Sociological Work; Method and Substance

The papers in this volume, including two important and previously unpublished essays on sociological method, represent most of Howard Becker’s work of the past twenty years that has not appeared in book form. They reflect the way of thinking about society and how to study it that has established Professor Becker’s place among the leading sociologists of our time. Th e result is an important statement of the distinctive theoretical and methodological views associated with the Chicago School of sociology, reflecting a deep concern with the study at first hand of the processes and human consequences of collective action and interaction. The first part of the book treats problems of method as problems of social interaction and lists a series of research problems, which require analytic attention-gaining access to research sites, choosing a theoretical framework within which to approach a group or community, avoiding error, and developing hypotheses. They also exemplify this approach by analyzing the interactional aspects of definition, proof with qualitative evidence, bias, and the value commitments of sociology. Part Two illustrates Professor Becker’s approach through full reports on two of his major research projects. Part Th ree contains four theoretical statements on how people change (a sociological approach to what psychologists call personality ), and Part Four makes important contributions to the study of deviance. The papers here ask what we can learn about American society from looking at its common forms of deviance and illustrate the need to study deviance as part of the general study of society, not as an isolated specialty.