Presenting the landmark Pioneers life stories project, this one-of-a-kind book documents how modern social research in the UK was shaped. It combines a fascinating history of the generations who built outstanding and influential social research with a valuable resource for future research and teaching on methods.

Chapter 1 ~ Introduction: the pioneers of social research study Voices 1 ~ Moments of discovery Chapter 2 ~ Life stories: biography and creativity Voices 2 ~ Beginnings Chapter 3 ~ Contexts: Empire, politics and culture Voices 3 ~ Old boundaries, new thoughts Chapter 4 ~ Organising: creating research worlds Voices 4 ~ Old and new trends Chapter 5 ~ Fighting or mixing: quantitative and qualitative research Voices 5 ~ Into the field Chapter 6 ~ Fieldwork: making methods Voices 6 ~ On the margins Chapter 7 ~ Social divisions: class, gender, ethnicity – and more Voices 7 ~ Reflections for the future Chapter 8 ~ Conclusion: what can we learn? Chapter 9 ~ Epilogue

Publishing rationale • Good author team, including Ken Plummer who has written some of the most well-known sociology textbooks (http://kenplummer.com/publications/) • The pioneers who they have interviewed include famous social scientists such as Peter Townsend and Ann Oakley and cover a broad range of specialisms, • Fits with existing titles such as the forthcoming book from Jon Dean on reflexivity in research and Sociologists’ Tales • Good to add a broad book to the Sociology list (and Social Research Methods) • The book draws together key themes arising from the interviews and looks at what can be learnt about research and society from the biographical accounts. This analysis adds significantly to the value of the transcripts which are only available full length without commentary. • The authors believe it would appeal to a wide range of readers, including the general public, postgraduate and academic researchers, particularly from a methodological perspective, and researchers on the history of social science. Unique selling point: We see our book as a gateway to an invaluable resource, both for research and for inspirational teaching. The in-depth interviews not only give the researchers’ ‘reflexive’ or (to use Colin Bell’s phrase) `owning up’ accounts as a unique source both for research publications but also offer a potential major asset for future social science methodological teaching, and indeed the wider public, presenting the cumulative experience of the past in a readily available form for the future.