ABSTRACT
Any serious consideration of method in social science quickly runs into basic issues such as the relation between theory and empirical observation and how we conceptualize phenomena. In turn, any reflection on these matters raises still more fundamental problems of objectivity, of the status of our knowledge. Traditionally, texts and courses on social scientific method have given these matters a wide berth, but since these more philosophical issues frequently come up in the evaluation of substantive work-in some disciplines more than others-this a dubious strategy. I therefore make no apology for addressing these issues. They are more than a prelude to a discussion of method, for they address its most crucial moment-how we conceptualize.
