Doing Anthropological Research

Secondary Research

• Alaszewski, Andy. 2006. Using Diaries for Social Research. London: Sage (An introductory student guide for all social sciences, with some discussion of examples of diary research by historical anthropologists.)
• Atkinson, Paul, and Martyn Hammersley. 2007 (1983). Ethnography: Principles in Practice. 3rd edition. London: Routledge (Though this downplays the importance of secondary research in ethnography, see ch. 6 ‘Documents and other artefacts, real and virtual’.)
• Aveyard, Helen. 2007. Doing a Literature Review in Health and Social Care. Maidenhead: Open University Press (Note her strong arguments in favour of systematic and transparent literature reviewing, and against unsystematic ‘narrative’ approaches. These arguments are relevant to social science and should make us all consider what, if any, system there is to our reviews of literature, and whether our claims to generalise from our literature reviews are valid.)
• Barnett-Page, Elaine, and James Thomas. 2009. ‘Methods for research synthesis: A critical review’, ESRC National Centre for Research Methods NCRM Working Paper Series Number (01/09) http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=188(Useful as an overview of different approaches to secondary research, but also because the authors practice what they preach by showing clearly how they conducted their review for this paper.)
• Bell, Judith. 2005. Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-time Researchers in Education, Health and Social Science. Maidenhead: Open University Press (Simple guide for beginners, including chapters on preparation, information management, literature reviews, analysis of documentary evidence, diaries.)
• Blaxter, L., C. Hughes and M. Tight. 2006. How to Research. Maidenhead: Open University Press (See especially ch. 4: ‘Reading for research’; ch.5 ‘Managing your project’; and the section in ch. 2 on ‘Keeping your research diary’; and the section in ch. 7 on ‘Ordered and chaotic data’.)
• Boaz, Annette, with Adrienne Sidford. 2006. ‘Reviewing existing research’, in N. Gilbert (ed.) From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: A Guide to Key Skills. London: Sage, pp. 7–24 (Though making the common mistake of over-emphasising the importance of comprehensive coverage of ‘as much relevant literature as possible’ (p. 7), this gives useful guidance on approaching reviews systematically.)
• Boellstorff, Tom. 2008. Coming of Age in Second Life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (An ethnography of sociality and culture in the virtual world of Second Life and useful for those interested in the digital and the virtual world of the internet as objects of anthropological enquiry.)
• Borgman, Christine L. 2007. Scholarship in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet. Boston, MA: MIT Press (Not specifically on social science and certainly not a practical guide for students, but for those interested in the rapidly changing meaning of secondary research this offers a fascinating exploration of some of the more radical implications of the digital data deluge.)
• Burton, D. 2000. ‘Using literature to support research’, in D. Burton (ed.), Research Training for Social Scientists: A Handbook for Postgraduate Researchers. London: Sage (Slightly dated on some search techniques, but most of this is simple no-nonsense guidance on the basics of secondary research.)
• Calishain, Tara. 2007. Information Trapping: Real-Time Research on the Web. Berkeley, CA: New Riders Press (This outlines techniques for ongoing information-gathering in real time, as distinct from one-off searches. It offers far more sophisticated guidance on internet use than you are likely to need for a short-term research project, but a glance through this will quickly give you some useful tips and a sense of why it might be worth regularly strengthening your information capability throughout your life.)
• Cooper, H.M. 1998. Synthesizing Research: A Guide for Literature Reviews. 3rd edition. Newbury Park, CA: Sage (A very useful guide, arguing strongly in favour applying similar rigour, transparency, and analytical techniques to secondary sources as are applied to primary research.)
