Full presentations of many of the entries below have already been distributed to BMS subscribers and RC33 members over the BMS-RC33 distribution list
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Michael Grenfell and Frédéric Lebaron (editors), Bourdieu and Data Analysis - Methodological Principles and Practice (2014), Peter Lang Verlag, ISBN 9783034308786, 333 pp. Uniquely amongst the numerous publications to appear on the work of the French social theorist Pierre Bourdieu, this book deals with data analysis, examining a range of techniques and instruments. After an introductory chapter outlining the key principles of Bourdieu’s theory, the book presents detailed examples of data being collected and analysed in a Bourdieusian way across various social science contexts. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are addressed, including analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each method, as are common data collection procedures such as interviews, observations and questionnaires. Examples of Multiple Correspondence Analysis are an important feature of the book, since this was an approach particularly favoured by Bourdieu. In each case study, the pros and cons of different approaches are highlighted and the qualitative/quantitative debate is thoroughly explored. Overall, the book offers readers a blueprint to develop their own methodological plans for using Bourdieu in research practice.
The book’s two editors are eminently qualified to write about Pierre Bourdieu and his work. Michael Grenfell is Professor of Education at Trinity College Dublin. His background is in French Studies and his research interests lie in education, language teaching and sociology, focusing particularly on the application of Pierre Bourdieu’s work to a range of research topics. He knew and collaborated with Bourdieu for over twenty years and was three times “visiting scholar” at the École des Hautes Études in Paris. He is the author of Bourdieu and Education - Acts of Practical Theory (with David James, 1998), Bourdieu - Agent Provocateur (2004), Bourdieu, Education and Training (2007), Arts Rules - Bourdieu and the Visual Arts (with Cheryl Hardy, 2007), Bourdieu, Language and Linguistics (2007) and Bourdieu - Key Concepts (2012). Frédéric Lebaron has been Professor of Sociology at the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UMR Professions-Institutions-Temporalités) since September 2013, following sixteen years at the University of Picardie-Jules Verne in Amiens, where he directed the Centre Universitaire de Recherches sur l’Action publique et le Politique, Epistémologie et Sciences Sociales. He specializes in social sciences methodology, economic sociology, political sociology and social inequality. His books include Lectures de Pierre Bourdieu (with Gérard Mauger), Les indicateurs sociaux au XXIème siècle, La crise de la croyance économique and Le savant, le politique et la mondialisation.
The books contents include: Michael Grenfell, “Bourdieu and Data Analysis”; Carla DiGiorgio, “The Interaction between Identity, Power and Inclusive Practice in a Minority Language School”; Jacqueline Widin, “Mapping an Illegitimate Field-Power Relations in International Education”; Cheryl Hardy, “Re-presenting the Social World - Bourdieu and Graphic Illustrations of Field”; Jo Watson, “Widening Participation in Higher Education - Capital that Counts”; Frédéric Lebaron and Philippe Bonnet, “Classification, Social Classes and Cultural Practices - A GDA Approach through Bourdieu’s Sociology of Culture”; Vincent Berry, Manuel Boutet and Samuel Coavoux, “Playing Styles - The Differentiation of Practices in Online Video Games”; Jan Thorhauge Frederiksen, “Trawling for Students - How Do Educational Institutions Compete for Students?”; Andrea Tribess, “In Which Social Context Will Working-Class Students Obtain an Academic Qualification?”; Ylva Bergström and Tobias Dalberg, “Education, Social Class and Politics - The Political Space of Swedish Youth in Uppsala”; Daniel Laurison, “Positions and Position-Takings Among Political Producers - The Field of Political Consultants”; Ramón Álvarez Esteban, Mónica Bécue-Bertaut, Belchin Kostov and Annie Morin, “Structure and Vocabulary Flow in Chronological Corpora - Contributions of Correspondence Analysis and Labelled Hierarchy”.
Robert Ackland, Web Social Science - Concepts, Data and Tools for Social Scientists in the Digital Age (2013), Sage Publications, ISBN 9781849204828, 224 pp. This is a comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of Web Social Science. It demonstrates how the Web is being used to collect social research data, such as online surveys and interviews, as well as digital trace data from social media environments, such as Facebook and Twitter. It also illuminates how the advent of the Web has led to traditional social science concepts and approaches being combined with those from other scientific disciplines, leading to new insights into social, political and economic behaviour. This book aids in understanding the fundamental changes to society, politics and the economy that have resulted from the advent of the Web. It deals with the choice of appropriate data, tools and research methods for conducting research using Web data. Readers learn how Web data are providing new insights into long-standing social science research questions and how social science can facilitate an understanding of life in the digital age. It is intended for university students and researchers across the social sciences, as well as those from information science, computer science and engineering who want to learn about how social scientists are thinking about and researching the Web.
