Abductive Analysis
Theorizing Qualitative Research
University of Chicago Press, 2014
Cloth: 978-0-226-18028-1 | Paper: 978-0-226-18031-1 | Electronic: 978-0-226-18045-8
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226180458.001.0001
Cloth: 978-0-226-18028-1 | Paper: 978-0-226-18031-1 | Electronic: 978-0-226-18045-8
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226180458.001.0001
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ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYREVIEWSTABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In Abductive Analysis, Iddo Tavory and Stefan Timmermans provide a new navigational map for theorizing qualitative research. They outline a way to think about observations, methods, and theories that nurtures theory formation without locking it into predefined conceptual boxes. The book provides novel ways to approach the challenges that plague qualitative researchers across the social sciences—how to conceptualize causality, how to manage the variation of observations, and how to leverage the researcher’s community of inquiry. Abductive Analysis is a landmark work that shows how a pragmatist approach provides a productive and fruitful way to conduct qualitative research.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Iddo Tavory is assistant professor of sociology at New York University. Stefan Timmermans is professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Postmortem: How Medical Examiners Explain Suspicious Death and coauthor of Saving Babies? The Consequences of Newborn Genetic Screening, both published by the University of Chicago Press.
REVIEWS
“This is a well-crafted, beautifully written, and nicely organized book that seeks to take the task of qualitative social science methods—especially ethnographic methods in anthropology and sociology—to new levels of sophistication.”
— Sharon Kaufman, University of California, San Francisco“In Abductive Analysis, Iddo Tavory and Stefan Timmermans make a case that the thought of pragmatist philosopher Charles S. Peirce—specifically, his theories of hypothetical reasoning and semiotics—can be used to guide and improve qualitative research. Every qualitatively-minded sociologist should consider their strong, well-crafted argument.”
— Neil Gross, University of British Columbia“In this ground-breaking book, Tavory and Timmermans open a new direction for qualitative inquiry that cuts across current internal divisions and debates. By reframing the logic and process of making sense of data within a pragmatic approach, they give new life to the craft of theorizing. Thoughtful and intellectually exciting, Abductive Analysis is both inspired and inspiring.”
— Diane Vaughan, Columbia University“Thick description is no longer enough! Tacking back and forth from data to theorizing that data, thoughtful and systematic abduction enables the creative unfolding of a project, opening the researcher to precious moments of analytic surprise. Abductive Analysis is a major contribution to both the pragmatist renaissance and the transnational turn toward theorizing in qualitative research.”
— Adele Clarke, University of California, San FranciscoTABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: Toward Abductive Analysis
Chapter 1: The Alternatives
Chapter 2: Semiotics and the Research Act
Chapter 3: Abduction and Multiple Theories
Chapter 4: Abduction and Method
Chapter 5: Variation and Consequences-in-Action
Chapter 6: Causality
Chapter 7: The Community of Inquiry
Conclusions: Abductive Analysis
Acknowledgments
Appendix: A Synopsis of Abductive Analysis
Notes
References
Index