The practice of research has long become more a business activity than scholarly pursuit. It takes particular know-how, not merely to secure financial backing and thence deliver to order, but to manage and keep control of an entire intervening research operation. Yet these are activities academics are not normally trained in or formally prepared for. This collection breaks new ground in its offer of frank commentary on aspects of the research process - as supplied by experienced academics together with a senior representative of one key funding agency - based on first-hand experience and observation of the management of social science projects from within Britain/the EU. The collection is also conspicuous for the variety of research projects covered. Most contributors are reporting with reference to a particular case-study experience. But these range from the most localised to the most multi-national; from the most specialised to the most multi-disciplinary undertakings.