Constructing social research. The unity and diversity of method.

The primary goal of this book is to show unity within the diversity of activities called social research. What the study of census data, the study of one person at a time, monitoring today's events, or reconstruction of social life centuries ago all have in common is that regardless of their case material, they construct representations of social life through a dialogue of ideas (theory) and evidence (data). To illustrate, Ragin points out the important continuities in three major forms of social research: qualitative study of commonalities; comparative research on diversity; and quantitative research on relationships among variables.