ABSTRACT

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.

part |4 pages

Methodology and measurement

chapter |24 pages

Evidence-based policy

A realist perspective

part |42 pages

Applying realism

chapter |20 pages

Class as variable, class as generative mechanism

The importance of critical realism for the sociology of health inequalities

part |3 pages

Reflexivity and realist research

chapter |18 pages

Reflexivity and social science

A contradiction in terms?