过程和情境：求真的社会科学因果方法

臧雷振; 朱逸飞

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May 2023

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Citation: Leizhen ZANG and Yifei ZHU. Process and Context: A Social Science Causal Approach[J]. Academic Monthly, 2023, 55(4): 33-44. shu

Process and Context: A Social Science Causal Approach

Leizhen ZANG ,
Yifei ZHU

Abstract

How does current social science research balance generalized and specialized explanations? This question needs a systematic review of current methodology. We explored two leading ways of causal reasoning, mechanical causality and counterfactual causality, and concluded that there are two types of identification strategy. Mechanical causality relates to procedural strategy, which highlights key evidence and causal chain; counterfactual causality relates to contextual strategy, which stresses intervention, mediation, and selection. We find that the two strategies have enhanced social science’s ability to map hypotheses to evidence, but they may also encourage scholars to favor specialized explanations. With the use of procedural and contextual strategies, we reexamined Fei Hsiao-tung’s work on peasant life and rural economy, and elaborated the news and risks brought by current trends in social science methodology.
- mechanical causality,
- counterfactual causality,
- procedural strategy,
- contextual strategy,
- Fei Hsiao-Tung
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142

Process and Context: A Social Science Causal Approach

Leizhen ZANG
Yifei ZHU

Available Online: 2023-04-20

Abstract: How does current social science research balance generalized and specialized explanations? This question needs a systematic review of current methodology. We explored two leading ways of causal reasoning, mechanical causality and counterfactual causality, and concluded that there are two types of identification strategy. Mechanical causality relates to procedural strategy, which highlights key evidence and causal chain; counterfactual causality relates to contextual strategy, which stresses intervention, mediation, and selection. We find that the two strategies have enhanced social science’s ability to map hypotheses to evidence, but they may also encourage scholars to favor specialized explanations. With the use of procedural and contextual strategies, we reexamined Fei Hsiao-tung’s work on peasant life and rural economy, and elaborated the news and risks brought by current trends in social science methodology.