E-Book Overview
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.
E-Book Content
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The Social Science Jargon Buster
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The Social Science Jargon Buster
The Key Terms You Need to Know
Zina O’Leary
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© 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
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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