• Daniel, Ben Kei (ed.) 2011. Handbook of Research on Methods and Techniques for Studying Virtual Communities: Paradigms and Phenomena, Volume 1. New York: Hershey (Many of the 44 papers are highly technical and specialist, but there are several papers of general interest to social scientists considering web tools for researching online culture and sociality.)
• Dochartaigh, N. 2007. Internet Research Skills: How To Do Your Literature Search and Find Research Information Online. 2nd edition. London: Sage (Good introductory textbook for social science students, with an intelligent balance between promotion of comprehensive and creative search skills and cautions about the need for critical evaluation of source quality.)
• Fink, Arlene. 2005. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 3rd edition. London: Sage (Useful guidance on searching and synthesising, with helpful online examples mainly from social sciences.)
• Friedman, Barbara G. 2004. Web Search Savvy: Strategies and Shortcuts for Online Research. Lawrence Erlbaum (Good basic generic guide on web searching, with sound guidance on search strategies, databases, and evaluation of sites.)
• Gaiser, Ted, and Anthony E. Schreiner. 2009. A Guide to Conducting Online Research. London: Sage (Very comprehensive generic guide, including chapters on study design, ethics, various social media tools, analysis, and research presentation.)
• Hannes, Karin, and Craig Lockwood. 2012. Synthesizing Qualitative Research: Choosing the Right Approach. London: Wiley-Blackwell (Though far more technical and systematic than most anthropologists would prefer, this is worth looking at to get a sense of how systematic approaches to secondary research have been developed in other social sciences.)
• Heaton, Janet. 2005. Reworking Qualitative Data. London: Sage (Good introductory textbook with a wealth of sociological examples.)
• Hewson, Claire, Peter Yule, Dianna Laurent, and Carl Vogel. 2003. Internet Research Methods: A Practical Guide for the Social and Behavioural Sciences. London: Sage (This includes coverage of a wide variety of internet sources, plus an introduction to internet-mediated primary research. Although already somewhat dated, this has useful generic advice and helpful websites.)
• Hunsinger, Jeremy, Lisbeth Klastrup, and Matthew Allen (eds), 2010. International Handbook of Internet Research. Dordrecht: Springer (Excellent collection of cutting-edge papers about how to use the internet and about internet social processes. Most papers are more useful as examples of primary rather than secondary internet research.)
• Jacoby, JoAnn, and Josephine Kibbee (eds), 2007. Cultural Anthropology: A Guide to Reference and Internet Sources. 2nd edition.Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited (Includes coverage of print and digital media in general social science, all major subfields and many popular themes of anthropology, plus guidance on search, writing, and conducting research.)
• Jupp, Victor (ed.) 2006. The Sage Dictionary of Social Research Methods. London: Sage (See entries on ‘meta-analysis’, ‘internet research’, ‘literature review’ and ‘secondary analysis’.)
• Levene, Marc .2010. An Introduction to Search Engines and Web Navigation. 2nd edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley (This gives far more technical and detailed analysis than most social researchers will want, but there is useful social research guidance in sections on social network analysis, peer-to-peer networking, and other social web phenomena.)
• Littell, J.H., P. Corcoran and V. Pillai. 2008. Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Luker, Kristin. 2008. Salsa Dancing into the Social Sciences: Research in an Age of Info-glut. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (Especially ch. 5 ‘Reviewing the literature’.)
• Macdonald, Keith. 2001. ‘Using documents’, in N. Gilbert (ed.) Researching Social Life. 2nd edition. London: Sage, pp. 194–210 (Good systematic coverage of a wide range of public and private document types, and of ways to assess credibility and representativeness.)
• Machi, Lawrence A., and Brenda T. McEvoy. 2009. The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success. London: Sage (Clear introductory guide targeted at postgraduates.)
