Customer Reviews

Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences (Contemporary Societies Series)

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This is a beautifully written, clear and understandable analysis of the diverse ways of thinking in contemporary sociology. It is written to be understandable by undergraduates who are serious about the discipline and are about to undertake research on their own. Graduate students will find it indispensible as they make very important decisions about their own careers. Reading Abbott is much easier than trying to figure these things out on your own . The author's concept of "fractual heuristics" is an innovative and insightful way of thinking about the interaction of different kinds of ideas in the discipline. There is too much here for me to summarize in a short review, but it is well worth reading.
Ted Goertzel, Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University.

The author is brilliant! He provided many good ideas for coming up with ideas. I read this in a dissertation proposal seminar. We were all fascinated, including our professor, a well-established scholar. He said that even at his stage of career, he was able to take many ideas for coming up with researchable questions.