Social Research Methods: For Students and Scholars of Theology and Religious Studies

by Joshua Iyadurai

Publisher:

Marina Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Religion

, 2023

Overview

This book demystifies designing and conducting qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research with scientific rigor. Social Research Methods, benefits researchers from theology and religious studies in designing interdisciplinary research and interacting with social sciences and other disciplines to study contextually relevant issues by focusing on lived religion, lived theology, lived experience, and real-world problems.

Joshua Iyadurai skillfully guides researchers with a step-by-step guide on the practical nuances of choosing a topic, engaging literature, selecting a paradigm, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting the findings, and writing a research proposal and a dissertation/thesis/article for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. A separate chapter on supervising and examining social research helps students and professors to understand each other's role in field-based studies.

Social Research Methods is an indispensable resource for researchers from theology and religious studies and a valuable practical guide for researchers from social sciences and humanities.

Why Read this Book?

• Instills confidence in researchers to design and conduct qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research with scientific rigor.
• The first of its kind to introduce qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods strategies with guidance for choosing a topic and collecting and analyzing data for theology and religious research.
• Up to date and authoritative by arraying current and leading methodology texts with examples for researching lived experiences, lived religion, and lived theology.
• A step-by-step guide for writing every section of a research proposal and for writing each chapter for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods dissertation/thesis, which will make the research journey pleasant for students.
• Provides tips for writing DMin dissertation and journal article.
• Offers guidelines for supervisors and examiners for assisting and assessing student projects.
• Review Questions and Further Help at the end of each chapter; Glossary and Index, which are among other helpful resources for researchers.
• An invaluable resource for students and professors from social sciences, education, development, management, and the humanities, besides theology and religious studies.
• A practical guide for researchers from churches, religious bodies, NGOs, and others.

Contents

• Choosing a Topic
• Reviewing the Literature
• Research Strategies and Paradigms of Social Research
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research
• Mixed Methods Research
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Writing a Research Report
• The Role of Supervisors and Examiners

Praise for Social Research Methods

This book fills an important niche for postgraduate researchers embarking on empirical research in Practical Theology or Religious Studies. Those who have little or no background in the social sciences will find this a clear and well-structured introduction on how to conceive a research project and what methods are available to answer their research questions. Reading this before they embark on their journey could save a lot of problems further down the road.

—Andrew Village, Professor of Practical and Empirical Theology, York St John University

The highly readable, yet exhaustive and authoritative text covers all aspects of the variety of methods available to contemporary scientists who either produce or evaluate empirical research. The text is intended for students and scholars of theology and religious studies, but anyone interested in how religion is practiced in different cultural contexts and want to understand individual lived experiences and interpretations will find this text an invaluable guide.

—Ralph W. Hood Jr., Professor of Psychology, University of Tennessee

Product Details

• Title: Social Research Methods: For Students and Scholars of Theology and Religious Studies
• Author: Joshua Iyadurai
• Publisher: Marina Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Religion
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Pages: 300
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:SCLRSRCHMRLGSST
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-17T20:12:18Z

About Joshua Iyadurai

Joshua Iyadurai, PhD is the founder and director of Marina Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Religion (MCISR), Chennai. He is a theological educator and a social scientist who is passionate about teaching social research methods in hopes of bringing a paradigm shift in theological research to engage people as a source of constructing theology. His ability to generate a passion for social research among students is one hallmark of his lectures. He has been teaching research methods for more than a decade and supervising students using social research methods for their theological research in several institutions that included the University of Roehampton-online, London, University of Madras, Chennai, and South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS), Bangalore. He has been a resource person for research methods seminars that equip seminary students in using social research methods and workshops to equip faculty for supervising students in using social research methods for their dissertations.He authored Transformative Religious Experience: A Phenomenological Understanding of Religious Conversion and has contributed several book chapters and articles on religious conversion.He is available for leading research methods seminars for students and faculty development workshops for faculty to supervise and examine dissertations/theses using social research methods.