Reinventing Evidence in Social Inquiry―Decoding Facts and Variables

Reinventing Evidence in Social Inquiry overthrows the techniques for coding evidence that pervade the modern social sciences. Natural scientists produce facts and humanists interpret meanings. But what happens when social scientists who study culture try to forge a hybrid between the two? On the surface, they classify cultural meanings to produce facts or variables. With stunning case examples, this book dismantles the facts as circular inventions with no existence outside the false rituals in which they are spun. Social investigators must reclaim their roots with more direct, testable methods for recognizing patterns in human testimony.

Richard Biernacki is a professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego, USA.