Empirical Data and Theory Construction: An Example of Application in Social Science Research

The classical approach in sociology, as much as in other scientific fields, consists in the use of hypotheses and hypothesis testing processes to determine what, if any, effects can be attributed to particular factors in the case being studied. Other scholars however propose another procedure that e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin de méthodologie sociologique 2013-04, Vol.118 (118), p.73-84
Main Author: Cipriani, Roberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Assisted Research
Computer software
Credibility
Data analysis
Experimental data
Faith
Grounded theory method
History of Sociology
History, theory and methodology
Methodology
Ongoing Research/Recherche en Cours
Pilgrimages
Religiosity
Sensitizing
Social research
Social Science Research
Social theories
Sociology
Theory Formation
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Summary:The classical approach in sociology, as much as in other scientific fields, consists in the use of hypotheses and hypothesis testing processes to determine what, if any, effects can be attributed to particular factors in the case being studied. Other scholars however propose another procedure that eliminates the presence of previous hypotheses and privileges an interpretive - as opposed to a hypothetic-deductive - approach to data analysis. However, in the latter approach crucial questions appear for the researcher: how does one approach the data and data analyses to ensure the credibility of findings? Blumer's suggestion of "sensitizing concepts" seems to be appropriate in order to reach not only reliable interpretations of data but also to retain the possibility of "building theory". This process could be supported by computer-assisted research. L'approche classique de la sociologie et d'autres sciences aussi se rapport à l'usage des hypothèses et des procédures de vérification des hypothèses pour établir les effets, s'il y en a, de certaines variables dans les cas étudiés. Mais d'autres savants suggèrent d'autres procédures pour éliminer la présence de hypothèses précédentes et pour privilégier une approche interprétative – opposée à celle hypothétique et déductive. Mais dans cette dernière approche, il y a des problèmes pour le chercheur: comment approcher les données et leur analyse pour assurer la fiabilité des résultats? La suggestion de Blumer d'utiliser les « concepts sensibilisants » semble convenable pour arriver à une interprétation fiable mais à la construction de théoriesaussi. Cette procédure peut se réaliser grâce à l'aide des logiciels.
ISSN:0759-1063
2070-2779
DOI:10.1177/0759106313476188