• Petticrew, Mark, and Helen Roberts. 2006. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. Oxford: Blackwell (Provides very clear justification for systematic approaches to research reviews, with excellent use of simple examples of how even high-profile scientists make bogus claims on the basis of haphazard reviews. The authors also explore some of the critiques of systematic approaches.)
• Reardon, Denis. 2006. Doing Your Undergraduate Project. London: Sage (See ch. 8 ‘The literature review’.)
• Ridley, Diana. 2008. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students. London: Sage (Aimed mainly at postgraduates, this offers simple guidance on reading, search, analysis and writing.)
• Sandelowski, Margarete, and Julie Barroso. 2007. Handbook for Synthesizing Qualitative Research. New York: Springer (Though primarily addressed at health sector students this is a superb introduction to the basics of qualitative secondary research analysis in social science.)
• Slavin, Robert E. 1996. ‘Best-evidence synthesis: An intelligent alternative to meta-analysis’, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 48(1): 9–18 (A clear argument advocating systematic and transparent literature evaluation and review.)
• Smith, Emma. 2008. Using Secondary Data in Educational and Social Research. Maidenhead: Open University Press (Includes well-balanced discussions of critical approaches to assessing the reliability of both ethnographic and quantified information in a wide variety of fields.)
• Spink, Amanda, and Michael Zimmer (eds), 2008. Web Search: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Dordrecht: Springer (Although most articles here will mainly be of interest to specialist researchers on the socio-political processes relating to the internet, several are also worth reading for their strong insistence on critical approaches to the use of web search engines.)
• Tate, Marsha Ann. 2010. Web Wisdom: How To Evaluate and Create Information Quality on the Web. 2nd edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press (Very useful guidance on ways of critically evaluating information quality and assessing biases in a wide range of web sources. See also companion website: http://mtateresearch.com/web_wisdom/)
• Thomas, R. Murray, and Dale L. Brubaker. 2001. Avoiding Thesis and Dissertation Pitfalls: 61 Cases of Problems and Solutions. Boston, MA: Praeger (Useful, but now superseded by better texts with more up-to-date guidance on web searching. See Chapter 3: ‘Searching the professional literature’.)
• Tomaiuolo, Nicholas G. 2009 (2004) The Web Library: Building a World Class Personal Library with Free Web Resources. Medford, NJ: Information Today (Updated at http://web.ccsu.edu/library/tomaiuolon/theweblibrary.htm; superb collection of advice on free resources for online scholarship.)
• University of Essex, Department of Sociology ESRC Qualitative Data Archival Resource Centre (QUALIDATA) http://www.essex.ac.uk/qualidata  (Though still rather limited in scope, this is a nice example of a national initiative to promote sharing and re-analysing of qualitative social research information.)
• Vartanian, Thomas P. 2011. Secondary Data Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press (Mainly focused on large survey-based highly quantified information sources.)
• Virtual Training Suite. 2011. ‘Internet for social research methods’ (online tutorial) www.vtstutorials.co.uk/tutorial/socialresearchmethods
• Weeks, John M. 1998. Introduction to Library Research in Anthropology. 2nd edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press (Dated in some ways, but most of the suggestions and information remain valid.)
• Wilkinson, D. 2005. The Essential Guide to Postgraduate Study. London: Sage (See ch. 6: ‘Reading and searching for information and seeking advice’.)
• Valles, Miguel S., Louise Corti, Maria Tamboukou, and Alejandro Baer. 2011. ‘Qualitative archives and biographical research methods. An introduction to the FQS Special Issue’, Forum: Qualitative Research http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs110381  (Introduction to a collection of papers on specific themes in European development of secondary use of qualitative research.)

