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Sociology and Social Practice: A Sociological Analysis of Contemporary Social Processes and Their Interrelationship with Science reviews the interaction of sociological knowledge and social practice, with emphasis on the role of the practical functions of sociological science in the various spheres of society. This treatise examines from the sociological standpoint some fundamental problems that have arisen in the process of building the new society in Bulgaria and how science can help solve these problems. This book is comprised of 10 chapters organized into three sections. After an introduct

Statistical analysis is common in the social sciences, and among the more popular programs is R. This text provides a foundation for undergraduate and graduate students in the social sciences on how to use R to manage, visualise, and analyse data. The focus is on how to address substantive questions with data analysis and replicate published findings. The work adopts a minimalist approach and covers only the most important functions and skills in R to conduct reproducible research. It emphasizes the practical needs of students using R by showing how to import, inspect, and manage data, understand the logic of statistical inference, visualise data and findings via histograms, boxplots, scatterplots, and diagnostic plots, and analyse data using one-sample t-test, difference-of-means test, covariance, correlation, ordinary least squares regression, and model assumption diagnostics.

Since contending methodological perspectives & different types of research products are founded on irreconcilable philosophical assumptions, the sharp, recurrent debates over social science research methods are likely to be fruitless & counterproductive. This article begins by exposing some of the philosophical assumptions underlying the most recent calls for a unified social science methodology & seeks to help develop a common appreciation of how different kinds of methods & research products advance our understanding of different aspects of social life at different levels of abstraction. Such commonly posited dichotomies as deductivist/inductivist logic, quantitative/quantitative analysis, & nomothetic/idiographic research products are shown to obscure significant differences along a continuum of strategies through which context-bound information & analytic constructs are combined to produce interpretations of varying degrees of complexity or generality. Durkheim's conception of "organic solidarity" in a social "division of labor" serves as a useful metaphor here to capture the complementary roles performed by various research products as well as the trade-offs arising from the strengths & weaknesses of various methodological approaches (ranging from formal & statistical approaches to various case-based & interpretive approaches). Thus, sharp claims regarding the strengths & limitations of particular methods are transformed into elements of an overarching agnostic understanding of the trade-offs & complementarities among these methods. Finally, a distinctive role is identified for an ideal-typical "middle-range" comparative-historical approach in fostering greater communication among a more inclusively defined community of methodologically diverse social scientists. 2 Figures. Adapted from the source document.

Laboratory experiments are a widely used methodology for advancing causal knowledge in the physical and life sciences. With the exception of psychology, the adoption of laboratory experiments has been much slower in the social sciences, although during the last two decades, the use of lab experiments has accelerated. Nonetheless, there remains considerable resistance among social scientists who argue that lab experiments lack 'realism' and 'generalizability'. In this article we discuss the advantages and limitations of laboratory social science experiments by comparing them to research based on non-experimental data and to field experiments. We argue that many recent objections against lab experiments are misguided and that even more lab experiments should be conducted.

This article examines aspects of Hugh Stretton's thought, challenging an exclusively historical reading of his work and defending his importance as a theoretically engaged thinker on a wide range of issues in the social, political, and economic sciences. While Stretton distanced himself from strong theoretical claims in his work, this paper argues that he did articulate and defend a general framework for social, political, and economic thought and analysis, which needs to be better understood. This is examined through engagement with some of Stretton's contributions on cities, social democratic reform, economic rationalist and neoliberal thought, and public policy. Some concluding arguments are made linking Stretton's thought to that of other thinkers and theorists in the social, political, and economic sciences. In making these connections it is argued that his work is best viewed as an exercise in intellectual trespassing and interpretive social science, and as a normative defence of social democracy.

"In an interview with Francisco OSORIO, Ian JARVIE talks about social sciences and philosophy in his role as an editor of the journal Philosophy of the Social Sciences. The conversation between JARVIE and OSORIO explores the changes in journal publishing from the 1970s to the current century, such as the transition from the analogue to digital, from subscription models to open access, from logical empiricism to current trends in epistemology, as well as other social and political issues." (author's abstract)