The Limits of Social Science

The Limits of Social Science
Author: Martyn Hammersley
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014-06-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1473906326

What forms of knowledge can social science claim to produce? Does it employ causal analysis, and if so what does this entail? What role should values play in the work of social scientists? These are the questions addressed in this book. They are closely interrelated, and the answers offered here challenge many currently prevailing assumptions. They carry implications both for research practice, quantitative or qualitative, and for the public claims that social scientists make about the value of their work. The arguments underpinning this challenge to conventional wisdom are laid out in detail in the first half of the book. In later chapters their implications are explored for two substantive areas of intrinsic importance: the study of social mobility and educational inequalities; and explanations for urban riots, notably those that took place in London and other English cities in the summer of 2011.

Unthinking Social Science

Unthinking Social Science
Author: Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein
Publisher: Temple University Press
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2001
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781566398992

Immanuel Wallerstein develops a thorough-going critique of the legacy of nineteenth-century social science for social thought in the new millennium. We have to "unthink"-radically revise and discard-many of the presumptions that still remain the foundation of dominant perspectives today. Once considered liberating, these notions are now barriers to a clear understanding of our social world. They include, for example, ideas built into the concept of "development." In place of such a notion, Wallerstein stresses transformations in time and space. Geography and chronology should not be regarded as external influences upon social transformations but crucial to what such transformation actually is. Unthinking Social Science applies the ideas thus elaborated to a variety of theoretical areas and historical problems.

The Limits of Social Science

The Limits of Social Science
Author: Martyn Hammersley
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2014-06-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1473906334

What forms of knowledge can social science claim to produce? Does it employ causal analysis, and if so what does this entail? What role should values play in the work of social scientists? These are the questions addressed in this book. They are closely interrelated, and the answers offered here challenge many currently prevailing assumptions. They carry implications both for research practice, quantitative or qualitative, and for the public claims that social scientists make about the value of their work. The arguments underpinning this challenge to conventional wisdom are laid out in detail in the first half of the book. In later chapters their implications are explored for two substantive areas of intrinsic importance: the study of social mobility and educational inequalities; and explanations for urban riots, notably those that took place in London and other English cities in the summer of 2011.

The Limits of Social Policy

The Limits of Social Policy
Author: Nathan Glazer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 215
Release: 1990
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780674534445

Many social policies of the 1960s and 1970s, designed to overcome poverty and provide a decent standard of living for all Americans, ran into trouble in the 1980s with politicians, with social scientists, and with the American people. Here Nathan Glazer looks back at what went wrong, arguing that our social policies, although targeted effectively on some problems, ignored others that are equally important. Glazer's knowledge and judgment, distilled in this book, will be a source of advice and wisdom for citizens and policymakers alike.

Making Social Science Matter

Making Social Science Matter
Author: Bent Flyvbjerg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2001-01-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780521775687

New approach demonstrating how social science can be successful, focusing on context, values, and power.

Realism and Social Science

Realism and Social Science
Author: R. Andrew Sayer
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2000-02-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780761961246

Realism and Social Science offers an authoritative guide to critical realism and an assessment of its virtues in comparison with other leading traditions in social science. It is illustrated throughout with relevant and accessible examples.

Limits Of Mathematical Modeling In The Social Sciences, The: The Significance Of Godel's Incompleteness Phenomenon

Limits Of Mathematical Modeling In The Social Sciences, The: The Significance Of Godel's Incompleteness Phenomenon
Author: Francisco Antonio Doria
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2017-05-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1786343177

Current mathematical models are notoriously unreliable in describing the time evolution of unexpected social phenomena, from financial crashes to revolution. Can such events be forecast? Can we compute probabilities about them? Can we model them? This book investigates and attempts to answer these questions through Gödel's two incompleteness theorems, and in doing so demonstrates how influential Gödel is in modern logical and mathematical thinking. Many mathematical models are applied to economics and social theory, while Gödel's theorems are able to predict their limitations for more accurate analysis and understanding of national and international events.This unique discussion is written for graduate level mathematicians applying their research to the social sciences, including economics, social studies and philosophy, and also for formal logicians and philosophers of science.

Social Science Research

Social Science Research
Author: Anol Bhattacherjee
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2012-04-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781475146127

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.