Research Methods in the Social Sciences is a comprehensive yet compact A-Z for undergraduate and postgraduate students undertaking research across the social sciences, featuring 71 entries that cover a wide range of concepts, methods, and theories. Each entry begins with an accessible introduction to a method, using real-world examples from a wide range of academic disciplines, before discussing the benefits and limitations of the approach, its current status in academic practice, and finally providing tips and advice for readers on when and how to apply the method in their own research. Wide ranging and interdisciplinary, the text covers both well-established concepts and emerging ideas, such as big data and network analysis, for qualitative and quantitative research methods. All entries feature extensive cross-referencing, providing ease of navigation and, pointing readers to related concepts, and to help build their overall understanding of research methods.

The A-Z is a collection of entries ranging from qualitative research techniques to statistical testing and the practicalities of using the Internet as a research tool. Alphabetically arranged in accessible, reader-friendly formats, the shortest entries are 800 words long and the longest are 3000. Most entries are approximately 1500 words in length and are supported by suggestions for further reading.

Featuring over 900 entries, this resource covers all disciplines within the social sciences with both concise definitions & in-depth essays.

​This book analyzes the importance of informal social protection provided by religious institutions such as madrassas in a low-income country such as Pakistan. This book explains that Madrassas are religious schools that have existed in many Muslim countries for centuries and contributed significantly to preserving, forming, and extending human knowledge in medieval times. Further, madrassas are now more commonly viewed as the providers of a narrow education, supporting religious fundamentalism, that may lead to terrorism. However, this book asserts that education is not the only function performed by madrassas. They are a significant source of welfare support for the vulnerable and marginalized households in many low-income countries. This book helps the readers to understand the concept of informal social protection not conceptualized previously. In addition, its various attributes and institutions providing such a form of welfare worldwide are explained in detail; analyzing the usefulness of such a form of social protection would benefit readers of social policy, national governments, and international donor/aid agencies. This book also provides a prescriptive framework for integrating formal and informal social protection. This book provides a new "Multiple Regime Framework", for identifying various regimes in one country at one point in time by applying a novel data collection and analysis methodology. The application of this framework would be of particular interest to social policy scholars, national governments, and donor/aid agencies because it will result in better targeting of social protection policies in the wake of fiscal constraints. Lastly, this book provides a novel data collection and analysis strategy that will benefit the reader of research methodology, development consultants, donor agencies, and policy practitioners interested in using artificial intelligence to make informed and targeted policy decisions.

This book is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate research methods courses as well as for instructors, academicians, social researchers, social workers and community development planners. The book aims to give a brief summary about the critical thinking and innovative research methods which are crucial in academic's promotion and knowledge building. Social Research Methods is one of the most important courses in the educational curriculum that adequately support students and researchers acquire the competencies they need to deal with complex data and new analytical tools. World is changing and accordingly, there are changing in the nature of data (for instance, big data, analytics etc.), and the complexity of the environment. University' instructors have to incorporate research in the undergraduate curriculum to allow the students to gain the knowledge and skills to learn the research process, not to conduct it per se, but, rather to use the research to bridge the gap between knowledge and critical decision-making.

The Routledge Handbook of Differentiation in the European Union offers an essential collection of groundbreaking chapters reflecting on the causes and consequences of this complex phenomenon. With contributions from key experts in this subfield of European Studies, it will become a key volume used for those interested in learning the nuts and bolts of differentiation as a mechanism of (dis)integration in the European Union, especially in the light of Brexit. Organised around five key themes, it offers an authoritative "encyclopaedia" of differentiation and addresses questions such as: How can one define differentiation in the European Union in the light of the most recent events? Does differentiation create more challenges or opportunities for the European Union? Is Europe moving away from an "ever closer Union" and heading towards an "ever more differentiated Union", especially as leading political figures across Europe favour the use of differentiation to reconcile divergences between member states? This handbook is essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in, and actively concerned about, research in the study of European integration. As European differentiation is multifaceted and involves a wide range of actors and policies, it will be of further interest to those working on countries and/or in policy areas where differentiation is an increasingly relevant feature. The Introduction and chapters 13, 21, 30, and 35 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

In this research paper I have explored the concept of I(i)nternational R(r)elations with a focus on three key goals: (i) presenting two distinct methods of writing and their representations, (ii) examining the meaning associated with each method, and (iii) uncovering the process of concept creation based on the interaction between two terms. This research sets out to achieve the following objectives: (i) to resume the attempt to theorise the concept of ‘international relations’ from the etymological bases; (ii) ‘international relations’ is based on a wide range of concepts, and I want to show the sources of the creation of a concept; (iii) to supplement and contribute to the existing literature that discusses this concept; (iv) to contribute to the historical development of the International Relations interdiscipline; (v) to offer an answer to the crisis of ideas that haunts the science of IR. By achieving these objectives, this research paper makes a significant contribution to both the theoretical and practical understanding of I(i)nternational R(r)elations. The insights generated here provide a strong foundation for future research while addressing ongoing theoretical challenges. It is time to explore and understand the concept of I(i)nternational R(r)elations in its most authentic form. Third Edition, October 2024