Covert Research

David Calvey demonstrates that covert research is not an aberrant research method but a substantial analytical tradition in sociology and neighbouring disciplines that has long yielded significant insights into social life. This timely volume will give social scientists a pause for thought. -- Greg Smith Discussed with insight and enthusiasm, the qualitative studies in this book are truly something wonderful. They show how covert research-even in the face of controversies-can result in important and beneficial outcomes for the research community. -- Max Travers Covert research has a long and distinguished tradition, and here David Calvey offers us an illuminating journey through the history and genealogy of hidden, discreet and undercover forms of social inquiry. Moving beyond the crude and simplifying dismissals of the 'ethical textbook', Calvey makes a compelling case for covert research and its ongoing relevance to the contemporary world. From Nellie Bly to the Tearoom Trade, from Garfinkel and Milgram to Calvey's own undercover work on the nightclub door, this book provides a rich array of examples and exercises, making it a must-have book for any student of covert - and overt - research methodologies. By setting out to relieve us of our ethical hypochondria and fetish for informed consent, Calvey ventures out figuratively - and literally - into a scholarly field where others fear to tread. -- Mark Banks Calvey's book is a remarkably original contribution, with quite extraordinary documentation. The social scientist as detective is one theme which is now his proprietary accomplishment. The studies reviewed and discussed are extensive and quite unprecedented. This is a work which will surely become a classic of its kind: indeed, that 'kind' is Calvey's own! -- Jeff Coulter