ABSTRACT
Emphatically, the argument in this book is not against the power or value of generalisation. While general theorising can never be enough, general statements are not only necessary but also unavoidable. Nor does this book underestimate the value of empirical work. The concern, however, is that both empiricism and deductive generalisation have their flaws, and some faulty presumptions are shared in common. Accordingly, any attempt to steer a middle way between these poles is likely to share the limitations of each. A more sophisticated position has to be found, recognising a significant role for general theories but also their limitations. Some kind of middle-range theorising – to use Robert Merton’s (1968) term – is required to bridge the general with the empirical. Much valuable work in the modern social sciences is broadly of this kind. The problem, however, is that the methodological underpinnings and meta-theoretical justifications are relatively unexplored.