The contents include chapters on: Online Research Methods; Social Media Networks; Hyperlink Networks; Friendship Formation and Social Influence; Organisational Collective Behaviour; Politics and Participation; Government and Public Policy; Production and Collaboration; and Commerce and Marketing. In the conclusion of chapter 1, the author clearly describes his approach which is “to provide a context for Web social science, introducing some of the major themes that are addressed elsewhere in the book.” He provides an introduction to the key technologies and governance structures that underlie the Internet and the Web, and presents “a timeline of key events (from the perspective of Web social science) in the history of the Web”. He introduces examples of online computer-mediated interaction which feature throughout the book and also introduces “three important phases in the conceptualisation of the Web: cyberspace, virtual communities and online social networks”, while outlining “four disciplinary approaches for conducting empirical research using data from the Web” and “the concept of construct validity in the context of Web data”.
Myriam.de Loenzien, Famille et société au prisme du VIH/SIDA au Viêt Nam (2014), Editions de l’Harmattan, ISBN 9782336339511, 264 pp. La lutte contre le VIH/SIDA est généralement envisagée d’un point de vue individuel. Or, une séropositivité VIH est d’abord vécue dans un contexte relationnel. C’est cette dimension qui nous intéresse ici. A cet égard, le Viêt Nam présente une situation particulière. Dans ce pays, les réformes du Renouveau lancées pendant les années 1980 ont provoqué et accompagné une profonde mutation socio-économique et culturelle. Au cours de cette période, la famille a été placée au centre d’enjeux sociopolitiques et économiques majeurs. Dans ce contexte, comment les séropositifs, les membres de leurs familles et plus généralement les membres des ménages, appréhendent-ils l’épidémie VIH/SIDA ? De quelle façon vivent-ils la séropositivité d’un proche ou leur propre séropositivité ? Quelle est leur participation éventuelle à la prévention de la transmission du VIH et la prise en charge d’un apparenté ? Pour répondre à ces questions, nous nous appuyons sur les résultats d’une étude originale qualitative et quantitative. Ceux-ci permettent de saisir les multiples enjeux du positionnement de la famille dans la lutte contre l’épidémie. Ils montrent que la façon dont la famille perçoit, affronte et gère les difficultés inhérentes à une atteinte VIH, les interactions entre les membres affectés et ceux qui ne le sont pas sont significatives de dynamiques collectives qui traversent toute la société. Le VIH/SIDA peut ainsi être analysé comme un révélateur de comportements et attitudes d’une portée plus générale.
Sam Hinton and Larissa Hjorth, Understanding Social Media (2013), Sage Publications, ISBN 9781446201213, 168 pp. This book takes an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to provide a clear and concise explanation of the key concepts of social media, but also goes beyond specific brands, sites and practices to show readers how to place social media more critically within the changing media and cultural landscape. To address these issues, and provide a framework for understanding the many different concepts and theories in the debates surrounding social media, the authors deal with four recurrent themes throughout this book: empowerment/control, online/offline, the role of the local/cultural (especially in non-Anglophonic contexts) and the “intimacy turn”. The book provides a conceptual toolbox for navigating the evolution and practices of social media. As an aid to understanding, key concepts in each chapter are illustrated by case studies to give real-world examples of theory in action. With the many dimensions of social media, from the political, economic and visual, this book explores the industries, ideologies and cultural practices that are increasingly becoming part of global popular culture. It includes the following chapters: Introduction to Social Media; What Is Web 2.0; Social Network Sites; Participation and User Created Content; Art and Cultural Production; Social Media Games; Social, Locative and Mobile Media; and Conclusions.
Giampietro Gobo and Sergio Mauceri, Constructing Survey Data - An Interactional Approach (2014), Sage Publications, ISBN 9781849201773, 384 pp. This book intends to revitalize survey research, recovering forgotten lessons of the past and focusing attention on research participants (and not the researcher), through an interviewee-centered and interactional approach. It provides students and researchers with a pragmatic, new perspective on the process of collecting survey data by proposing a post-positivist, interviewee-centred approach to improve the quality and impact of survey data by emphasising the interaction between interviewer and interviewee. The authors extend conventional methodology with contributions from linguistics, anthropology, cognitive studies and ethnomethodology by analyzing the answering process in structured interviews built around questionnaires.
