This text focuses on research methodology and approaches in the complex and sensitive area of violence against women, and provides important insights into, and critical approaches to, the evidence base for policy and practice.

There has been growing interest and concern about the topic of violence against women, reflected in a number of government policy initiatives and research projects on the subject. A wide range of methodological issues has arisen from this, but there remains a large gap in the literature for a book which addresses these issues head on. This book aims to meet this need, focusing on research methodology and approaches in this complex and sensitive area, and providing important insights into, and critical approaches to, the evidence base for policy and practice. The book consists of chapters from leading authorities in the field. It contains chapters linking issues of epistemology, theory and method in relation to women and violence; and then builds on these areas to explore how the evidence base provided by feminist research on women and violence has impacted on and been translated into policy and practice, the barriers encountered, and how it contributes to our understanding and theorising of violence against women.

Preface Notes on contributors 1 Methodology, feminism and gender violence Tina Skinner, Marianne Hester and Ellen Malos 2 Feminist quantitative methodology: evaluating policing of domestic violence Sue Griffiths and Jalna Hanmer 3 Researching people in power: practice, analysis and action Tina Skinner 4 Researching Asian children's experiences of domestic violence: the significance of cultural competence and shared ethnicities of participants in the research process Umme Imam with Parveen Akhtar 5 Conducting social research with young people: ethical considerations Melanie McCarry 6 Comparison and collaboration: researching young people's experiences and perceptions of violence in the family across China and the UK Marianne Hester and Geetanjali Gangoli 7 Researching women political prisoners in Northern Ireland: ethnographic problems and negotiations Mary Corcoran 8 Listening to women's voices: the participation of domestic violence survivors in services Gill Hague and Audrey Mullender 9 Researching violent fathers Lynne Harne 10 Balls and permissions: theorising the links between football and domestic violence Jill Radford and Eve Hudson 11 In memoriam: Sue Lees (19412002), her life, research and influence Jill Radford and Nicole Westmarland Index