Sociological Practice by Derek Layder

Author:Derek Layder [Layder, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General, Research
ISBN: 9781446236826
Google: nsp5CgAAQBAJ
Publisher: SAGE
Published: 1998-09-04T05:11:48+00:00

Conclusion: some practical implications

As I pointed out in the introduction to this chapter, it is important to bear in mind the different levels at which concept-indicator links operate – as ‘underlying’ and ‘surface’ aspects of research activity. Of course it is important to be aware of the more surface features of these links, such as how do particular concepts like ‘habitus’ or ‘emotional labour’ match up to specific data, information or observable ‘facts’ in the empirical world. Being certain that there is a good fit between specific concepts and empirical indicators is essential for the production of sound research. However, my emphasis in this chapter has been on the more ‘underlying’ aspects of concept-indicator links, both because these are frequently neglected, and because by focusing on them they add another dimension to the analysis, thus making it richer and more dense.

The underlying aspects concern the status of concepts in relation to different features of social reality which lie behind their more empirically accessible ‘surface’ manifestations. As I have made plain, it is important to be clear about whether the phenomenon referred to by a particular concept is behavioural, systemic or bridging. This also involves judging the validity or adequacy of the concepts we use by rather different and more complex criteria than is usually the case. Very often methods texts view validity and adequacy as centring on the extent to which the researcher’s account – a concept, an explanation, a set of findings – accurately represents the observed phenomenon (Silverman, 1993: 155-6). However, this account tends to presuppose two things: first, that the phenomenon is simply behavioural and secondly, that it is observable in the same sense as all human activity is potentially accessible and observable. This is because many methods texts view methodology from a ‘humanist’ standpoint (which includes interactionism, grounded theory, phenomenology and ethnomethodology) which does not acknowledge the partial independence of structural or systemic phenomena. Thus these perspectives are unable to conceptualize such phenomena or those that constitute ‘bridges’ between them and behavioural phenomena. Similarly, many perspectives (poststructuralism, postmodernism, structuration theory) deny that there are any real differences between behavioural and structural (or systemic) phenomena – sometimes for very different reasons (Layder, 1994, 1997). Thus these perspectives also are unable to deal with the very different aspects of social reality (agency-structure and macro-micro linkages) which underpin the empirical information and data that researchers analyse.

Moreover, many of these perspectives (structuration theory being a prominent exception) deny or devalue the importance of formal or general theory. They are unable to come to terms with the status and validity of theoretician’s concepts and their important role in generating theory in the context of empirical research. It is important for researchers to be aware of social reality (social life) in a much broader – and deeper – sense than simply the immediate topic or area of interest. This makes for more sophisticated analyses both theoretically and empirically. Attending to the deeper ontological features of social life means moving beyond immediate substantive concerns in order to add to our understanding of them.

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