The SAGE handbook of social science methodology / edited by William Outhwaite and Stephen P. Turner.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Outhwaite, William.

Turner, Stephen P., 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Research--Methodology.

Social sciences.

Physical Description:

xvi, 622 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Other Title:

Handbook of social science methodology

Place of Publication:

Los Angeles : SAGE, 2007.

Summary:

Edited by two leading figures in the field, The Sage Handbook of Social Science Methodology is a landmark work in the field of research methods. Bringing together a formidable collection of international contributors to comment on every aspect of the central issues, complications and controversies in the core methodological traditions, it is designed to meet the needs of both disciplinary and non-disciplinary social inquirers. The Handbook is divided into 7 sections covering: Overviews of methodological approaches in the social sciences, Cases, comparisons and theory, Quantification and experiment, Rationality, complexity and collectivity, Interpretation, critique and postmodernity, Discourse construction, Engagement.

The text is unique in focusing on issues and debates in methodology, rather than on mastering techniques. It provides essential background to the critical understanding of actual research results, which textbooks often ignore but which specialists are aware of. The social sciences are methodologically diverse and this volume deals with the full range of methodological debates today, from the quantitative to the qualitative, and from the theoretically oriented to the applied. By presenting a comprehensive and accessible overview of the methodological literature, it provides both students and professionals with the necessary grounding to appreciate the issues which motivate research choices and underlie different approaches both to research and to the distinctive problems faced by social science researchers arising from the 'mindedness' of their subject matter.

Contents:

1 The Social Sciences Since World War II: The Rise and Fall of Scientism / Peter Manicas 7

2 Interdisciplinary Approaches in Social Science Research / Julie Thompson Klein 32

Section 2 Cases, Comparisons, and Theory 51

3 Ethnography / Jon P. Mitchell 55

4 Comparative Methods / Charles C. Ragin 67

5 Historicity and Sociohistorical Research / John R. Hall 82

Section 3 Quantification and Experiment 119

7 Statistical Models for Causation / David A. Freedman 127

8 Fighting to Understand the World Causally: Three Battles Connected to the Causal Implications of Structural Equation Models / Leslie Hayduk, Hannah Pazderka-Robinson 147

9 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs in Behavioral Research: On Context, Crud, and Convergence / Sandra L. Schneider 172

10 Theory and Experimentation in the Social Sciences / Murray Webster, Jr., Jane Sell 190

11 The Treatment of Missing Data / David C. Howell 208

12 Modeling Selection Effects / Thad Dunning, David A. Freedman 225

13 Methods for Census 2000 and Statistical Adjustments / David A. Freedman, Kenneth W. Wachter 232

14 Quantitative History / Margo Anderson 246

Section 4 Rationality, Complexity, Collectivity 265

15 Rational Choice Theory / Donald P. Green, Justin Fox 269

16 Rationality and Rationalist Approaches in the Social Sciences / David Henderson 282

17 Individual and Collective Agency / Thomas Schwinn 302

18 Simulating Complexity / R. Keith Sawyer 316

19 Evolutionary Approaches in the Social Sciences / Maureen A. O'Malley 333

Section 5 Interpretation, Critique, and Postmodernity 359

20 Understanding and Interpretation / Hans-Herbert Kogler 363

21 New Controversies in Phenomenology: Between Ethnography and Discourse / Mark J. Smith, Piya Pangsapa 384

22 Liberal Humanism and the European Critical Tradition / Douglas Kellner, Tyson Lewis 405

23 Grounded Theory: Critiques, Debates, and Situational Analysis / Adele E. Clarke 423

24 Does Postmodernism Make You Mad? or, Did You Flunk Statistics? / Ben Agger 443

Section 6 Discourse Construction 457

25 Social Construction and Research Methodology / Kenneth J. Gergen, Mary M. Gergen 461

26 Rhetorics of Social Science: Sociality in Writing and Inquiry / Ricca Edmondson 479

27 Discourse Analysis / Michael Lynch 499

Section 7 Evaluation, Engagement, and Collaborative Research 517

28 Evaluation Research / Michael Scriven 523

29 Feminist Methodology / Susan Hekman 534

30 Feminist Methodology and Its Discontents / Nancy A. Naples 547

31 Community-Based Research / Michael Root 565

32 Qualitative Methodology (Including Focus Groups) / Norman K. Denzin, Katherine E. Ryan 578

33 Making a Mess with Method / John Law 595.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781412901192

1412901197

OCLC:

85691609