List of Figures and Tables
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
INTRODUCTION
1 MAJOR CHOICES IN SOCIAL ENQUIRY
Introduction
Research Problem
Research Questions
Research Strategies
Researcher’s Stance
Research Paradigms
The Status of Knowledge
Research Paradigms and Research Strategies
Chapter Summary
Further Reading
2 MAJOR DILEMMAS IN SOCIAL ENQUIRY
Introduction
Science and Social Science
Major Dilemmas
The Postmodern Turn
Chapter Summary
Further Reading
3 ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE USING FOUR RESEARCH STRATEGIES
Introduction
Styles of Reasoning
The Inductive Research Strategy
The Deductive Research Strategy
Combining the Inductive and Deductive Strategies
The Abductive Research Strategy
Combining Retroductive and Abductive Strategies
Chapter Summary
Further Reading
4 CLASSICAL RESEARCH PARADIGMS
Introduction
Positivism
Critical Rationalism
Classical Hermeneutics
Interpretivism
Chapter Summary
Further Reading
5 CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH PARADIGMS
Introduction
Critical Theory
Ethnomethodology
Social Realism
Contemporary Hermeneutics
Structuration Theory
Feminism
Chapter Summary
Further Reading
6 REVIEW AND CRITIQUE OF THE RESEARCH PARADIGMS
Introduction
Research Paradigms Revisited: Ontology and Epistemology
Critique of the Research Paradigms
Review of Some Major Dilemmas
Association between Research Strategies Research Paradigms
Conclusion
Further Reading
POSTSCRIPT: THE COMPLEXITY TURN
Introduction
Origins
Characteristics of Complex Systems
Key Ideas
The Reality of the Complex
Complexity and Postmodernism
Complexity and Research
Conclusion
REFERENCES
Notes
Figures and Tables
Norman Blaikie was Formerly Professor of Sociology at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and Universiti Sains, Malaysia.
"Literature on the philosophy of social science often seems aloof
from the practical wrangling over theoretical and methodological
issues directing social research. Books attempting to bridge this
gap are rare, so much credit is due Blaikie for providing one."
Sociological Research Online "The repertoire of social research
grows wider by the day. Substantive topics multiply, the technical
apparatus mushrooms, paradigms proliferate and clash. And the
potential for confusion in the beginner’s mind grows apace. Norman
Blaikie’s Approaches to Social Enquiry has always been the most
trustworthy student guide through the methodological quagmire, and
this new edition confirms his reputation as the supreme explicator
of social inquiry."
Ray Pawson, University of Leeds
"Norman Blaikie's book is an accessible, clear, and reliable
introduction for the social research student to the extraordinarily
complex set of issues and decisions in which the practicing
researcher necessarily becomes entangled. This is an exceptional
book, especially for its sympathetic presentation of positions and
its wide range."
Stephen Turner, University of South Florida
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