The essays in this volume are intended to help social scientists do better comparative research and thereby to improve our possibilities for creating more satisfactory explanations or theories. These broad aims are advanced throughout the book in serval ways: (1) by an identification and assessment of the methodological strategies of exceptionally important comparativists, past and present; (2) by an explication and refinement of logics of procedure that are central to many types of comparative research; (3) by a presentation of new research models that link or bridge heretofore separate lines of comparative inquiry; and (4) by the definition of methodological criteria by which theories and conceptual frameworks can be more fruitfully related to and qualified by comparative studies. Specific problems such as comparability, causal inference, conceptualization, measurement, and sampling are addressed in various sections of particular essays. --From the Preface This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1971.

Rediscovering Grounded Theory is a bold re-evaluation of the origins of grounded theory, a philosophical clarification of its key ideas and a presentation of the most effective way to use its techniques in your research. It answers questions such as ′What should grounded theory look like?′, ′How do I recognise grounded theory?′ and ′How do I produce good grounded theory?′ by returning to the original ideas as they were presented by Glaser and Strauss. Sharp, clear and thought-provoking, the book includes: - Detailed analysis of the current literature - Exemplar sections filled with detailed, real world examples and applications - A detailed glossary It will provide you with a grasp of what a grounded theory should look like, take you through the process of building a grounded theory and then explain best practice for critically evaluating the quality of grounded theory research.

Excerpt from Introduction to the Science of Sociology: Development of Modern Philosophies of Society, With Special Reference to Comte Schäffle, Bluntchli, Lieber, Lotze, Spencer and Ward This outline is nothing more than the rough draft of a scheme of sociological study. It is printed not because it is sufficiently matured for publication, but because a basis for class room work was needed, and because nothing suited to my purpose exists. The aim of the syllabus is to present, in the form of a brief thesis, at each significant point in the survey, the thought which seems to me most mature. In each case this thesis is expounded by citation of views, parallel, tangent, related by similarity or contrast. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Comparative Sociology presents the current state of knowledge in comparative sociology for students, scholars, and the educated lay public. The major aim of comparative sociological research is to identify similarities and differences among societies, studying variation across both geographical regions and historical periods. This volume is divided into six broad categories: Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Comparing Societies, Comparative Historical Sociology, Comparing Institutions and Social Structures, Comparing Social Processes, Comparing Nation States and World Regions, and Biographies of Exemplary Comparative Sociologists. Nearly 60 essays written by distinguished experts in their fields focus on the first five categories, while the biographical section contains forty biographies of both classical and contemporary sociologists who have made major contributions to comparative sociology. Contributors include: David Baker, Wenda Bauchspies, Hans-Peter Blossfield, Harriet Bradley, Sandra Buchholz, Miguel Centeno, Karen Cerulo, Brett Clark, Amy Corming, William D'Antonio, Mario Diani, Mattei Dogan, Riley Dunlap, Shmuel Eisenstadt, Mike Featherstone, Claude Fischer, Joshua Fishman, William Gamson, Julian Go, Jack Goldstone, Ralph Grillo, John Hall, Steve Hall, Robert Heiner, Joseph Hermanowicz, Margret Hornsteiner, David Johnson, Andrew Jorgenson, Jack Levy, Robert Marsh, Bill McCarthy, David Johnson, James Midgley, Peter Mohler, Linda Molm, Benjamin Moodie, Victor Nee, Anthony Orum, William Outhwaite, Anthony Pogorelc, Harland Prechel, Danielle Resnick, Glenn Robinson, Luis Roniger, Thomas Saalfeld, Stephen Sanderson, Michelle Sandhoff, Masamichi Sasaki, Saskia Sassen, Andrew Savchenko, Harald Schoen, Howard Schuman, David Segal, Michael Siemon, Tom Smith, Joonmo Son, Hendrik Spruyt, Robert Stebbins, George Steinmetz, Piotr Sztompka, Henry Teune, Arland Thornton, Kathleen Tierney, Jonathan Turner, Nicholas van de Walle, Henk Vinken, Veljko Vujačić, Erich Weede, Michel Wieviorka, Ekkart Zimmermann.

Visual sociology has been part of the sociological vocabulary since the 1970s, but until now there has not been a comprehensive text that introduces this area. Written by one of the founding fathers in the field, Visual Sociology explores how the world that is seen, photographed, drawn, or otherwise represented visually is different from the world that is represented through words and numbers. Doug Harper’s exceptional photography and engaging, lively writing style will introduce: visual sociology as embodied observation visual sociology as semiotics visual sociology as an approach to data: empirical, narrative, phenomenological and reflexive visual sociology as an aspect of photo documentary visual sociology and multimedia. This definitive textbook is made up of eleven chapters on the key topics in visual sociology. With teaching and learning guidance, as well as clear, accessible explanations of current thinking in the field, this book will be an invaluable resource to all those with an interest in visual sociology, research methods, cultural geography, cultural theory or visual anthropology.

This book is a collection of notable papers from the first six volumes of the journal "Comparative Sociology." Its content represents leading-edge and contemporarily astute analyses in the burgeoning science of comparative sociology, especially relevant to a globalizing world in transition. Given that not everyone is acquainted with comparative sociology, this book offers an opportunity to enlighten readers unfamiliar with the discipline about the importance of comparative sociology to the new world order. Taken together, the articles illuminate various aspects of comparative sociologya "theoretical, methodological, substantive. Some compare social entities in subjective, case-study fashion, while others report on rigorous social research. All contribute in one form or another to describing the many and varied facets of the exciting a oenewa science of comparative sociology. The content of this volume has previously been published in "Comparative Sociology" volumes 1 a " 6.3.

This bright, engaging title provides a thorough and integrated review of comparative-historical methods. It sets out an intellectual history of comparative-historical analysis and presents the main methodological techniques employed by researchers, including: - comparative-historical analysis, - case-based methods, - comparative methods - data, case selection and theory. Matthew Lange has written a fresh, easy to follow introduction which showcases classic analyses, offers clear methodological examples and describes major methodological debates. It is a comprehensive, grounded book which understands the learning and research needs of students and researchers.

Drawing together international experts on research methods in International Relations (IR), this Handbook answers the complex practical questions for those approaching a new research topic for the first time. Innovative in its approach, it considers the art of IR research as well as the science, offering diverse perspectives on current research methods and emerging developments in the field.