The category of pragmatic knowledge in sociological analysis

W. Baldamus

pp. 276-293

in: Martin Bulmer (ed), Sociological research methods, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1984

Abstract

There have been a number of new developments in the methodology of social science. One of them is the emergence of a new field, vaguely called 'sociological analysis". The aim of this chapter is to contribute towards a sharper delineation of this field. The present usage of the term is still very uncertain and therefore difficult to summarise. One could say, however, in general that all discussions of this kind are in one way or another striving towards a closer integration of theory and research. Many attempts have been made to find out how general theory could be made more realistic. The words "realistic", 'social reality", "real structure", "real type" are used in such discussions with increasing frequency and also with a sense of urgency. But the boxes thus labelled are as yet rather empty. For example the concept of real-type analysis is used to suggest some sort of contrast to the method of theory building by means of ideal-type constructs. Although there has been much controversy about ideal-type theory² the one thing that is unquestionable about Weber's intentions is that an ideal type is not a statistical mode representing a cluster of observable real entities in a given frequency distribution.³ One accepts therefore that real types will turn out to be something in the nature of clustered entities that are observable (statistically or otherwise).