Download or read book The Realist Image in Social Science written by D. Layder and published by Springer. This book was released on 1990-02-19 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A constructive critique and development of the new realist philosophy of social science as it is specifically applied to sociology and social psychology. Dr Layder argues that while the realist project is a move in the right direction (i.e. to provide a viable alternative to positivism), there are certain problems and ambiguities in the realist programme as it now stands. The book confronts these problems and ambiguities in an innovative and controversial way while remaining committed to the general objectives of realism. In so doing the book attempts to go beyond current realist ideas and thereby expand its explanatory base and power.
Download or read book The Realist Image in Social Science written by Derek Layder and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work sets out to provide a critique and account of the development of the new realist philosophy of social science as it is specifically applied to sociology and social psychology. The author attempts to confront the problems and ambiguities which exist in the programme as it now stands.
Download or read book Method in Social Science written by R. Andrew Sayer and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Widely praised on its first publication, this second edition directly reflects new developments in the areas of philosophy and method.
Download or read book New Philosophies of Social Science written by William Outhwaite and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Making Realism Work written by Bob Carter and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-10-09 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this innovative book, theorists and researchers from various social science disciplines explore the potential of realist social theory for empirical research. The examples are drawn from a wide range of fields health and medicine, crime, housing, sociolinguistics, development theory and deal with issues such as causality, probability, and reflexivity in social science. Varied and lively contributions relate central methodological issues to detailed accounts of research projects which adopt a realist framework. Making Realism Work provides an accessible discussion of a significant current in contemporary social science and will be of interest to social theorists and social researchers alike.
Download or read book Using Photographs in Social and Historical Research written by Penny Tinkler and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sophisticated, original and comprehensive, this book investigates photographic research practices and the conceptual and theoretical issues that underpin them. Using international case studies and ′behind the scenes′ interviews, Penny Tinkler sets out research practices and explores the possibilities, and challenges, of working with different methods and photographic sources. The book guides the reader through all aspects of doing photographic research including practical issues and ethical considerations. Key topics include: - Working with images - Generating photos in research - Managing large archives and digital databases - Reviewing personal photos - Photo-elicitation interviews Written in a clear, accessible style, this dynamic book is essential reading for students and researchers working with photographs in history and the social sciences.
Download or read book Quantum Mind and Social Science written by Alexander Wendt and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-23 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique contribution to the understanding of social science, showing the implications of quantum physics for the nature of human society.
Download or read book Social Science Research written by Anol Bhattacherjee and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.
Download or read book International Encyclopedia of Human Geography written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2009-07-16 with total page 10985 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The International Encyclopedia of Human Geography provides an authoritative and comprehensive source of information on the discipline of human geography and its constituent, and related, subject areas. The encyclopedia includes over 1,000 detailed entries on philosophy and theory, key concepts, methods and practices, biographies of notable geographers, and geographical thought and praxis in different parts of the world. This groundbreaking project covers every field of human geography and the discipline’s relationships to other disciplines, and is global in scope, involving an international set of contributors. Given its broad, inclusive scope and unique online accessibility, it is anticipated that the International Encyclopedia of Human Geography will become the major reference work for the discipline over the coming decades. The Encyclopedia will be available in both limited edition print and online via ScienceDirect – featuring extensive browsing, searching, and internal cross-referencing between articles in the work, plus dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases, making navigation flexible and easy. For more information, pricing options and availability visit http://info.sciencedirect.com/content/books/ref_works/coming/ Available online on ScienceDirect and in limited edition print format Broad, interdisciplinary coverage across human geography: Philosophy, Methods, People, Social/Cultural, Political, Economic, Development, Health, Cartography, Urban, Historical, Regional Comprehensive and unique - the first of its kind in human geography
Download or read book Digital Library Use written by Ann Peterson-Kemp and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003-10-10 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Viewing digital libraries as sociotechnical systems, networks of people and technology interacting with society. The contributors to this volume view digital libraries (DLs) from a social as well as technological perspective. They see DLs as sociotechnical systems, networks of technology, information artifacts, and people and practices interacting with the larger world of work and society. As Bruce Schatz observes in his foreword, for a digital library to be useful, the users, the documents, and the information system must be in harmony. The contributors begin by asking how we evaluate DLs—how we can understand them in order to build better DLs—but they move beyond these basic concerns to explore how DLs make a difference in people's lives and their social worlds, and what studying DLs might tell us about information, knowledge, and social and cognitive processes. The chapters, using both empirical and analytical methods, examine the social impact of DLs and also the web of social and material relations in which DLs are embedded; these far-ranging social worlds include such disparate groups as community activists, environmental researchers, middle-school children, and computer system designers. Topics Documents and society • the real boundaries of a "library without walls" • the ecologies of digital libraries • usability and evaluation • information and institutional change • transparency as a product of the convergence of social practices and information artifacts • and collaborative knowledge construction in digital libraries
Download or read book Social Structure written by Charles Crothers and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crothers's book provides a thorough introduction to the idea of social structure. He examines the meanings of the term, the history of its usage within sociology and looks at the more recent developments in thinking on social structure.
