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Realist Inquiry in Social Science
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Realist Inquiry in Social Science



November 2015 | 168 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

Realist Inquiry in Social Science is an invaluable guide to conducting realist research. Written by highly regarded experts in the field, the first part of the book sets out the fundamentals necessary for rigorous realist research, while the second part deals with a number of its most important applications, discussing it in the context of case studies, action research and grounded theory amongst other approaches.

Grounded in philosophical methodology, this book goes beyond understanding knowledge justification only as empirical validity, but instead emphasises the importance of theoretical criteria for all good research. The authors consider both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and approach methodology from an interdisciplinary viewpoint.  Using abductive reasoning as the starting point for an insightful journey into realist inquiry, this book demonstrates that scientific realism continues to be of major relevance to the social sciences. 

 

 
Chapter 1: Scientific Realism
What is Realism?

 
Naturalistic Realism

 
Global and Local Realism

 
Realist Methodology

 
The Centrality of Method

 
Realism in the Social Sciences

 
 
Chapter 2: Evidence
Social Science Preliminaries

 
Empirical Evidence and Theory

 
Coherentism and Naturalism

 
Varieties of Evidence: Pragmatic Considerations

 
 
Chapter 3: Validity
Test Validity, Operational Definition, and Logical Empiricism

 
Holism, Realism, and Ontological Commitment

 
Construct Validity and Logical Empiricism

 
Construct Validity, Generalization in Experiments, and Epistemology

 
Paradigms of Validity

 
Coherence Justification

 
 
Chapter 4: Grounded Theory
The Abductive Theory of Method

 
Problem Formulation

 
Phenomena Detection

 
Theory Construction

 
ATOM as Grounded Theory Method

 
 
Chapter 5: Factor Analysis
Exploratory Factor Analysis and Scientific Inference

 
Methodological Challenges to Exploratory Factor Analysis

 
Exploratory Factor Analysis and Other Factor Analytic Methods

 
 
Chapter 6: Case Study
Constitutive and Regulative Rules

 
What is A Case?

 
Generalizing From Cases

 
A Case Study in China

 
Making Generalizations

 
Improving Knowledge of Generalizations

 

The current replication crisis in psychology makes professors’ Haig and Evers book as timely as it is erudite. Using philosophical realism as their organizing principle, they take the reader on a creative and insightful tour through validity, Grounded Theory, factor analysis and case studies in an effort to improve and advance psychological research. 

James W. Grice
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University

Realist Inquiry in Social Science comes as a complete breath of fresh air in a domain predominated by anti-realism. I was especially charmed and mesmerized by its recognition of the primacy of problems and its focus on abductive reasoning.

Tim De Mey
Assistant Professor in Theoretical Philosophy, Erasmus University Rotterdam

This book provides an accessible and systematic introduction to Realist methodologies in the social sciences. It covers qualitative and quantitative research methods from a Realist perspective, making clear how this approach  provides a fruitful and practical way for social scientists to approach research methods. That a book of such clarity should have been written by Brian Haig and Colin Evers is not surprising.  Over the past three decades, Realism has moved from the periphery of methodological considerations  to taking centre stage. In the social sciences these authors have been central to the change in Realism’s fortunes. 

Hugh Lauder
Professor of Education and Political Economy, University of Bath

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