In this exciting book, leading fatherhood scholars from Europe and Scandinavia offer unique insights into how to research fathers and fatherhood in contemporary society. Outlining research methods in detail, including examples of large scale studies, online research, surveys and visual and aural methods, they explore how each approach worked in practice, what the benefits and pitfalls were, and what the wider and future application of the chosen research methods might be. Covering a wide range of subjects from non-resident fathers to father engagement in child protection, this major contribution to the field also critiques and addresses the notion that fathers, especially young fathers, can be ‘hard to reach’. Essential reading for both students and policy makers in a fast-growing area of interest.
This collection focuses on the real life experiences of conducting emprical research about families and relationships, with an emphasis on the actualities of doing research and the experiences of being a researcher.
"I don′t know how often I′ve wished for an introductory text on family life which encompassed critical contemporary sociological thinking alongside the basic information students need, and have only found fossilised thinking on a stodgy subject. But now all that has changed. McKie and Callan have achieved what I thought was almost impossible in Understanding Families - a textbook which provides unrivalled foundations for a critical understanding of contemporary families and relationships." - Carol Smart, The Morgan Centre, University of Manchester "This excellent, innovative, comprehensive and easy to read text should be essential reading for everyone keen to understand families across the globe... It will make an outstanding contribution to family studies and is highly recommended." - Janet Walker, Newcastle University "Easy to read text, which debates current thinking surrounding modern families. Case studies and questions for the reader throughout the text help traslate theory into practice." - Justine Gallagher, Northumbria University Families are the core building blocks of society. Our experience of them affects many aspects of our everyday lives shaping our expectations and future plans. Written by experts in family studies and family policy, this clear, engaging book adopts a global perspective to usefully examine how modern families can be explored and understood in research, policy and practice. Packed with critical pedagogy, including case-studies, think points, key words and a glossary, it guides students through topics such as relationships, sexualities and paid and unpaid work, continually returning to its central themes of process and structure. The book also: Applies key social theories to contemporary analysis Examines key studies on researching families and family life Explores the role of government policies and practices This comprehensive introduction to the study of families and relationships is a timely resource for students and lecturers working across the social sciences, particularly students of family studies, the sociology of the family, family policy, and social work and the family Linda McKie is Professor of Sociology, Glasgow Caledonian University; Samantha Callan is based at the Centre for Social Justice. They are both affiliated to the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh.
An incisive engagement with the subject of intimacy and interpersonal relationships and the methods used to research families and personal life, this book introduces readers to contemporary conceptual and methodological frameworks for understanding intimacy and sexuality in families.
Now available in paperback for classroom use!"This comprehensive text provides a rich source of perspectives on theorising about the family for scholars, researchers, and students. Another of the book′s strengths is the emphasis on multimethod approaches in family research. The book covers an impressive range of topics and issues - marital happiness, adjustment of children in divorce marriages, gay marriage, sibling ties, ethnic families of colour, stepfamilies, aggression culture, work and family, religion, and social policy, to name a few. In summary, this superb volume is highly recommended and amply reflects the many contemporary perspectives on the family." --Philip Siebler, Monash University, VictoriaSponsored by the National Council on Family Relations, the Sourcebook of Family Theory and Research is the reference work on theory and methods for family scholars and students around the world. This volume provides a diverse, eclectic, and paradoxically mature approach to theorizing and demonstrates how the development of theory is crucial to the future of family research. The Sourcebook reflects an interactive approach that focuses on the process of theory building and designing research, thereby engaging readers in "doing" theory rather than simply reading about it. An accompanying website offers additional participation and interaction in the process of doing theory and making science. Editors Vern L. Bengtson, Alan C. Acock, Katherine R. Allen, Peggye Dilworth-Anderson, and David M. Klein have brought together a prominent group of diverse contributors ranging in race and ethnicity, age and seniority, and gender and sexual orientation. The Sourcebook begins with a section that sets the context for future family research. The subsequent sections explore changing family patterns, changing family interactions within and across generations, and families and larger social forces. A concluding section discusses issues of teaching family theories and research.Key Features Focuses on the process rather than the outcomes of family theory and research methods Emphasizes the value of multi-methods approaches in family research by integrating theory development with the development of research methods Differs from many other publications on family research by describing the development of new ideas rather than just summarizing existing findings The interactive Web site and the special feature boxes within the chapters engage readers with theory and methodology. Boxed features include Case Studies, Spotlights on Theory, Spotlights on Methods, and a Discussion and Extension sections. Represents a "Who′s Who" of family researchers with contributions from many of the best researchers in the family realm The Sourcebook will be an excellent addition to any academic library. It is an authoritative reference for scholars and researchers in Human Development and Family Studies, Sociology, Social Work, and Psychology. In addition, the Sourcebook can also be used in graduate courses on family theory and methodology.