Download or read book Realistic Evaluation written by Ray Pawson and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1997-04-23 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Realistic Evaluation shows how program evaluation needs to be, and can be bettered. It presents a profound yet highly readable critique of current evaluation practice, and goes on to introduce a `manifesto′ and `handbook′ for a fresh approach. The main body of this book is devoted to the articulation of a new evaluation paradigm, which promises greater validity and utility from the findings of evaluation studies. The authors call this new approach `realistic evaluation′. The name reflects the paradigm′s foundation in scientific realist philosophy, its commitment to the idea that programmes deal with real problems rather than mere social constructions, and its primary intention, which is to inform realistic developments in policy making that benefit programme participants and the public. Ray Pawson and Nicholas Tilley argue with passion that scientific evaluation requires a careful blend of theory and method, quality and quantity, ambition and realism. The book offers a complete blueprint for evaluation activities, running from design to data collection and analysis to the cumulation of findings across programmes and onto the realization of research into policy. The argument is developed using practical examples throughout and is grounded in the major fields of programme evaluation. This book will be essential reading for all those involved in the evaluation process especially those researchers, students and practitioners in the core disciplines of sociology, social policy, criminology, health and education. `This book is a must for those engaged in the field, providing a fully illustrated text on evaluation with numerous examples from the criminal justice system. Unusually, it offers something for the academic, practitioner and student alike. I found Pawson and Tilley′s latest work on evaluation an enjoyable and informative read. For myself their "realistic evaluation" clarified and formalised a jumbled set of ideas I had already been developing. Although not everyone will agree with the methodology proposed by the authors, this book is a valuable read as it will cause most of us at least to review our methodological stance′ - International Journal of Police Science and Management `This is an engaging book with a strong sense of voice and communicative task. The voice is sometimes strident, but always clear. Its communicative qualities are evident equally in its structure: lots of signposting for the reader within and across chapters′ - Language Teaching Research `This provocative, elegant and highly insightful book focuses on the effective incorporation of actual practice into the formulation of evaluation methodology. What a pleasure to read sentences like: "The research act involves "learning" a stakeholder′s theories, formalizing them, and "teaching" them back to that informant who is then in a position to comment upon, clarify and further refine the key ideas". Pawson and Tilley have given us a wise, witty and persuasive account of how real practitioner experience might be encouraged to intrude on (and modify) researchers′ concepts about program processes and outcomes. This holds important promise for achieving something that is devoutly to be wished: closer interaction among at least some researchers and some policy makers′ - Eleanor Chelimsky, Past-President of the American Evaluation Association `This is a sustained methodological argument by two wordly-wise social scientists. Unashamedly intellectual, theoretically ambitious yet with a clear but bounded conception of evaluation. It is articulate, occasionally eloquent and always iconoclastic, whilst eschewing "paradigm wars". The Pawson and Tilley "realist" call to arms threatens to take no prisoners among experimentalists, constructivists or pluralists. It is the kind of book that clarifies your thoughts, even when you disagree with everything they say′ - Elliot Stern, The Tavistock Institute
Download or read book The Power of International Theory written by Fred Chernoff and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new study challenges how we think about international relations, presenting an analysis of current trends and insights into new directions. It shows how the discipline of international relations was created with a purpose of helping policy-makers to build a more peaceful and just world. However, many of the current trends, post-positivism, constructivism, reflectivism, and post-modernism share a conception of international theory that is inherently incapable of offering significant guidance to policy-makers. The Power of International Theory critically examines these approaches and offers a novel conventional-causal alternative that allows the reforging of a link between IR theory and policy-making. While recognizing the criticisms of earlier forms of positivism and behaviouralism, the book defends holistic testing of empirical principles, methodological pluralism, criteria for choosing the best theory, a notion of 'causality,' and a limited form of prediction, all of which are needed to guide policy-makers. This is an essential book for all students and scholars of international relations.
