A Matter of Hours: Women, Part–time Work and the Labour Market (Feminist Perspectives) - Softcover

Beechey, Veronica; Perkins, Tessa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0745602134 ISBN 13: 9780745602134

Publisher: Polity Press, 1987

Synopsis

This important and original new textbook gives an introduction to the use of documentary sources in social research. It will be an excellent companion to courses in research methods in the social sciences and history and a reference text for those beginning research on documentary sources. The book begins with an overview of the nature of social research and the variety of methods which can be used. Scott identifies three types of evidence useful in such research – physical evidence, personal evidence and documentary evidence. He argues that the logic of research is common to each type of evidence, but that each involves specific methodological issues. An appraisal grid for the analysis of documents is presented, showing the criteria which must be used in evaluating documentary sources. In the following chapters these criteria are applied to the variety of documentary sources available to the social researcher: census data and official statistics; government publications; directories and yearbooks; personal diaries; letters, etc. Examples from actual research are given throughout. A Matter of Record is a comprehensive and practical guide to methods in social research. Its publication will be welcomed by teachers and students in a wide range of subjects.

About this title

Synopsis:

Part-time work has been the main form of employment to grow in Britain in recent years, while full-time work has declined. What is the significance of the fact that part-time work is overwhelmingly done by women? What are the implications of this for our theoretical understanding of work and of labour markets, and for policies about the future of work? This book addresses these questions by focusing systematically on the development of part-time work and its place in the overall organization of the labour process. It uses the findings of the authors' own detailed case study to document the different determinants of the use of part-time labour in different industries, between public sector and private sector employees, and in periods of economic growth and economic recession, and they develop a theoretical analysis of women's employment and labour markets which foregrounds the role of gender. Thus, although the specific focus of the book is on part-time work, it should be of general interest to people concerned both with theoretical analyses of work and labour markets and with questions of policy.

About the Author:

John Scott is a reader in sociology at the University of Leicester, where he has taught since 1976. He is the author of Directors of Industry (1984) and Corporations, Classes and Capitalism (1979).

About this edition

• Publisher: Polity Press
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0745602134
• ISBN 13: 9780745602134
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192