Qualitative Social Research Methods

• Adler, Emily S., and Roger Clark. 2010. An Invitation to Social Research: How It's Done. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth (Sensible balance of emphasis on qualitative and quantitative aspects of research, with lots of good use of real examples.)
• Amit, Vered. 2000. Constructing the Field. London: Routledge (A series of chapters question anthropology’s relationship with fieldwork, challenging the notion that social and cultural anthropology is defined and distinguished by ethnographic fieldwork alone.)
• Arksey, Hilary, and Peter Knight. 2005 (1999). Interviewing for Social Scientists: An Introductory Resource with Examples. London: Sage (Introduction to interviewing aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students.)
• Atkinson, Paul, and Martyn Hammersley. 2007 (1983). Ethnography: Principles in Practice. 3rd edition. London: Routledge (A very popular classic introductory textbook, written for all kinds of social scientist, but focusing mainly on participant-observation fieldwork rather than the full range of ethnographic processes and methods, and downplaying secondary ethnographic research.)
• Berg, Bruce L. 2003. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. 4th edition. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon (Good comprehensive overview, though rather light on secondary research aspects such as searching, evaluating, and analysing.)
• Bernard, H. Russell (ed.) 1998. Handbook of Methods in Cultural Anthropology. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press (Nineteen high-quality chapters ranging from philosophical debates to practical advice on various methods, including planning, fieldwork, and analysis and with good balances of primary versus secondary, systematic versus unsystematic, and independent/discrete versus collaborative/comparative approaches.)
• Blaikie, Norman. 2004. Designing Social Research: The Logic of Anticipation. Cambridge: Polity (Good all-round introduction to a wide range of approaches, with a useful chapter on data sources that explores choices and interactions among primary and secondary information sources.)
• Blommaert, Jan. 2010. Ethnographic Fieldwork: A Beginner's guide. Bristol: Multilingual Matters (Short, rather idiosyncratic; this has some stimulating discussions of fieldwork experiences and psychological as well as practical challenges, but it lacks incisive discussion of how fieldwork is facilitated and influenced by secondary research.)
• Boellstorff, Tom, with Bonnie Nardi, Celia Pearce and T.L. Taylor. 2012. Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (A practical guide for those – beginners and more experienced researchers – interested in online field sites and virtual research, with a focus on participant observation.)
• Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.G., and Williams, J.M. 2008 (1995). The Craft of Research. 3rd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (Perhaps the best all-round guide on research processes, ultra-clear and with concise examples.)
• Brewer, John D. 2001. Ethnography. Buckingham: Open University Press (Good clear textbook overview, though with more emphasis on epistemological and methodological debates than on practical guidance.)
• Briggs, C. 1986. Learning How to Ask: A Sociolinguistic Appraisal of the Role of the Interview in Social Science Research.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Informative reappraisal of the author’s own experiences designing, conducting and analysing interviews as a research method.)
• Bryman, Alan (ed.) 2001. Ethnography. London: Sage (A very useful and thematically wide-ranging reader, with 90 articles by leading anthropologists and sociologists not only on primary research but also on epistemology, validating ethnographic research, sampling, visual narratives, use of documents, and use of oral history.)
• Burgess, Robert. 1991. In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research. London: Routledge (Chapters on the practical and ethical aspects of fieldwork with chapter on participant observation, interviews, personal documents, analysis and ethical issues.)
• Corbetta, Piergiorgio. 2003. Social Research: Theory, Methods and Techniques. London: Sage (Good textbook introduction worked around real examples and combining epistemological overview with more practical reviews of methods.)
• Creswell, J.W. 2002 (1997). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage (Addressed at students across the full range of social sciences, this goes a long way beyond being a basic introduction, and helps students consider carefully the relationships between methodological approaches and epistemologies or varieties of knowledge claim.)
• Czarniawska, Barbara. 2004. Narratives in Social Science Research. London: Sage (Excellent introduction to narrative research methods and justifications, interpretation of narratives, and to the various uses of narrative in social science more generally.)
• Davies, Charlotte A. 1999. Reflexive Ethnography: A Guide to Researching Selves and Others. London: Routledge (Useful overview of the various functions of reflexivity in ethnographic research and writing, including a chapter on ‘Expanding the ethnographic present: documents, life histories, longitudinal studies’.)