Download or read book Social Theory of International Politics written by Alexander Wendt and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-10-07 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing upon philosophy and social theory, Social Theory of International Politics develops a theory of the international system as a social construction. Alexander Wendt clarifies the central claims of the constructivist approach, presenting a structural and idealist worldview which contrasts with the individualism and materialism which underpins much mainstream international relations theory. He builds a cultural theory of international politics, which takes whether states view each other as enemies, rivals or friends as a fundamental determinant. Wendt characterises these roles as 'cultures of anarchy', described as Hobbesian, Lockean and Kantian respectively. These cultures are shared ideas which help shape state interests and capabilities, and generate tendencies in the international system. The book describes four factors which can drive structural change from one culture to another - interdependence, common fate, homogenization, and self-restraint - and examines the effects of capitalism and democracy in the emergence of a Kantian culture in the West.
Download or read book The Orders of Discourse written by John G. Gunnell and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1998 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this insightful book, distinguished political scientist John G. Gunnell explores the relationship between social science and philosophy, and the range of problems that have attended this relationship. Gunnell argues that social science has turned to philosophy, especially to areas such as the philosophy of science and other sites of philosophical foundationalism, in search of cognitive identity and the grounds for normative and empirical judgment. Gunnell's emphasis is on political and social theory and the theoretical constitution of social phenomena.
Download or read book Critical Realism written by Justin Cruickshank and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical realism is a movement in philosophy and the human sciences most closely associated with the work of Roy Bhaskar. Since the publication of Bhaskars A Realist Theory of Science, critical realism has had a profound influence on a wide range of subjects. This reader makes accessible, in one volume, key readings to stimulate debate about and within critical realism. It explores the following themes: * transcendental realist * the theory of explanatory critique * dialectics * Bhaskar's critical naturalist philosophy of science.
Download or read book What s Critical About Critical Realism written by Frédéric Vandenberghe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's Critical About Critical Realism?: Essays in Reconstructive Social Theory draws together 4 major articles that are situated at the intersection of philosophy and sociology. Preceded by a general presentation of Bhaskar ́s work, critical realism is used to reconstruct the generative structuralism of Pierre Bourdieu, warn about the dangers of biocapitalism, theorize about social movements and explore the hermeneutics of internal conversations. Together, the essays form a logical sequence that starts with a search for a solid conception of social structure through a realist critique of Bourdieu ́s rationalist epistemology, proceeds to an ideology critique of posthumanism through an investigation of Actor-Network Theory, extends critical realism to social movements through an investigation of the constitution of collective subjectivities and engages in a sustained dialogue with Margaret Archer through an attempt to reconnect hermeneutics and pragmatism to critical realism. The result is an ongoing dialogue between British critical realism, French historical epistemology, German critical theory and American pragmatism. As suits a collection of essays in social theory, this book will address a broad audience of sociologists, philosophers, social psychologists and anthropologists who are interested in contemporary social theory at the cutting edge. Academics and advanced students who relate to critical realism and critical theory, epistemology and philosophy of the social sciences, hermeneutics and pragmatism, or anyone else who follows the work of Roy Bhaskar, Pierre Bourdieu, Bruno Latour or Margaret Archer will find a keen interest in some of the theoretical questions the book raises.
