Practical Social Research is a working guide to doing 'real life' research in the local community. Based on the authors' own practice, it proposes a partnership between students and community organisations that both meets community needs and develops students' research skills. The book provides detailed coverage of the 'scientific', ethnographic and feminist traditions in social research data collection and analysis, together with information on how to go about negotiating viable projects, developing personal transferable skills, and presenting and assessing reports.