• Denscombe, Martyn. 2010. The Good Research Guide: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects. Maidenhead: Open University Press (Basic, clear, and very popular introductory overview for all kinds of social science student.)
• Denzin, Norman K. 2009. Qualitative Inquiry Under Fire: Toward a New Paradigm Dialogue. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press (Excellent collection of his essays on ethics, epistemology, and politics of qualitative social research.)
• Denzin, Norman K., and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds), 2005 (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Research. 3rd edition. London: Sage. (A very popular classic at over 1200 pages, with 44 articles giving a comprehensive overview of theory and practical methodological issues. Also published in three volumes in 1998.)
• Desai, Vandana, and Rob Potter (eds), 2007. Doing Development Research. London: Sage (Very useful introductory training text covering both strategic and practical issues, though failing to challenge the naïve concept of ‘development’ as mainly about people from rich countries helping people from poor countries.)
• Dicks, Bella, with Bruce Mason, Amanda Jane Coffey, and Paul Atkinson. 2005. Qualitative Research and Hypermedia: Ethnography for the Digital Age. London: Sage (Introduction to using digital technologies as research tools and on hypermedia as ways of conducting and representing qualitative research.)
• Dunne, Mairead, John Pryor, and Paul Yates (eds), 2005. Becoming a Researcher. Maidenhead: Open University Press (Good introductory text with nice interaction between intellectual and practical aspects.)
• Edgar, Iain. 2004. A Guide to Imagework: Imagination-Based Research Methods. London: Routledge (A uniquely creative, intellectually stimulating but also practical guide to the use of images, imagination, dreams, and stories as the basis for psychological research and psychotherapy.)
• Ellen, Roy F. 1984. Ethnographic Research: A Guide to General Conduct. London: Routledge (Very dated now especially in the very short section on literature reviews, but much of it still useful and worth looking at to get a sense of how extraordinarily negligent anthropologists had been regarding methodological analysis, systematisation, and training. Despite his critiques of these inadequacies, Ellen stops short of offering systematic guidance on how research training and preparation should be conducted.)
• Ellis, Carolyn, and Arthur P. Bochner (eds), 1997. Composing Ethnography: Alternative Forms of Qualitative Writing. London: Sage (Collection of articles emphasising reflexivity, subjective experience, empathy, and narrative.)
• Ember, Carol R., and Melvin Ember. 2009. Cross-Cultural Research Methods. 2nd edition. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press (Key text on ambitious cross-cultural statistical studies, focusing particularly on the use of the Human Relations Area Files.)
• Epstein, A.L. (ed.) 1967. The Craft of Social Anthropology. London: Tavistock (Classic collection of papers by many of the best British anthropologists of the day, but although this was intended both to stimulate methodological discussion and serve as a guide, the lack of any sense of coherence or system is notable, as is the general neglect of secondary sources other than in some treatments of genealogies, statistics, and historical records.)
• Falzon, Mark-Anthony (ed.) 2009. Multi-Sited Ethnography. Farnham: Ashgate (Excellent collection of papers mainly on the fieldwork challenges and opportunities of globalisation, some of which also discuss relevance of secondary research and international collaboration in addressing these challenges.)
• Fetterman, David M. 2009 (1997). Ethnography: Step-by-Step. 3rd edition London: Sage (Deservedly popular, clear and lively introductory textbook, but note that he uses ‘ethnography’ as shorthand for ‘ethnographic fieldwork’ and hardly mentions secondary research except in a short section on internet research.)
• Fife, Wayne. 2005. Doing Fieldwork: Ethnographic Methods for Research in Developing Countries and Beyond. London: Palgrave Macmillan (Good introductory text with helpful discussion of the interplay between secondary and primary research.)
• Given, Lisa M. (ed.) 2008. The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods (Two Volume Set). London: Sage (At over 1000 pages, this is the best available general reference work on social research methods.)
• Grbich, Carol. 2004. New Approaches in Social Research. London: Sage (Not a practical text on methods, but an overview of the epistemological and methodological implications of modernist versus postmodernist debates.)
• Hancock, Dawson R., and Robert Algozzine. 2006. Doing Case Study Research: A Practical Guide for Beginning Researchers. New York: Teachers College Press (Good introductory guide, covering both primary and secondary use of case studies.)
• Jupp, Victor (ed.) 2006. The Sage Dictionary of Social Research Methods. London: Sage (Much shorter and simpler alternative to the Sage Encyclopedia (Given 2008).)
• Kalof, Linda, Amy Dan, and Thomas Dietz. 2008. Essentials of Social Research.  Maidenhead: Open University Press (Good clear introduction with an emphasis on combining multiple methods.)
