Due to its particular historical development,sociology as a discipline has gone through several stages in China.Over the last decades,sociologists in China have used \%dingxing yanjiu \% and quantitative approach to c...Due to its particular historical development,sociology as a discipline has gone through several stages in China.Over the last decades,sociologists in China have used \%dingxing yanjiu \% and quantitative approach to conduct sociological inquiry.From methodological and epistemological standpoints,this paper identifies five existing problems pertinent to \%dingxing yanjiu\% and quantitative approach.Focusing on the content of sociological knowledge,and the participants and process of knowledge construction,this paper argues that qualitative approach should be pursued not only to address existing problems,but also to engender sociological knowledge.Employing narratives,fieldnotes,and research findings,the author shows how an inductive approach could challenge existing theories,incorporate voices of the weak and marginalized,and examine the researcher’s pre\|conceptions and biases.展开更多
文摘Due to its particular historical development,sociology as a discipline has gone through several stages in China.Over the last decades,sociologists in China have used \%dingxing yanjiu \% and quantitative approach to conduct sociological inquiry.From methodological and epistemological standpoints,this paper identifies five existing problems pertinent to \%dingxing yanjiu\% and quantitative approach.Focusing on the content of sociological knowledge,and the participants and process of knowledge construction,this paper argues that qualitative approach should be pursued not only to address existing problems,but also to engender sociological knowledge.Employing narratives,fieldnotes,and research findings,the author shows how an inductive approach could challenge existing theories,incorporate voices of the weak and marginalized,and examine the researcher’s pre\|conceptions and biases.