Tricks of the Trade

1. Social science research requires diverse sampling and innovative thinking

"Everything is possible."

Challenging assumptions. Social scientists must question conventional wisdom and explore unlikely possibilities to uncover new insights. This approach involves looking beyond obvious explanations and seeking out diverse cases that may contradict existing theories.

Innovative methods. Researchers should employ creative techniques to gather and analyze data, such as:

• Reverse engineering social phenomena
• Examining "deviant" cases that don't fit expected patterns
• Using thought experiments to explore alternative explanations
• Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches

By embracing diversity in both sampling and methodology, social scientists can develop more robust theories and gain a deeper understanding of complex social processes.

2. Imagery shapes our understanding of social phenomena

"Social scientists often assume that the physical properties of an object constrain what the people involved with it can do, but that almost invariably means those properties are constraining if, and only if, people use the object the way everyone recognizes it is usually used."

Mental models matter. The images and metaphors we use to conceptualize social phenomena profoundly influence our research questions, methods, and interpretations. Common imagery includes:

• Society as a machine
• Society as an organism
• Social life as a game or competition

Challenging imagery. Researchers must critically examine the implicit assumptions embedded in these mental models. By consciously exploring alternative imagery, social scientists can:

• Uncover hidden aspects of social life
• Generate new research questions
• Develop more nuanced theories

Recognizing the power of imagery allows researchers to approach their subjects with fresh perspectives and avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.

3. Sampling strategies impact the validity and breadth of research findings

"Let us not forget this: when 'I raise my arm,' my arm goes up. And the problem arises: what is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?"

Purposeful sampling. Social scientists must carefully consider their sampling strategies to ensure they capture the full range of relevant phenomena. This involves:

• Seeking out extreme or unusual cases
• Examining negative instances that contradict existing theories
• Exploring the full spectrum of variation within a given phenomenon

Avoiding bias. Common sampling pitfalls include:

• Focusing only on easily accessible or high-profile cases
• Ignoring marginalized or hidden populations
• Relying too heavily on official data sources

By employing diverse and thoughtful sampling strategies, researchers can build more comprehensive and reliable theories that account for the complexity of social life.

4. Concepts are defined through empirical observation and logical analysis

"Concepts are ways of summarizing data, it's important that they be adapted to the data you're going to summarize."

Empirical grounding. Social science concepts should emerge from careful observation of real-world phenomena, rather than being imposed a priori. This process involves:

• Collecting diverse examples of the phenomenon under study
• Identifying common patterns and distinguishing features
• Refining definitions based on new observations

Logical analysis. Once concepts are grounded in empirical data, researchers can use logical tools to further refine and clarify them:

• Exploring the implications of different definitions
• Identifying necessary and sufficient conditions
• Examining relationships between related concepts

By combining empirical observation with logical analysis, social scientists can develop more precise and useful conceptual tools for understanding social phenomena.

5. Logic and comparative analysis reveal hidden patterns in social data

"Boolean researchers expect to find more than one major causal pathway, more than one set of conditions under which the outcome to be explained occurs."

Comparative methods. Social scientists can uncover complex causal relationships by systematically comparing cases using techniques such as:

• Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)
• Truth tables
• Property space analysis

Multiple pathways. These methods reveal that social phenomena often have multiple causes and can arise through different combinations of factors. Key insights include:

• The same outcome can result from different causal pathways
• Causes may interact in complex ways, rather than operating independently
• Context matters in determining how causal factors operate

By employing these logical and comparative tools, researchers can develop more nuanced and context-sensitive explanations of social phenomena.

6. Analytic induction refines theories through systematic case examination

"When you hit a 'negative case,' one your explanatory hypothesis doesn't explain, you change the explanation of what you're trying to explain, by incorporating into it whatever new elements the facts of this troublesome case suggest to you, or else you change the definition of what you're going to explain so as to exclude the recalcitrant case from the universe of things to be explained."

Iterative theory building. Analytic induction involves a systematic process of refining theories through careful examination of individual cases:

1. Formulate an initial explanation
2. Test the explanation against new cases
3. Revise the explanation or redefine the phenomenon when encountering negative cases
4. Repeat the process until achieving a comprehensive explanation

Benefits and limitations. Analytic induction:

• Produces detailed, context-sensitive explanations
• Ensures theories are grounded in empirical data
• May lead to overly narrow or specific explanations

By employing analytic induction, researchers can develop rigorous explanations that account for the complexity of social phenomena while remaining grounded in empirical reality.

7. Qualitative and quantitative methods complement each other in social research

"Social scientists do know some things the people they study don't know. But that's true in a way that makes the claim neither unwarranted nor disrespectful, a way that suggests some sampling tricks we can use."

Integrating approaches. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods allows researchers to leverage the strengths of each approach:

• Qualitative methods: In-depth understanding, context, and theory generation
• Quantitative methods: Large-scale patterns, statistical analysis, and hypothesis testing

Complementary insights. Mixed-method research can:

• Provide both breadth and depth of understanding
• Triangulate findings using multiple data sources
• Generate and test theories in an iterative process

By skillfully integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches, social scientists can develop more comprehensive and robust explanations of social phenomena, capturing both large-scale patterns and nuanced contextual factors.

Last updated: February 4, 2025