Abductive Analysis (The University of Chicago Press)

In Abductive Analysis, Iddo Tavory and Stefan Timmermans provide a new navigational map for constructing empirically based generalizations in qualitative research. They outline an accessible way to think about observations, methods, and theories that nurtures theory-formation without locking it into predefined conceptual boxes. The authors view research as continually moving back and forth between a set of observations and theoretical generalizations. To craft theory is to then pitch one's observations in relation to other potential cases, both within and without one's field. The book provides novel ways to approach the challenges that plague qualitative researchers across the social sciences-how to think about the relation between methods and theories, how to conceptualize causality, how to construct axes of variation, and how to leverage the researcher's community of inquiry. Abductive Analysis is a landmark work that shows how a pragmatist approach provides a more productive and fruitful way to conduct qualitative research.