ABSTRACT
The next question is then, typically, ‘But what do you actually do?’ and it is to this question that this book is addressed. While there is, as you may know, considerable variation and disagreement among sociologists, they are united in the conviction that argument that is based on sound evidence is superior to argument based on false evidence, limited evidence, or no evidence. Evidence has to be collected from the social world around us, and this requires empirical research to be done. ‘Empirical’, in this context, simply means ‘based on evidence from the real world’ in contrast to ‘theoretical’, which refers to ideas that are abstract or purely analytical. Theories must be tested against the real world, ‘Theory, in fact, is the building which is made from the hard-won bricks of research studies’ (Mann 1985). This still leaves open the question of what counts as sound evidence, and this in turn leads to a central theme of this book: ‘How can we collect sound evidence about the social world that can be used to increase our understanding of that world?’
