Abductive Analysis: Theorizing Qualitative Research - Softcover

Tavory, Iddo; Timmermans, Stefan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 022618031X ISBN 13: 9780226180311

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2014

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Iddo Tavory is assistant professor of sociology at New York University. Tavory won the 2016 Lewis A. Coser Award for Theoretical Agenda-Setting from the ASA Theory Section.

Review

“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 Francisco)

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 022618031X
• ISBN 13: 9780226180311
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 172