CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL THEORY General Editor: ANTHONY GIDDENS

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1 CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL THEORY General Editor: ANTHONY GIDDENS This series aims to create a forum for debate between different theoretical and philosophical traditions in the social sciences. As weil as covering broad schools of thought, the series will also concentrate upon the work of particular thinkers whose ideas have had a major impact on social science (these books appear under the sub-series tide of 'Theoretical Traditions in the Social Sciences'). The series is not limited to abstract theoretical discussion - it will also include more substantive works on contemporary capitalism, the state, politics and other subject areas. Published Titles Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Philip lones, Ken Sheard, Michelle Stanworth and Andrew Webster, Introductory Sociology (2nd edition) Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labour in Society (trans W.D. Halls) Emile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method (ed. Steven Lukes, trans. W.D. Halls) Boris Frankei, Beyond the State? Dominant Theories and Socialist Strategies Anthony Giddens, A COf/temporary Critique of Historical Materialism Anthony Giddens, Central Problems in Social Theory Anthony Giddens, Profiles and Critiques in Social Theory Anthony Giddens and David Held (eds), Classes, Power and Conflict: Classical and Contemporary Debates Geoffrey Ingham, Capitalism Divided? The City and Industry in British Social Development Terry Johnson, Christopher Dandeker and Clive Ashworth, The Structure of Social Theory Douglas Kellner, Herbert Marcuse and the Crisis of Marxism Jorge Larrain, Marxism and Ideology Gerry Rose, Deciphering Sociological Research John Scott, The Upper C/asses: Property and Privilege in Britain Steve Taylor, Durkheim and the Study of Suicide John B. Thompson and David Held (eds), Habermas: Critical Debates Forthcoming Titles Martin Albrow, Weber and the Construction of Social Theory Ali Rattansi and Dominic Strinati, Marx and the Sociology of C/ass

2 CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL THEORY General Editor: ANTHONY GIDDENS Tbeoretical Traditions in tbe Social Sciences This series introduces the work of major figures in social science to students beyond their immediate specialisms. Published Titles Barry Barnes, T.S. Kuhn and Social Science Ted Benton, The Rise and Fall of Structural Marxism: Althusser and his Influence David Bloor, Wittgenstein: A Social Theory of Knowlege Christopher Bryant, Positivism in Social Theory Mark Cousins and Athar Hussain, Michel Foucault Bob Jessop, Nicos Poulantzas: Marxist Theory and Political Strategy William Outhwaite, New Philosophies of Social Science: Realism, Hermeneutics and Critical Theory Julian Roberts, Walter Benjamin Rick Roderick, Habermas and the Foundations of Critical Theory James Schmidt, Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Between Phenomenology and Structuralism Dennis Smith, Barrington Moore: Violence, Morality and Political Change Dennis Smith, The Chicago School: A Liberal Critique of Capitalism Piotr Sztompka, Robert K. Merton: An Intellectual Profile Forthcoming Titles Ira Cohen, Structuration Theory John Forrester, Jacques Lacan Robin Williams, Erving Goffman

3 Deciphering Sociological Research Gerry Rose London School 01 Economics and Political Science M MACMILLAN EDUCATlON

4 Selection, editorial matter, Part One and Chapter 22 Gerald Rose 1982 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended), or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33-4 Alfred Place, London WClE 7DP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1982 Reprinted 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 Published by MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire R021 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI /

5 Contents Preface VII PART ONE: DECIPHERING SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH Introduction 3 1 Beginnings 7 2 Framework 13 3 Concepts and Indicators 34 4 Sampling 49 5 Data Analysis 67 6 Techniques for Deciphering 87 7 Field-work and Qualitative Data: The Research Field-work and Qualitative Data: The Deciphering Conclusions and Implications 142 PART TWO: RESEARCH REPORTS Introduction Other-directedness in Consumer-goods Advertising: A Test of Riesman's Historical Theory Sanford M. Dornbusch and Loren C. Hickman Becoming a Marijuana User Howard S. Becker Social Roles and Processes of Socialization in the Prison Community Peter G Garabedian Multiple Drug Use among Marijuana Smokers Erich Goode Occupational Prestige and Social Mobility of Suicides in New Zealand Austin L. Porterfield and lack P. Gibbs Some Sociological Concomitants of Academic Streaming in a Grammar School Colin Lacey 217

