This book provides a comprehensive, accessible guide to social science methodology. In doing so, it establishes methodology as distinct from both methods and philosophy. What is methodology? How should one design a research project? What is the relationship between theory and method in social research? What do students and new researchers need to know in order to plan and conduct high quality research for themselves? In this book, the authors explore the relationship between the philosophical principles of the social sciences and the methods at our disposal to study the social world. They examine how we can design achievable and valid research projects by looking closely at the choices that all researchers and students face when designing a research project. Much of the existing literature glosses over the often difficult inter-relationship between practical research design and the theoretical underpinnings of methodology. However, this text addresses such issues head on, and in the process, helps the reader to better understand each stage of the research process. The book explains how empirical research can, nevertheless, be designed to make sound inferences about their nature, effect and significance. The authors examine what counts as good description, explanation and interpretation, and how they can be achieved by striking intelligent trade-offs between competing design virtues. This book is essential reading for any student or new researcher on a research methods course and who is faced with the prospect of understanding the research process for them or designing their own research project.