ISBN
978-1447356691Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressISBN
978-1447356684Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressISBN
978-1447356714Imprint
Policy PressISBN
978-1447356714Imprint
Policy Press
Researching Voluntary Action
The first book of its kind, this volume brings together a range of experts to review key methodological issues in the study of voluntary action, charitable behaviour and participation in voluntary organisations.
Using case studies from around the world – from ethnography to media analysis and surveys to peer research – chapters illustrate the challenges of researching altruistic actions and our conceptualisations of them. Across different fields and methods, authors unpick the methodological innovations and challenges in their own research to help guide future study.
Demystifying research and deepening our ability to understand the role of the third sector, this accessible book is suitable for social researchers at all levels.
“A much-needed reference work on the varying methodologies that students and scholars of philanthropy should be familiar with in order to understand the multifaceted and complex nature of voluntary action.” Pamala Wiepking, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and VU Amsterdam
Jon Dean is Associate Professor of Politics and Sociology at Sheffield Hallam University. His research examines inequalities within the charity sector and charity’s role in wider society and culture.
Eddy Hogg is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Kent. His research focuses on volunteering, particularly the role of voluntary action in the delivery of public services.
1. Introduction - Eddy Hogg and Jon Dean
2. (Un)suitable methods and reflexive considerations: an interview and focus group study of youth volunteering - James Davies
3. Interpretive ethnography: a UK charity shop case study - Triona Fitton
4. Collaborative philanthropy and doing practically relevant, critical research - Angela Eikenberry and Xiaowei Song
5. Peer research: co- producing research within the context of voluntary and community action – Ellen Bennett
6. Charity advertising: visual methods, images and elicitation - Abhishek Bhati and Jon Dean
7. Using archives and objects in voluntary action research - Georgina Brewis
8. Using Mass Observation as a source of qualitative secondary data for interdisciplinary longitudinal research on voluntary action - Rose Lindsey
9. Investigating meanings and messages on volunteering through television media – Kimberly Wiley
10. Annual reporting in voluntary organisations: opportunities for content analysis research - Carolyn Cordery and Danielle McConville
11. Researching risk in the voluntary sector: the challenges and opportunities of regulatory data - Diarmuid McDonnell and Alasdair C. Rutherford
12. Exploring the benefi ts of volunteering: combining survey and administrative data in the Nordic ‘laboratory’ – Hans-Peter Y. Qvist
13. Spatial approaches to the voluntary sector – James Bowles
14. Restudies, surveys and what counts as volunteering - Jon Dean and Diarmuid Verrier
15. Conclusion - Jon Dean and Eddy Hogg
