Social science research is a political activity. It intersects three interest groups: the researchers, the funders and policymakers, and the people whose lives and views are being explored. This text addresses the questions: whose interests are served by research?; for whom is it undertaken?; what research methods are appropriate?; and how can those researched find a voice in the research process? The authors consider inter-relations between theory and method and the processes of doing empirical research with disadvantaged people, from design through to dissemination.