Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Epistemology?
Author(s): Alan Bryman
Source: The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Mar., 1984), pp. 75-92
Published by: Wiley on behalf of The London School of Economics and Political Science
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/590553 .
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Over the past fifteen years, the debate over the relative virtuesof
quantitative and qualitativemethodology has gained considerable
impetus. While the exact constitution of the two methodologies
varies somewhat from author to author or is defined with varying
degrees of specificity, there is substantial agreement about the
fundamental antinomies and their practical implications for the
conduct of research.One of the difficulties,however,in representing
the divergenciesbetween the two methodologies, derives from a
tendency for philosophicalissues and technicalissues to be treated
simultaneouslyand occasionallyto be confused.Philosophicalissues
relate to questionsof epistemology,i.e. the appropriatefoundation
for the study of society andits manifestations.By contrast,technical
issuesbespeakthe considerationof the superiorityor appropriateness
of methods of researchin relation to one another. Much of the
recent methodologicalliteraturesees the latter as derivingfrom the
TheBritishJournalof Sociology VolumeXXXV NumberI
75
TECHNIQUEAND EPISTEMOLOGY
DISCUSSION
N OTE S
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