Chapter 1: Scientific Realism
What is Realism?
Naturalistic Realism
Global and Local Realism
Realist Methodology
The Centrality of Method
Realism in the Social Sciences
Chapter 2: Evidence
Social Science Preliminaries
Empirical Evidence and Theory
Coherentism and Naturalism
Varieties of Evidence: Pragmatic Considerations
Chapter 3: Validity
Test Validity, Operational Definition, and Logical Empiricism
Holism, Realism, and Ontological Commitment
Construct Validity and Logical Empiricism
Construct Validity, Generalization in Experiments, and
Epistemology
Paradigms of Validity
Coherence Justification
Chapter 4: Grounded Theory
The Abductive Theory of Method
Problem Formulation
Phenomena Detection
Theory Construction
ATOM as Grounded Theory Method
Chapter 5: Factor Analysis
Exploratory Factor Analysis and Scientific Inference
Methodological Challenges to Exploratory Factor Analysis
Exploratory Factor Analysis and Other Factor Analytic Methods
Chapter 6: Case Study
Constitutive and Regulative Rules
What is A Case?
Generalizing From Cases
A Case Study in China
Making Generalizations
Improving Knowledge of Generalizations
Brian Haig is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the
University of Canterbury, and a Visiting Professor in the
Department of Education at the University of Bath. He is a
theoretical psychologist who has published numerous articles in
psychology, education, and philosophy journals on the conceptual
foundations of quantitative and qualitative research methods, and
the nature of psychological science more generally. He recently
published a book entitled Investigating the Psychological World
(MIT Press, 2014). He is a Fellow of the Association for
Psychological Science and the New Zealand Psychological
Society.
Colin Evers is Professor of Educational Leadership at the
University of New South Wales, having previously worked at The
University of Hong Kong, Monash University, and the University of
Sydney. He studied mathematics, philosophy, and education before
taking his PhD in philosophy of education at the University of
Sydney. His teaching and research interests are in educational
administration, philosophy of education, and research methodology.
He has co-edited and co-authored ten books in his various fields of
interest including Knowing Educational Administration, Exploring
Educational Administration and Doing Educational Administration
(all written with Gabriele Lakomski and published by
Pergamon/Elsevier) and many papers.
The current replication crisis in psychology makes professors’ Haig
and Evers book as timely as it is erudite. Using philosophical
realism as their organizing principle, they take the reader on a
creative and insightful tour through validity, Grounded Theory,
factor analysis and case studies in an effort to improve and
advance psychological research.
*James W. Grice*
Realist Inquiry in Social Science comes as a complete breath of
fresh air in a domain predominated by anti-realism. I was
especially charmed and mesmerized by its recognition of the primacy
of problems and its focus on abductive reasoning.
*Tim De Mey*
This book provides an accessible and systematic introduction to
Realist methodologies in the social sciences. It covers qualitative
and quantitative research methods from a Realist perspective,
making clear how this approach provides a fruitful and
practical way for social scientists to approach research methods.
That a book of such clarity should have been written by Brian Haig
and Colin Evers is not surprising. Over the past three
decades, Realism has moved from the periphery of methodological
considerations to taking centre stage. In the social sciences
these authors have been central to the change in Realism’s
fortunes.
*Hugh Lauder*
Ask a Question About this Product More... |