Textbooks
Explore our diverse range of digital textbooks designed for course adoption and recommended reading at universities and colleges. We publish over 140 textbooks across the social sciences, and an annual subscription to digital textbooks is possible via BUP Digital.
Our content is fully searchable and can be accessed on and off-campus through Shibboleth, OpenAthens or an institutional authenticated IP. For any questions on digital textbook pricing and subscription information, please contact simon.bell@bristol.ac.uk.
We are happy to provide digital samples of any of our coursebooks by completing this form. To see the full collection of all our core textbooks, browse our main website.
Books: Textbooks
You are looking at 21 - 30 of 2,184 items
Research doesn’t exist in a bubble but co-exists with a multitude of other tasks and commitments, yet there is more need for people to save time than ever before.
Brilliantly attuned to the demands placed on researchers, this book considers how students, academics and professionals alike can save time and stress without compromising the quality of their research or its outcomes. This third edition:
- is fully revised with new chapters on research and evaluation ethics, creative methods of collecting data and how research can make a positive difference;
-includes illustrative case studies throughout the book and each chapter concludes with exercises, discussion questions and a debate topic;
- is accompanied by a fully updated companion website.
This supportive book is designed for any student or practitioner who wants to know how to do research on top of their main job and still have a life.
Secondary data is data which has been collected by someone else, for a purpose other than a researcher’s own research or evaluation project, and has been made available for re-use. Due to great efforts to make data available to the public, there is now a huge amount of secondary data freely available online, and more is being added all the time. Secondary data is also held in libraries, museums and archives. This chapter explains the advantages and disadvantages of working with secondary data and shows how to find online data sources. It provides information about open data worldwide and looks at application programming interfaces (APIs). It discusses large-scale and international surveys, alongside examples. It includes advice on working with secondary data and concludes with an update of the case studies followed by exercises, discussion questions and a debate topic.
A good research project is built on solid foundations and this chapter begins with some advice on choosing a research or evaluation topic. Information is provided about how to refine your topic into a question followed by a discussion of how to use your research question to guide your data collection. Consideration is then given to how much data is needed and whether it should be quantitative or qualitative. An outline of sampling techniques follows including probability and non-probability sampling. Next, the issue of what constitutes evidence for research is discussed including the ‘hierarchy of evidence’. Guidance on writing a proposal is provided including a suggested list of contents and this is followed by some information about research funders. The chapter concludes with an update of the case studies followed by exercises, discussion questions and a debate topic.
Writing is not a discrete activity which happens late in the research or evaluation process. It starts at conception and continues through every stage of research and often beyond the end of the project. This chapter begins by identifying and dispelling some myths about the writing process. This is followed by a guide to the writing process including how to get started, the non-linear nature of writing, rules for plain English, example report structures and how to avoid common pitfalls. The topics of structure, plagiarism and citation are covered in detail and the difference between findings and recommendations is explained. Text editing is covered including how and when to seek external feedback and how to use this constructively. Guidance is given on how to polish writing, and this is followed by an update of the case studies followed by exercises, discussion questions and a debate topic.
The BIA Practice Handbook remains the only textbook that focuses directly on the BIA role within the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. It is considered to be the definitive introduction to Best Interests Assessor practice, and is acknowledged to be a valuable resource for both students and practitioners as it contains detailed knowledge and support for ethical decision making in practice. The latest edition has been updated to take into account recent legislative changes, including the Mental Capacity Amendment Act 2019, recent case law, plus the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on BIA practice.
The Best Interests Assessor (BIA) Practice Handbook is firmly grounded in real-life practice and remains the only textbook focusing directly on the BIA role. Offering clear and practical advice on the legal elements of the role, and the values and practice elements of working within the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) framework, this is essential reading for BIA students and practitioners.
This fully-updated edition takes account of recent legislative changes, including the planned changes from the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS), recent case law and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on BIA practice.
Packed with advice on delivering effective, person-centred, rights-driven practice, it includes:
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case studies;
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legal summaries;
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decision-making activities;
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CPD support;
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examples of new case law in practice.
Looking forward, the book considers the new context for practice in the Approved Mental Capacity Professional (AMCP) role within the LPS and the potential roles that BIAs might fulfil in this new framework in the future.
This chapter explains the qualifying requirements for BIAs, as well as their statutory and professional CPD requirements updated for new professional regulators, and offers suggestions for support and resources to achieve these.
This chapter explains the current understanding of what the replacement for DoLS, the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS), will look like. It will set out the LPS as specified in Schedule AA1 of the MCA and the likely guidance for practice from the draft revised MCA Code and LPS implementation documents available for consultation in April 2022. The chapter will also consider the potential future roles for BIAs, whether as frontline health and social work professionals completing necessary and proportionate assessments, as those conducting pre-authorisation checks of LPS assessments or as Approved Mental Capacity Professionals (AMCPs) working with more complex assessments. The chapter will consider the new learning that BIAs will need to ensure that they are ready for whatever the future holds for the role.
This chapter focuses on the detail of how BIA assessments and decisions are recorded, including guidance on how to ensure that recording meets the highest standards of professional practice, requirements of case law and supervisory bodies. It includes areas where BIAs often seek advice, including getting the details right, writing the appropriate amount, recognising when the person is objecting, writing conditions and recommendations, and including other views.
This chapter considers the BIA’s duties, responsibilities and powers, how the role is regarded and the impact of significant case law since its implementation. It explores how assessors can maintain their independence and accountability in the range of contexts in which BIAs work, whether directly for local authorities or as independent practitioners, how to maintain their boundaries from the pressures of expectations in these contexts and the impact of COVID-19 on BIA practice.
