Methods of Discovery

the long version

Methods of Discovery is organized around strategies for deepening arguments in order to find the best ways to study social phenomena. Abbott helps social science students discover what questions to ask. This exciting book is not about the mechanics of doing social science research but about habits of thinking that enable students to use those mechanics in new ways, by coming up with new ideas and combining them more effectively with old ones. Abbott organizes Methods of Discovery around general methodological moves and uses examples from through out the social sciences to show how these moves can open new lines of thinking. In each chapter, he covers several moves and their reverses (if these exist), discussing particular examples of each move as well as its logical and theoretical structure. Often he goes on to propose applications of the move in a wide variety of empirical settings. The basic aim of Methods of Discovery is to offer readers a new way of thinking about directions for their research and new ways to imagine information relevant to their research problems. -- from back cover.