• Liamputtong, Pranee. 2008. Doing Cross-Cultural Research: Ethical and Methodological Perspectives. Dordrecht: Springer (Eighteen papers, most of which are case studies lacking systematic connection with the other papers; overall there is a notable neglect of secondary and collaborative research here.)
• Lincoln, Y.S., and E.G. Guba. 1985. Naturalistic Inquiry. London: Sage (A classic text presenting strong challenges to the positivist approach to social research.)
• Mason, Jennifer. 2002. Qualitative Researching. 2nd edition.  London: Sage (Good clear introductory textbook steering a course between methodological debates and practical guidance, but paying little attention to secondary research.)
• Murchison, Julian. 2010. Ethnography Essentials: Designing, Conducting, and Presenting Your Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (Good introduction, but deliberately downplays secondary research, defining ‘ethnography’ as ‘Firsthand study of society and culture in action’.)
• Naumes, William, and Margaret J. Naumes. 2012 (1999). The Art and Craft of Case Writing. Armonk, NY: William E. Sharpe (Although written primarily for teachers and presenters rather than for student researchers, this gives stimulating overviews and useful recommendations on finding, understanding, packaging, and presenting case studies as vehicles for research themes.)
• Neuman, W. Lawrence (2004/2007) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. 2nd edition. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon (This introductory text actually goes well beyond the basics to encourage careful consideration of both the production and consumption of knowledge.)
• Neyland, Daniel. 2008. Organizational Ethnography. London: Sage (Very good general introduction with stimulating use of long in-depth case studies, some of which exemplify the need to combine face-to-face with archival, visual, and virtual research.)
• Pawluch, Dorothy, William Shaffir, and Charlene Miall. 2005. Doing Ethnography: Studying Everyday Life. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press (Noteworthy as a striking example of the pathological bias of the contemporary ethnographic gaze. Topics observed include murder, obesity, genetic termination, cancer, HIV, abusive relationships, smoking, stigma, electoral defeat, all of which is at least implicitly meant to be broadly representative of ‘everyday life’.)
• Payne, Geoff, and Judy Payne. 2004. Key Concepts in Social Research. London: Sage (Simple reference guide; like the Sage Dictionary (Jupp 2006), this offers a shorter and simpler alternative to the Sage Encyclopedia (Given 2008).)
• Perecman, Ellen, and Sara R. Curran (eds), 2006. A Handbook for Social Science Field Research: Essays & Bibliographic Sources on Research Design and Methods. London: Sage (Useful reference guide for dipping into, with practical suggestions on various kinds of archival, online, and face-to-face information source.)
• Pink, Sarah, László Kurti, and Ana Isabel Afonso (eds), 2004. Working Images: Visual Research and Representation in Ethnography. London: Routledge (Stimulating collection of papers on various combinations of textual analysis with material objects and/or still or moving images.)
• Pole, Christopher, and Robert G. Burgess (eds), 2000. Cross-Cultural Case Study. Amsterdam: JAI Press (This combines discussion of practical issues, methodological debates, and intellectual challenges, and both primary and secondary sources.)
• Ritchie, Jane, and Jane Lewis (eds), 2003. Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers. London: Sage (Good collection of papers by researchers from the Qualitative Research Unit at the UK National Centre for Social Research; surprisingly, however, only one paper discusses the importance of secondary research, and that only fleetingly.)
• Ruane, Janet M. 2004. Essentials of Research Methods: A Guide to Social Science Research. Oxford: Blackwell (Fairly simple introductory guide to quantitative and qualitative, primary and secondary research.)
• Silverman, David. 1993. Interpreting Qualitative Data. London: Sage (See chapters on ‘Interviews’ and ‘Naturally occurring talk’.)
• Somekh, Bridget, and Cathy Lewin (eds), 2004. Research Methods in the Social Sciences. London: Sage (Forty papers of great variety, many with an emphasis on postmodernist and deconstructive theory, and most of a theoretical rather than directly practical nature.)
• VanderStoep, Scott W., and Deidre D. Johnson (eds), 2009. Research Methods for Everyday Life: Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (Mostly about the blending and interaction of qualitative and quantitative approaches, supplemented by some practical sections on planning, searching, analysing, and writing up.)
• Walliman, Nicholas. 2006. Social Research Methods. London: Sage (Clear and simple introductory guide with an emphasis on small, short-term research.)
• Walliman, Nicholas. 2011. Research Methods: The Basics. Wadsworth (Very good generic introduction not only to methods but also to the whole concept and process of research in any discipline (though with more emphasis on social science and humanities.)
• Yin, Robert K. 2003. Case Study Research. 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage (Good overview of the main sources of evidence – interviews, documents, archives, artifacts, etc)

