First Published in 1987. This work demonstrates how experimental designs are produced through the active use of social theory. It also shows how theoretically designed experiments address broader issues in social theory, issues that can be traced back to the classical theories of Marx and Weber. Because it discusses the structure of a working theory as well as the applications, this volume encourages readers to think of social structures dynamically.
First Published in 1987. This work demonstrates how experimental designs are produced through the active use of social theory. It also shows how theoretically designed experiments address broader issues in social theory, issues that can be traced back to the classical theories of Marx and Weber. Because it discusses the structure of a working theory as well as the applications, this volume encourages readers to think of social structures dynamically.
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.
The Rewards of Punishment describes a new social theory of norms to provide a compelling explanation why people punish. Identifying mechanisms that link interdependence with norm enforcement, it reveals how social relationships lead individuals to enforce norms, even when doing so makes little sense. This groundbreaking book tells the whole story, from ideas, to experiments, to real-world applications. In addition to addressing longstanding theoretical puzzles—such as why harmful behavior is not always punished, why individuals enforce norms in ways that actually hurt the group, why people enforce norms that benefit others rather than themselves, why groups punish behavior that has only trivial effects, and why atypical behaviors are sometimes punished and sometimes not—it explores the implications of the theory for substantive issues, including norms regulating sex, crime, and international human rights.
This book offers the newest research developments and theory in the re-emerging field of structural analysis. The first section provides an overview and appraisal of the history and future of structural analysis. Subsequent sections focus on culture, historical processes, and macro-micro level interactions. The book's synthetic essays take a variety of forms dealing with structural levels of analysis, agency and structure, multidimensional views of social structure, and theory integration. Visit our website for sample chapters!
Current Perspectives in Social Theory presents essays on the major issues in contemporary theoretical work in sociology, providing both a critical overview of the development of major debates and original formulations by specialists working in various fields. Emphasis is put upon the presentation of new developments in special areas. Intended to cover the discipline as a whole, Current Perspectives in Social Theory seeks to maintain a balance between the general and the particular by dividing each volume into two parts, the first consisting of field statements by recognized academics in major areas of sociology, the second consisting of pieces focused on more detailed theoretical issues.
Arthur L. Stinchcombe has earned a reputation as a leading practitioner of methodology in sociology and related disciplines. Throughout his distinguished career he has championed the idea that to be an effective sociologist, one must use many methods. This incisive work introduces students to the logic of those methods. The Logic of Social Research orients students to a set of logical problems that all methods must address to study social causation. Almost all sociological theory asserts that some social conditions produce other social conditions, but the theoretical links between causes and effects are not easily supported by observation. Observations cannot directly show causation, but they can reject or support causal theories with different degrees of credibility. As a result, sociologists have created four main types of methods that Stinchcombe terms quantitative, historical, ethnographic, and experimental to support their theories. Each method has value, and each has its uses for different research purposes. Accessible and astute, The Logic of Social Research offers an image of what sociology is, what it's all about, and what the craft of the sociologist consists of.
