Making Realism Work

Realist Social Theory and Empirical Research

Edited by Bob Carter, Caroline New

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About the Book

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Realist Social Theory and Empirical Research Part 1: Methodology and Measurement Introduction 1. Evidence-Based Policy: A Realist Perspective 2. Complex and Contingent Causation: The Implications of Complex Realism for Quantitative Modelling the Case of Housing and Health 3. Contingent Realism and Single Case Probabilities Part 2: Applying Realism Introduction 4. Class as Variable, Class as Generative Mechanism: The Importance of Critical Realism for the Sociology of Health Inequalities 5 Researching 'Real' Language Part 3: Reflexivity and Realist Research Introduction 6 Methodological Triangulation in Empirical Research: An Indian Exemplar 7. Health Visitors and 'Disadvantaged' Parent-Clients: Designing Realist Research 8. Reflexivity and Social Science: A Contradiction in Terms?

About the Author(s)

In this innovative book theorists and researchers from various social science disciplines explore the potential of realist social theory for empirical research