ABSTRACT
The "Architecture of Capitals" (AOC) framework was developed and applied during a three-year project in China that examined the education- and occupation-related choices and experiences of students from different social classes. AOC is a multi-level conceptual and analytical framework linking micro-level individual actions and interactions to macro structures and policies and improves the rigor and generalizability of qualitative methods. AOC emphasizes the economic, social, and historical conditions within which patterns of individual action take place, providing a practical tool to exercise the "sociological imagination" to link micro level individual actions and agencies to macro-level structures. The AOC is essentially a qualitative method built on grounded theory with improved rigor. AOC methodology includes two sampling techniques: stratified and theoretical sampling. Crystallization —multiple theoretical lenses, multiple sources of data, and multiple modes of data collection —is key in the AOC framework. AOC provides a powerful multi-level analytical tool to locate the key junctures among the dynamic social processes.
