JOHN HUGHES has published widely in the fields of political socialization, political sociology, and research methods. WES SHARROCK is Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK. His research interests include philosophical methodology, sociology of science/knowledge, ethnomethodology and methodology.

• PrefaceIntroduction: Sociology: Pluralism or Disarray?PART 1: THE POSITIVIST PROJECT Building a Science of SociologyVariable Analysis and MeasurementInterviews and QuestionsThe Social Survey and Multivariate AnalysisThe Demise of PositivismPART 2: THE QUALITATIVE TURN Introduction: The Contest Over RealismThe Method of FieldworkExplorations in Actor's Point of ViewData Collection versus AnalysisPART 3 The Refurbishing of Critical SociologyPost-modernism, post-structuralismDiscourses and ResearchConclusionBibliography.