Journals covering ethnographic research methods

• Annual Review of Anthropology
• Ethnography
• Qualitative Research
• Annual Review of Anthropology
• Field Methods
• Forum: Qualitative Social Research
• International Journal of Qualitative Methods
• Narrative Inquiry
• Qualitative Inquiry
• The Qualitative Report
• Reviews in Anthropology

Visual Research Methods

• Barbash, Ilsa, and Lucien Taylor. 1997. Cross-Cultural Filmmaking: A Handbook for Making Documentary and Ethnographic Films and Videos. Berkeley: University of California Press (A practical and detailed handbook for students and experienced anthropologists.)
• Collier, John. 1986. Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press (Classic guide to using the camera for anthropological research with chapters on taking and analysing research photographs.)
• Grimshaw, Anna. 2001. The Ethnographer’s Eye: Ways of Seeing in Anthropology. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press (An examination of the role of vision, or ‘ways of seeing’ within twentieth-century anthropology.)
• Hockings, Paul. 2003 (1974). Principles of Visual Anthropology. Berlin: Walter De Gruyer (Definitive history of visual anthropology and using still and moving images in research.)
• Ruby, Jay. 2000. Picturing Culture: Explorations of Film and Anthropology (A theoretical reflection on visual anthropology, key filmmakers and the future of ethnographic film.)

Journals covering visual anthropology and methods

• Visual Anthropology
• Visual Studies
• Visual Anthropology Review

Essays and resources on: www.visualanthropology.net

Anthropology and Ethics

• Caplan, Pat (ed.), 2003. The Ethics of Anthropology: Debates and Dilemmas. New York and London: Routledge (Introduction to key debates and dilemmas to do with ethics and anthropological research.)

• Meskell, Lynn, and Peter Pels (eds), 2005. Embedding Ethics: Shifting Boundaries of the Anthropological Profession. Oxford and New York: Berg (Chapters covering a range of cases/anthropological research look beyond professional codes of practice to argue that ethics should be at the heart of social scientific enquiry.)

Organizing, Analyzing and Interpreting Research Material

• Arksey, Hilary, and Peter Knight. 2005 (1999). Interviewing for Social Scientists: An Introductory Resource with Examples. London: Sage (See esp. chapters on ‘Transcribing the data’ and ‘Meanings and data analysis’.)
• Behrens, Clifford A. 1990. ‘Qualitative and quantitative approaches to the analysis of anthropological data: A new synthesis‘, Journal of Quantitative Anthropology 2: 305–328.
• Bernard, Russell H. 2011. Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative And Quantitative Approaches. 4th edition. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
• Geertz, Clifford. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
• Ives, Edward D. 1995. The Tape-Recorded Interview: A Manual for Field Workers in Folklore and Oral History. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press.
• Madrigal, Lorena. 1998. Statistics for Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Miles, Matthew B., and A. Michael Huberman. 1994. Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
• Pallant, Julie. 2011. SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using the SPSS. 4th edition. Crow’s Nest: Allen & Unwin.
• The Ethnograph 6.0 http://www.qualisresearch.com  (Commercial software site for qualitative analysis; see various guidance documents on this by John V. Seidel, since 1985.)
• Wonnacott, Thomas H., and Ronald J. Wonnacott. 1990. Introductory Statistics. 5th edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Writing up Research and Writing Dissertations