6 vi Contents 16 Girls, Boys and Politics Rohert E. Dowse and John A. Hughes Father-to-Son Mobility: Australia in Comparative Perspective Leonard Broom and F. Lancaster Jones Class Conflict and Images of Society Joseph Lopreato School Performance viewed from the Boys lan K. Birksted Kids, Cops and Conflict Greg Smith The Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tolerating the Uncertainty Carolyn L. Wiener Additional Studies 298 Appendix: Glossary of Terms 305 Notes 310 References 314 Index 320

7 Preface This is a book about sociological research methods but with a distinctive rationale and approach to the topic. The core of the approach is the systematic analysis, or deciphering, of published research re ports in relation to key issues of methodology. Because of this focus, many aspects of research methods are discussed only briefly, and I stress that this book is not intended as a comprehensive text. It should be seen as complementary to existing textbooks; there are two reasons - it deals with the important subject of deciphering research reports (wh ich is not covered adequately elsewhere) and it gives a fresh perspective on many problems of research method. Previous attempts to devise methods for the analysis of research reports have been rather limited in scope. The most thorough treatment of the problem is the book by Tripodi et al. (1969), which is intended for social-work students. Riley's book (1963) is the most comprehensive work in which research reports are used as examples for the discussion of methodological problems; however, it consists largely of exegesis, and gives little attention to the critical evaluation of the studies with wh ich it deals. These two works, together with a handful of other sources which are reviewed in Chapter 9, contain useful material but none of them provides a systematic analysis of the problem of deciphering sociological research comparable with this book. The book is intended mainly for the sociology student. It can be used as the central text for a course of (say) one or two terms' duration at second- or third-year undergraduate level, in combination with other texts as the basis for any course on research methods, or for individual study. In Part One I develop the central

8 viii Preface theme of deciphering sociological research; research based on quantitative data is discussed in Chapters 1 to 6, and research using qualitative data is the subject of Chapters 7 and 8. Exercises for the reader can be found at the end of each chapter. The advantages and limitations of the deciphering approach are considered in Chapter 9. Throughout Part One there is continued reference to the selected research reports which comprise Part Two of the book. These twelve reports, given as Chapters 10 to 21, are edited versions of articles published in sociology journals, and they act as examples for the analysis in Part One. Although the book is presented in a form suitable for use in undergraduate teaching, I hope that it will attract much wider attention. As I argue in Chapter 9, deciphering research reports is an activity in which one would imagine the professional sociologist to be highly skilled and competent - but, of course, this is not so, as the standard of much published research shows. The approach which is presented in this book should be extremely helpful to authors and journal editors as weil as to the professional sociologist as a consumer of the literature. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to thank the many students at La Trobe University who, between 1970 and 1979, have been exposed to much of the material in this book and whose reactions have been invaluable. Groups of students at Cambridge, Brunel University and the London School of Economics and Political Science have also provided helpful comments. Much advice and encouragement has been given by colleagues and friends - particularly fellow members of the Sociology Department at La Trobe University. I especially wish to thank the following individuals - Frank Lewins, the late Jean I. Martin, Yoshio Sugimoto, Gordon Ternowetsky, Lyn Richards, Andrew Prolisko, Tony Giddens, and also John Winckler of Macmillan. The consent of authors and publishers to reprint the edited articles included in the book is gratefully acknowledged; specific recognition is given on the first page of each chapter in Part Two.

9 Acknowledgements ix I am particularly indebted to Kathy Wondga for expert secretarial assistance in the early stages of writing and for the typing of Part Two, and to Jenny Connor for typing Part One. London April 1981 Gerry Rose