Reflexivity and sociological practice

May, T

Abstract

Philosophical considerations and positions underlie all of the natural and social sciences. In the latter case philosophical foundations and their emergent issues have a profound impact on methodology and empirical practice. Design decisions will usually depend on philosophical perspectives or assumptions, such as the very fundamental decision to employ a quantitative design or an interpretive design. The 'philosophy of social research' is thus a subset of the philosophy of social science, but also an important subject area that spans methodology and method.
The articles making up this timely collection are the best exemplars of key positions in a very wide disciplinary field. The selection is designed to begin each section with an 'entry level' article to introduce the reader to the topic area and to ground the approach a research problem. Topics covered include science and art in the history of social research, positivism and antipositivism, language and the linguistic turn, realism and anti-realism, theory and theory choice, logic and models, prediction and laws, interpretation, probability and complexity.
With the study of the philosophical foundations of methods and methodology gaining increasing priority in university courses, this will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers across the social sciences.

Citation

May, T. (2005). Reflexivity and sociological practice. In M. Williams (Ed.), The Philosophical Foundations of Social Research: Social Reality and the Social Context of Social Research. London: SAGE Publications

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2005
• Deposit Date: Aug 4, 2011
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Book Title: The Philosophical Foundations of Social Research: Social Reality and the Social Context of Social Research
• ISBN: 9781412903820