• Arksey, Hilary, and David E. Harris. 2007. How to Succeed in Your Social Science Degree. London: Sage (Chapters 7–10 are on dissertations.)
• Biggam, John. 2008. Succeeding with Your Master's Dissertation. Maidenhead: Open University Press (Clear if rather basic how-to-do-it advice.)
• Burnett, Judith (2009) Doing Your Social Science Dissertation. London: Sage (Good introductory guide with sound advice, useful links and references, helpful practical tips and exercises.)
• Cornell University, Cornell Guide to Research Writing http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/tutorial.html  (Introduction to the development of research ideas and to finding, evaluating, sorting and citing relevant books, articles and audiovisual recordings.)
• Cutts, M. 2009. The Oxford Guide to Plain English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Ellison, Carol. 2010. McGraw-Hill's Concise Guide to Writing Research Papers. New York: McGraw-Hill (Beginners’ guide for students, covering all aspects of planning, researching, and writing up.)
• Garson, David G. 2002. Guide to Writing Empirical Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Basel, Switzerland: Marcel Dekker (Strong emphasis on scientific and quantitative work with clear hypotheses, models and hard evidence.)
• Greetham, Bryan. 2009. How to Write Your Undergraduate Dissertation. London: Palgrave Macmillan (Good clear introductory guide, covering all basic academic aspects, plus time management and plagiarism.)
• Hunt, Andy. 2005. Your Research Project: How to Manage It. London: Routledge (Introductory guide for students.)
• Levin, Peter. 2005. Excellent Dissertations! Maidenhead: Open University Press (Very readable introductory guide, but one that goes significantly beyond the basics.)
• Lyons, Peter, and Howard J. Doueck. 2010. The Dissertation: From Beginning to End. Oxford University Press (A top-quality guide of use to all social science students, although the primary readership is social work postgraduates.)
• Manser, Martin, and Stephen Curtis. 2002. The Penguin Writer’s Manuel. London: Penguin.
• Mauch, James, and Namgi Park. 2003. Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: A Handbook for Students and Faculty. 5th edition. New York: Marcel Dekker (Very useful, wide-ranging introduction for both undergraduates and postgraduates.)
• Mcmillan, Kathleen, and Jonathan Weyers. 2007. How to Write Dissertations & Project Reports. Harlow: Pearson Education Smarter Study Guides (Very basic beginners guide.)
• Modern Language Association of America. 2009. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th edition. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
• Murray, Neil, and David Beglar. 2009. Inside Track to Writing Dissertations and Theses. Harlow: Pearson Longman.
• Murray, Rowena. 2006. How to Write a Thesis. 2nd edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
• Peck, John, and Martin Coyle. 2012. The Student’s Guide to Writing: Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
• Redman, Peter, and Wendy Maples. 2011. Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide. 4th edition. London: Sage.
• Royal, Brandon. 2004. The Little Red Writing Book: 20 Powerful Principles of Structure Style & Readability. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books.
• Ritter, Robert. 2012. The New Oxford Style Manual. 2nd edition. Oxford: University of Oxford Press.
• Single, Peg B. 2010. Demystifying Dissertation Writing: A Streamlined Process from Choice of Topic to Final Text. Sterling, VA: Stylus (Very good simple guide for students, with chapters on writing; topics and advisers; interactive reading and note-taking; citeable notes and literature reviewing.)
• Smith, Karen, Malcolm Todd, and Julia Waldman. 2009. Doing Your Undergraduate Social Science Dissertation. London: Routledge (Very simple guide aimed at UK final-year undergraduates; lots of useful tips but many will seem rather obvious to most students.)
• Sorenson, Sharon. 2010. Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook. 5th edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley (Very comprehensive handbook offering basic guidance on many aspects of academic writing, including writing research papers.)
• Strunk, William Jr., and E.B. White. 1999. The Elements of Style. 50th anniversary edition. New York: Pearson Longman.
• Swetnam, Derek. 2004. Writing Your Dissertation: How to Plan, Prepare and Present Successful Work. 3rd edition. Oxford: How To Books (Very good simple guide.)
• Thomas, R. Murray, and Dale L. Brubaker. 2001. Avoiding Thesis and Dissertation Pitfalls: 61 Cases of Problems and Solutions. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey (Lots of useful tips on all aspects of dissertation work, but mainly written in the rather slow and patronising form of a would-be dialogue between student and supervisor.)
• Tredinnick, Mark. 2009. Writing Well: The Essential Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Turabian, Kate L., Joseph M. Williams, Gregory G. Colomb, Wayne C. Booth. 2007 (1996). A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th edition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press (The definitive introductory manual and style guide for academic writing.)
• University of Chicago. 2010. The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. 16th edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Walliman, Nicholas. 2004. Your Undergraduate Dissertation: The Essential Guide to Success. London: Sage.