, University of Manchester
Workshop Content
This workshop is part of a series on the practice and experience of social science research. The aim is to stimulate debate and to share experiences of methodological issues in researching a range of social science issues. Sessions will explore how different ways of seeing and conceptualising research questions and topics lead to distinctive methodological possibilities and challenges
Each workshop starts with short and relatively informal presentations from people who have approached the same broad research concern in different ways, followed by discussion and debate.
Speakers
Professor Mike Savage, Centre for Socio-Cultural Change, University
of Manchester , and
Dr Gaynor Bagnall, University of Salford
Gaynor and Mike will talk informally about their Greater
Manchester-based research on understanding local identities using qualitative
interviews, focusing on the methodological issues involved.
Lifestyles
and Social Integration Project - Gaynor Bagnall, Mike Savage and Brian Longhurst
[15 kb, new window]
Professor Ludi Simpson, Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey
Research
Ludi explained that to understand the causes of spatial
differences in employment outcomes, which also vary between ethnic groups,
requires models of human capital, immigration and discrimination. Some
of the challenges were illustrated from a study of census data for
the Department of Work and Pensions.
The
role of place in the level of employment of ethnic minorities - Ludi Simpson
[57 kb, new window]
Dr Sarah Salway, Sheffield Hallam University and Kaveri Harriss, LSHTM
Sarah and Kaveri gave a talk about their experience of using rapid
appraisal methods with Community Researchers, in a study of long term illness
in context. Their talk was based on a Joseph Rowntree Foundation
project 'Limiting illness and poverty'
that explored the links between living with chronic illness and various
dimensions of poverty and well-being across four ethnic 'communities' in
London. They worked with a team of Community Researchers
to conduct a preliminary phase of rapid appraisal using a package of methods
(observation, transect walks, group exercises, ad-hoc informal converstions,
inventories
etc) to gain a broad overview of the patterns of social, economic and
cultural resources available to members of four 'communities' as well as
an understanding of how limiting illness was perceived and the prominence
it had in people’s
everyday lives. This phase was intended to counter the predominant focus
on narrative methods in researching long-term illness and was used to complement
a series of in-depth interviews.
Researching
locality with Community Researchers: putting long-term illness into context -
Sarah Salway, Kaveri Harriss and Punita Chowbey [1.48 Mb, new window]
