This book probes the complex methodological choices facing social researchersand students who are applying or learning the methods of social research. Theauthor... » 

This book probes the complex methodological choices facing social researchersand students who are applying or learning the methods of social research. Theauthor shows how an understanding of social research requires closeconsideration of the underlying conceptual frameworksfrom neopositivism tostructuralism hermeneutics and antifoundationalismthat shape how onestudies society. Baronov introduces each philosophical tradition and shows howdecisions about research design and methodology are affected by them. He alsoexplains the practical and ethical consequences that follow from methodologicalchoices. The books approach is nondoctrinaire and the prose style isaccessible concrete and jargonfree. «