Family Communication: Cohesion and Change encourages students to think critically about family interaction patterns and to analyze them using a variety of communication theories. Using a framework of family functions, current research, and first-person narratives, this text emphasizes the diversity of today's families in structure, ethnic patterns, gender socialization, and developmental experiences. New for the tenth edition are expanded pedagogical features to improve learning and retention, as well as updates on current theory and research integrated throughout the chapters for timely analysis and discussion. Cases and research featured in each chapter provide examples of concepts and themes, and a companion website offers expanded resources for instructors and students. On the book's companion website, www.routledge.com/cw/galvin, intstructors will find a full suite of online resources to help build their courses and engage their students, as well as an author video introducing the new edition: Course Materials Syllabi & Suggested Calendars Course Projects & Paper Examples Essay Assignments Test/Quiz Questions and Answer Keys Case Studies in Family Communication Family Communication Film and Television Examples Family Communication in Literature Examples Chapter Outlines Detailed Outlines Discussion Questions Case Study Questions Sample Chapter Activities Chapter PowerPoint Slides
In the 3rd edition of Methods of Family Research, authors Theodore N. Greenstein and Shannon N. Davis continue to help students better understand the research results they encounter in doing family research. Using real-life examples to illustrate important concepts that family researchers encounter regularly, the text covers traditional quantitative methods, qualitative methods, and the mixed-method approach. Written in a clear, concise style, this book differs from other research methods texts, which focus on teaching students how to produce research, by teaching them how to consume research in a sophisticated, effective manner. The book introduces the basic concepts of social science research methods without excessive technical details.
While family life has conspicuously changed in the past fifty years, it would be a mistake to conclude that family routines and rituals have lost their meaning. In this book Barbara H. Fiese, a clinical and developmental psychologist, examines how the practices of diverse family routines and the meanings created through rituals have evolved to meet the demands of today’s busy families. She discusses and integrates various research literatures and draws on her own studies to show how family routines and rituals influence physical and mental health, translate cultural values, and may even be used therapeutically. Looking at a range of family activities from bedtime stories to special holiday meals, Fiese relates such occasions to significant issues including parenting competence, child adjustment, and relational well-being. She concludes by underscoring the importance of flexible approaches to family time to promote healthier families and communities.
This book examines the many roles of families in their members’ food access, preferences, and consumption. It provides an overview of factors – from micro- to macro-levels – that have been linked to food insecurity and discusses policy approaches to reducing food insecurity and hunger. In addition, it addresses the links between food insecurity and overweight and obesity. The book describes changes in the U.S. food environment that may explain increases in obesity during recent decades. It explores relationships between parenting practices and the development of eating behaviors in children, highlighting the importance of family mealtimes in healthful eating. The volume provides an overview of efforts to prevent or reduce obesity in children, with attention to minority populations and discusses research findings on targets for obesity prevention, including a focus on fathers as change agents who play a crucial, yet understudied, role in food parenting. The book acknowledges that with the current obesigenic environment in the United States and elsewhere around the world, additional and innovative efforts are needed to foster healthful eating behavior and orientations toward food in childhood and in families. This book is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, professionals, and graduate students in developmental psychology, family studies, public health as well as numerous interrelated disciplines, including sociology, demography, social work, prevention science, educational policy, political science, and economics.
"This volume provides valuable guidelines and information to the family studies research. Each chapter contains thought provoking exercises and a reference list. Anyone considering a family study needs to read this volume before beginning. While no single volume can provide a complete roadmap, this text provides a good outline and points out major roadblocks. However, one should not get the idea this volume is for the researcher only. Anyone who works in the family therapy arena will benefit from the insights provided, especially as they read the literature to keep current."--Evaluation Practice "Studying Families is a very practical, down-to-earth book about how to study families from a psychological perspective. ... The authors present insightful discussions of research issues involved when studying multiple members of the same family and when the objective is to measure properties of the family as a group. There is a well-balanced presentation of the advantages, disadvantages, and techniques of using observations and self-reports to collect data from family members. ... We recommend Studying Families as a useful supplemental text for psychologists who need to teach about or research the family."--Contemporary Psychology "I assigned Studying Families as a text for a graduate class in Family Research Methods. My students and I gave the book rave reviews; it was extremely readable, concise, and thorough. It introduced us to a state-of-the-art thinking in family research. It often helped us to clarify confusing concepts we were struggling with from other family readings. This book should be extremely helpful to anyone engaged in the process of thinking about family research methods." --Leslie Brody, Boston University "In Studying Families, Anne Copeland and Kathleen White present a concise, well-written, and extremely interesting discussion of several distinct issues related to family research. Their appraoch is rather characteristic, in that rather than reviewing basic social science research methodology, they have chosen to outline very succinctly the unique (and often problematic) aspects of methodology relevant to the study of families. ... Each chapter concludes with a set of challenging exercises and a list of suggested readings. This book, along with the supplementary readings, would be excellent in a course on family research methods, in which students had already completed a basic social science research methods course. It also will make a valuable addition to every family researcher's collection of resource materials." --The Journal of Marriage and the Family By exploring the special issues and problems related to research on families, Copeland and White show the reader how the techniques needed to study families differ from the standard methods used to study individuals. In addition to covering such techniques as self- report and observational methods, the book includes suggestions for the use of existing data and an evaluation of the problems with secondary data use, as well as the considerations necessary for aggregating data and performing analyses. Through a focus on the issues involved in assessing individuals, their relationships, and families, Studying Families offers a guide through the complex challenges inherent in doing family research.
