The Survey Method: The Contribution of Surveys to Sociological Explanation

In the early 1980s, the survey was the most widely used method of social research, but it had been the object of much damaging criticism. Critics maintained that there were philosophical flaws inherent in survey practice which made it unacceptable as valid method; sociology students were taught that surveys are ‘positivist’ and that alternatives should be sought wherever possible. In The Survey Method, originally published in 1982, Catherine Marsh examines such claims and shows that much of...