The Survey Method by Catherine Marsh - 9781041069836

The Survey MethodThe Contribution of Surveys to Sociological Explanation\nAuthor(s): Catherine Marsh\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781041069836, 978-1041069836\nSynopsis\nIn the early 1980s, the survey was the most widely used method of social research, but it had been the object of much damaging criticism. Critics maintained that there were philosophical flaws inherent in survey practice which made it unacceptable as valid method; sociology students were taught that surveys are positivist and that alternatives should be sought wherever possible. In The Survey Method, originally published in 1982, Catherine Marsh examines such claims and shows that much of this criticism was ill-founded.\n\nThe book shows that surveys do not have to be mere superficial glimpses of the surface features of processes, fact-gathering exercises or opinion polls. Properly designed, executed and analysed, they can actually provide the k.