UID:
almahu_9949401866702882
Format:
1 online resource (xvii, 334 pages) :
,
digital, PDF file(s).
ISBN:
9781009118620 (ebook)
Series Statement:
Strategies for social inquiry
Content:
The most important step in social science research is the first step - finding a topic. Unfortunately, little guidance on this crucial and difficult challenge is available. Methodological studies and courses tend to focus on theory testing rather than theory generation. This book aims to redress that imbalance. The first part of the book offers an overview of the book's central concerns. How do social scientists arrive at ideas for their work? What are the different ways in which a study can contribute to knowledge in a field? The second part of the book offers suggestions about how to think creatively, including general strategies for finding a topic and heuristics for discovery. The third part of the book shows how data exploration may assist in generating theories and hypotheses. The fourth part of the book offers suggestions about how to fashion disparate ideas into a theory.
Note:
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Oct 2022).
,
Introduction -- Current Practices -- Contributions to Knowledge -- strategies -- Heuristics -- Case selection -- Soaking and Poking -- Playing with Theories -- Theoretical Frameworks -- Explanatory Challenges -- Tools and Tips for Theorizing -- From Exploration to Testing.
Additional Edition:
Print version: ISBN 9781009100397
Language:
English
Subjects:
Sociology
URL:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009118620
