The Craft of Inquiry Theories, Methods, Evidence

by Alford, Robert R.

• ISBN13: 9780195119022
• ISBN10: 0195119029
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-03-05
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In his provocative new book, Robert Alford proposes that the startingpoint for any researcher in the process and craft of inquiry should begin withan understanding of how to translate elements of his/her own history, personalexperience, and issues which can then be formulated into research questions. Hepresents three basic explanatory approaches to sociology -- multivariate,interpretive, and historical -- and strives to illustrate the artistic, ratherthan formulaic, side of research design, presenting several ways that researchquestions can be framed.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(10)
The Audience	1	(1)
Paradigms of Inquiry	2	(2)
Personal History	4	(3)
Works Illustrating the Working Vocabulary	7	(4)
Chapter 1: The Craft of Inquiry	11	(10)
Theory vs. Method vs. Research	11	(2)
Theory, Methods, and Evidence in the Classic Canon	13	(2)
Solidarity, Rationality, and Production	15	(3)
Conclusions	18	(3)
Chapter 2: Designing a Research Project	21	(11)
Cognitive and Emotional Sources of Anxiety	22	(2)
Selecting a Problem	24	(1)
Research Questions as Entry Points	25	(3)
Theoretical and Empirical Tracks of Analysis	28	(2)
Conclusions	30	(2)
Chapter 3: The Construction of Arguments	32	(22)
Evidence and Theory	34	(3)
Human Agency	37	(1)
Foreground Multivariate Arguments	38	(4)
Foreground Interpretive Arguments	42	(3)
Foreground Historical Arguments	45	(4)
The Divorce of Theory from Evidence	49	(1)
Conclusions	50	(4)
Chapter 4: Foreground Multivariate Arguments	54	(18)
How Does the Social Integration of Groups Explain Suicide?	55	(3)
Multivariate Relations	55	(1)
Symbolic Meanings	56	(1)
Historical Processes	57	(1)
What Is the Importance of "Class" vs. "Race" for American Blacks?	58	(5)
Multivariate Relations	59	(2)
Historical Processes	61	(2)
Symbolic Meanings	63	(1)
Conclusion	63	(1)
What Are the Causes and Consequences of Racial Segregation?	63	(7)
Multivariate Relations	64	(1)
Historical Processes	65	(1)
Symbolic Meanings	66	(1)
A Dialectical Explanation	67	(1)
An Action Agenda?	67	(3)
Conclusions	70	(2)
Chapter 5: Foreground Interpretive Arguments	72	(14)
What Symbolic Meanings Construct the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism?	73	(3)
Symbolic Meanings	73	(1)
Historical Processes	74	(1)
Multivariate Relations	74	(2)
How Are Individual Identities Undermined in Total Institutions?	76	(6)
Symbolic Meanings	78	(2)
Multivariate Relations	80	(1)
Evidence and Theory	80	(1)
Historical Processes	81	(1)
Conclusion	82	(1)
How Do Men and Women Negotiate Housework?	82	(3)
Symbolic Meanings	82	(1)
Historical Processes	83	(1)
Multivariate Relations	84	(1)
Conclusions	85	(1)
Chapter 6: Foreground Historical Arguments	86	(17)
What Historical Processes Explain the Coup d'Etat in France by Louis Bonaparte on December 2, 1851?	87	(6)
Historical Processes	88	(1)
Symbolic Meanings	89	(1)
Multivariate Relations	90	(3)
Why Did Japan Become Fascist, China Become Communist, and Britain Remain Democratic?	93	(5)
Historical Processes	95	(1)
Multivariate Relations	96	(1)
Symbolic Meanings	97	(1)
How Did the Language of Labor Lead to Revolutionary Action in France Before and After the Old Regime?	98	(4)
Historical Processes	98	(1)
Multivariate Relations	99	(1)
Symbolic Meanings	100	(2)
Conclusions	102	(1)
Chapter 7: The Theoretical Power of Multiple Paradigms	103	(18)
Multiple Paradigms of Inquiry About the Welfare State	103	(12)
The Unit of Analysis	105	(1)
The Dependent Variable	105	(3)
The Independent Variables	108	(4)
The Analysis	112	(1)
A Historical Argument	113	(2)
Multiple Paradigms of Inquiry About Revolution	115	(5)
Tracks of Analysis	116	(3)
A Historical Argument	119	(1)
Conclusions	120	(1)
Chapter 8: Dialectical Explanations and the Sociological Imagination	121	(14)
Multiple Paradigms of Inquiry	121	(2)
Dialectical Explanations	123	(2)
Institutional Constraints on the Production of Social Knowledge	125	(4)
Sources of the Sociological Imagination	129	(2)
The Promise of Sociology	131	(2)
Conclusions	133	(2)
Notes	135	(12)
Selected Readings	147	(13)
Index	160