Roger Sapsford

The search for ‘the Decent Society’ – a fit place in which to live – has informed policy at both governmental and international level. This book analyses its nature and devises a consistent way of measuring the concept world-wide on the basis of a coherent theory of agency within social structure. Influenced by classical sociology and by the economist Amartya Sen, the book posits that societies need to create (a) economic security, (b) social cohesion, (c) social inclusion, and (d) the conditions for empowerment. The model is interactive and recursive; each component provides the requirements for each of the others.This book outlines the sociopolitical framework underlying ’the Decent Society' and summarises a decade of research, some of which has had a formative impact on governments’ policies. The first half contains studies of social quality based on surveys in the former Soviet Union and sub-Saharan Africa, while the second half describes the construction of a Decent Society Index for comparing very different countries across the world. This book and the index it develops will be of interest both to academics and researchers in sociology, politics, economics, psychology, social policy and development studies and to policy-makers in government, local government and the NGOs.

The search for ‘the Decent Society’ – a fit place in which to live – has informed policy at both governmental and international level. This book analyses its nature and devises a consistent way of measuring the concept world-wide on the basis of a coherent theory of agency within social structure. Influenced by classical sociology and by the economist Amartya Sen, the book posits that societies need to create (a) economic security, (b) social cohesion, (c) social inclusion, and (d) the conditions for empowerment. The model is interactive and recursive; each component provides the requirements for each of the others.This book outlines the sociopolitical framework underlying ’the Decent Society' and summarises a decade of research, some of which has had a formative impact on governments’ policies. The first half contains studies of social quality based on surveys in the former Soviet Union and sub-Saharan Africa, while the second half describes the construction of a Decent Society Index for comparing very different countries across the world. This book and the index it develops will be of interest both to academics and researchers in sociology, politics, economics, psychology, social policy and development studies and to policy-makers in government, local government and the NGOs.

This much-anticipated Second Edition presents an informative and accessible account of survey research. It guides the reader through the main theoretical and practical aspects of the subject and illustrates the application of survey methods through examples. Thoroughly revised and updated, it presents: Concise and analytic coverage of multivariate analysis techniques A new chapter giving theoretical and practical advice on the stages involved in constructing scales to measure attitude or personalityAn account of using materials on the internetConcise introductions and summaries to all chapters This book will prove to be equally useful for students conducting small research projects in the social sciences or related professional/applied areas, researchers planning systematic data collection for applied purposes and policy makers who want to understand and analyse the research with whose conclusions they are presented.

This much-anticipated Second Edition presents an informative and accessible account of survey research. It guides the reader through the main theoretical and practical aspects of the subject and illustrates the application of survey methods through examples. Thoroughly revised and updated, it presents: Concise and analytic coverage of multivariate analysis techniques A new chapter giving theoretical and practical advice on the stages involved in constructing scales to measure attitude or personalityAn account of using materials on the internetConcise introductions and summaries to all chapters This book will prove to be equally useful for students conducting small research projects in the social sciences or related professional/applied areas, researchers planning systematic data collection for applied purposes and policy makers who want to understand and analyse the research with whose conclusions they are presented.

Praise for the first edition of Research into Practice and Research Methods for Nurses and the Caring Professions:These books provide a good introduction for the uninitiated to reading and doing research. Abbott and Sapsford provide a clearly written and accessible introduction to social research ... One of their aims is to 'de-mystify' research, and in this they succeed admirably... After reading the text and the articles in the reader, and working through the various research exercises, readers should have a clear appreciation of how to evaluate other people's research and how to begin their own.-David Field, Journal of Palliative MedicineThis book, now substantially revised in its second edition, is about the appreciation, evaluation and conduct of social research. Aimed at nurses, social workers, community workers and others in the caring professions, the book is particularly focused on research which evaluates and contributes to professional practice. The authors have provided many short, practical exercises in the text, and the examples are drawn mostly from projects carried out by one or two people rather than large research teams. The clear, accessible style will make this the ideal introductory text for those undertaking or studying research for the first time.The book may be used in conjunction with Research into Practice (Open University Press), a reader of useful examples selected by the same authors.