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AbstractThere are currently available a variety of methodologies which aid the improvement of problematic situations which can legitimately claim to be grounded in systems approaches. These have emerged over many years and each methodology has unique features which enable it to be used successfully in particular types of situation. Recently several attempts have been made to structure this set of methodologies. In these contingency theories the nature of the problem and the characteristics of the methodologies are matched in such a way that the strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies are brought out.In this paper this theoretical work is extended by developing a methodology for methodology choice. In this methodology the insights provided by the contingency theories are used to support a set of procedures which enable an informed choice of systems‐based problem‐solving methodology to be made. Two examples of the use of the methodology are given to illustrate its potential as a means of improving the ability of systems theorists to intervene successfully in real‐world issues.

The series as a whole recognises that the nature of ethnography is contested, and takes this to be a sign of its strength and vitality. This second volume in the series focuses on debates and developments in methodology and the many ways in which ethnographic work interacts with education. The contributions to this volume are diverse and challenging. They indicate that ethnography is a rich field that has much to offer the study of education. Particular chapters are concerned with access to research sites, critical ethnography, text construction, dilemmas of researching different ethnic groups and or researching children, the influence of the researcher, writing ethnography, ethno-drama, and the concept of triangulation.

A general sociological research procedure is presented in 4 classic points to which 2 often unexplicited basic steps are added: the initial transformation and the final transformation of information during research procedure. (Original abstract-amended)

Introduces a four-step procedure that attempts to make methodological assumptions in sociology more explicit: (1) using descriptive variables to characterize individuals in a given population; (2) choosing intelligently from among the individuals who constitute that population; (3) coding or recording the initial data by characterizing each individual in terms of the descriptive variables; & (4) explaining the methods of analysis used to treat & transform the data. Multimethodological analysis that uses this procedure should yield more stable results & should open the lines of communication between various sociological subdisciplines. 2 Photographs, 29 References. Adapted from the source document.