ABSTRACT

This fully revised, updated and extended edition of a successful text, introduces some of the important philosophical issues arising from social research practices and historical research in the social sciences. Since its initial publication the field of social research and philosophy has been widely debated, and this expanded version incorporates the most recent discussion and theories. In this edition John Hughes and Wes Sharrock carefully analyse the research implications of the great sociological thinkers, and stress that depending upon the researcher's philosophical leanings, there are a range of possible interpretations of the 'facts' uncovered by the researcher.

chapter Chapter 1|23 pages

The philosophy of social research

chapter Chapter 2|18 pages

The positivist orthodoxy

chapter Chapter 3|34 pages

Positivism and the language of social research

chapter Chapter 4|20 pages

Positivism and the conception of science

chapter Chapter 5|25 pages

The interpretative alternative

chapter Chapter 6|22 pages

Lay versus scientific conceptions

chapter Chapter 7|26 pages

Language, reality and rationality

chapter Chapter 8|27 pages

The evaporation of meaning

chapter Chapter 9|14 pages

Conclusion