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The Social Science Jargon Buster tackles the most confusing concepts in the social sciences in an easy-to-understand, erudite, and witty way. Zina O’Leary brings impressive clarity and insight to even the most complex terms. This practical, down-to-earth dictionary helps students new to the social sciences gain a thorough understanding of the key terms. Each entry includes a concise core definition, a more detailed explanation, and an introduction to the associated debates and controversies. In addition, the book includes a useful outline of the practical application of each term, as well as a list of key figures and recommendations for further reading.
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O’Leary (Jargon)-Prelims.qxd 8/23/2007 3:30 PM Page i The Social Science Jargon Buster O’Leary (Jargon)-Prelims.qxd 8/23/2007 3:30 PM Page ii O’Leary (Jargon)-Prelims.qxd 8/23/2007 3:30 PM Page iii The Social Science Jargon Buster The Key Terms You Need to Know Zina O’Leary O’Leary (Jargon)-Prelims.qxd 8/23/2007 3:30 PM Page iv © Zina O’Leary 2007 First published 2007 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B-1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, Post Bag 7 New Delhi 110 044 SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Library of Congress Control Number 2007922040 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-4129-2176-3 ISBN 978-1-4129-2177-0 (pbk) Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd., Chennai, India Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire Printed on paper from sustainable resources O’Leary (Jargon)-Prelims.qxd 8/23/2007 3:30 PM Page v Contents Preface ix Action research 2 Aesthetics 4 Democracy 58 Agency 6 Determinism 60 8 Developed/developing Deconstruction 54 Deductive/inductive Alienation reasoning countries 56 62 Anomie 10 A posteriori/a priori 12 Deviant behaviour 64 Authority 14 Dialectic 66 Dichotomy 68 Behaviourism 16 Discourse 70 (The) Body 18 Bureaucracy 20 Egalitarianism 72 Empiricism 74 Capital 22 Epistemology 76 Capitalism 24 Essentialism 78 Causation 26 Ethics 80 Chaos theory 28 Ethnocentrism 82 Class 30 Ethnography 84 Cognitive dissonance 32 Ethnomethodology 86 Collective 34 Existentialism 88 Colonization 36 Commodifi