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Complex realism in social research

Williams, Malcolm ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4540-5784 and Dyer, Wendy 2017. Complex realism in social research. Methodological Innovations 10 (2) , pp. 1-8. 10.1177/2059799116683564

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Abstract

In recent years, both realism and complexity have begun to have methodological influence in social research. Yet for the most part, these have existed separately and have had limited impact on empirical research. In this article, we develop a theoretical argument for complex realism, grounded in an ontology of probability, that may be operationalised to demonstrate the reality of social change at a micro- and meso-level. We apply our conception of complex realism to an example using the method of longitudinal case–based cluster analysis to analyse the trajectories over time of male and female prisoners aged 18 and above who were at risk of self-harm.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Additional Information: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License
Publisher: SAGE
ISSN: 2059-7991
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 11 October 2018
Date of Acceptance: 14 December 2017
Last Modified: 03 May 2023 21:49
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/115753

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Cited 6 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

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