The Limits of Social Science

Martyn Hammersley is an emeritus professor of educational and social research at The Open University, UK. He has carried out research in the sociology of education and the sociology of the media. However, much of his work has been concerned with the methodological issues surrounding social enquiry. He has written several books including (with Paul Atkinson) Ethnography: Principles in Practice (fourth edition, Routledge, 2019), The Dilemma of Qualitative Method (Routledge, 1989), The Politics of Social Research (SAGE, 1995), Reading Ethnographic Research (second edition, Longman, 1997), Taking Sides in Social Research (Routledge, 2000), Educational Research, Policymaking and Practice, (London, Paul Chapman/SAGE, 2002), Questioning Qualitative Inquiry (SAGE, 2008), Methodology Who Needs It? (SAGE, 2011), The Myth of Research-Based Policy and Practice (SAGE, 2013), The Limits of Social Science (SAGE, 2014), and The Concept of Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). Website: http://martynhammersley.wordpress.com/

Introduction Causation and qualitative inquiry The problem of explanation in social science: A Weberian solution? On the role of values in social research From facts to value judgments? A critique of critical realism Can social science tell us whether a society is meritocratic? A Weberian critique We didn't predict a riot! On the public contribution of social science Epilogue

In this short book, Hammersley argues for a social science which eschews grand theorising in favour of the explanation of social phenomena... This book is not a paean to social science as it is currently practised and will be, to use Hammersley's own word, a 'deflationary' read for some. If, however, you want to read something which may question your preconceptions, this book is a good place to begin. -- Paul Webb, research manager, Praxis Care, Belfast