Theory and Methods in Sociology: An Introduction to Sociological Thinking and Practice

ISBN-13: 9780333772867 / Angielski / Miękka / 2007 / 376 str.

John Hughes

Opis

This book offers a guide to sociology that explores its theoretical and methodological dimensions. Providing the student with a sense of the reasoned character of the discipline, it traces how different theories and methods relate to one another, exploring the particular problems they spawn and the debates that have arisen in response. The guide is written to be easy to use: individual chapters stand alone as well as fit into the overarching narrative; boxes in the text explain key concepts and feature particular methods, theories or key figures; and annotated further reading lists are provided throughout.

Spis treści

Preface.- Introduction: Sociology: Pluralism or Disarray?.- PART 1: THE POSITIVIST PROJECT Building a Science of Sociology.- Variable Analysis and Measurement.- Interviews and Questions.- The Social Survey and Multivariate Analysis.- The Demise of Positivism.- PART 2: THE QUALITATIVE TURN Introduction: The Contest Over Realism.- The Method of Fieldwork.- Explorations in Actor's Point of View.- Data Collection versus Analysis.- PART 3 The Refurbishing of Critical Sociology.- Post-modernism, post-structuralism.- Discourses and Research.- Conclusion.- Bibliography.

O autorze

JOHN HUGHES has published widely in the fields of political socialization, political sociology, and research methods.

WES SHARROCK is Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK. His research interests include philosophical methodology, sociology of science/knowledge, ethnomethodology and methodology.