《社会科学中的研究设计》与定性研究

Designing Social Inquiry and Qualitative Research

文章挑战《社会科学中的研究设计》一书所强调的定量和定性研究在实质上一致的基本观点,认为定性研究是一个跨科学和人文的研究方法。虽然定性方法可以用于科学研究,但其长处则主要体现在解析传统之中,而研究者对物质世界和社会世界同质性的主观认识决定了其对研究方法的选择。

The seminal book Designing Social Inquiry argues for a similiar logic for both quantitative and qualitative research. This paper challenges this argument by pointing out that qualitative research is a method across the sciences and the humanities.Although qualitative methods can be used for scientific inquiry,its strengths lie in the interpretive traditions. The choice of research methods depends on a researcher's subjective understanding of the material and social worlds.