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Constructing Social Theories presents to the reader a range of
strategies for constructing theories, and in a clear, rigorous, and
imaginative manner, illustrates how they can be applied. Arthur L.
Stinchcombe argues that theories should not be invented in the
abstract--or applied a priori to a problem--but should be dictated
by the nature of the data to be explained. This work was awarded
the Sorokin prize by the American Sociological Association as the
book that made an outstanding contribution to the progress of
sociology in 1970.
In this innovative exploration of the concept of formality, or
governing by abstraction, Arthur Stinchcombe breathes new life into
an idea that scholars have all but ignored in recent years.
We have come to assume that governing our social activities by
advance planning--by creating abstract descriptions of what ought
to happen and adjusting these descriptions as situations change--is
not as efficient and responsive as dealing directly with the real
substance of the situation at hand. Stinchcombe argues the
opposite. When a plan is designed to correct itself and keep up
with the reality it is meant to govern, it can be remarkably
successful. He points out a wide range of examples where this is
the case, including architectural blueprints, immigration law, the
construction of common law by appeals courts, Fannie Mae's
secondary mortgage market, and scientific paradigms and programs.
Arguing that formality has been misconceived as consisting mainly
of its defects, Stinchcombe shows how formality, at its best, can
serve us much better than ritual obedience to poorly laid plans or
a romantic appeal to "real life."
Over the years Charles Tilly has had an indelible influence on a
remarkable number of key questions in social science and history.
In the fields of social change, states and institutions,
urbanization, and historical sociology, his seminal work has
spawned whole new lines of inquiry and research. In one volume,
this book offers the best and most influential of Tilly's important
work, with a new introduction by the author that relates his
analyses to a wide body of scholarship. The book includes a review
and critique by Arthur Stinchcombe.
An ambitious new work by a well-respected sociologist, "Information
and Organizations" provides a bold perspective of the dynamics of
organizations. Stinchcombe contends that the "information problem"
and the concept of "uncertainty" provide the key to understanding
how organizations function. In a delightful mix of large
theoretical insights and vivid anecdotal material, Stinchcombe
explores the ins and outs of organizations from both a macro and
micro perspective. He reinterprets the work of the renowned
scholars of business, Alfred Chandler, James March and Oliver
Williamson, and looks in depth at corporations like DuPont and
General Motors. Along the way, Stinchcombe explores subjects as
varied as class consciousness, innovation, contracts and university
administration. All of these analyses are distinguished by incisive
thinking and creative new approaches to issues that have long
confronted business people and those interested in organizational
theory.
A tour de force, "Information and Organizations" is a must-read for
business people and scholars of many stripes. It promises to be a
widely discussed and debated work.
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. "The
Logic of Social Research" introduces students to the logic of those
methods.
In "The Logic of Social Research," Stinchcombe 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 which 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, entertaining, 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.
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. "The
Logic of Social Research" introduces students to the logic of those
methods.
In "The Logic of Social Research," Stinchcombe 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 which 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, entertaining, 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.
The essays in this collection, on stratification, organization and
the discipline of sociology, all bear upon a general theoretical
question: what models of rationality are necessary or suitable to
explain individual and collective action in institutional contexts?
Professor Stinchcombe was one of the first sociologists to write on
this question; and this collection includes a new essay which takes
account of recent work done in the tradition Stinchcombe did much
to institute. The first group of essays - on class, stratification
and mobility - addresses core problems of the discipline and offers
imaginative conceptualizations with interesting empirical
consequences. The second section - essays on the sociology of
organizations - displays, like the first, Stinchcombe??'s wide
knowledge of sociological traditions from structuralism to Marxism.
The final section, ???comments on the discipline???, deepens the
readers understanding of sociological theorizing by presenting
different modes of analysis of universities and research
institutions and providing challenging, and often funny, insights
into the subject.
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