The Methodology of Herbert Blumer

The Methodology of Herbert Blumer is a comprehensive critical account of the contributions of this important American sociologist to the methodology of social research. In a close reading of Blumer’s texts, the author charts the development of Blumer’s thinking, revealing a tension between a reductive empiricism and an emphasis on the importance of theory in social research. The author describes Blumer’s conception of methodology as extending beyond narrow questions of technique to encompass broad critical reflection on the principles underlying scientific inquiry. Blumer’s concentration on the integral unity of theory and method relates suggestively to current thinking about methodology, while his examinations of this theme in such areas as public opinion research and variable analysis provide provocative criticisms of some current research practices.