The Quantitative Analysis of Large-Scale Data-sets and Rational Action Theory: For a Sociological Alliance

Causation, Statistics, and Sociology

“…The approach to causal analysis that is here proposed, in part drawing on and in part elaborating a position that I have already to some extent developed elsewhere (see especially Goldthorpe, 1996aGoldthorpe, , 1998Goldthorpe, , 2000, is presented in the form of a threephase sequence:…”

“…instances in which causal models were applied that later descriptive work showed to be based on mistaken suppositions (cf. Goldthorpe, 1996a). In addition, and more positively, various cases can also be cited in which the chief statistical accomplishment has been to identify and characterize important social regularities that were hitherto unappreciated, or incorrectly understood, by in e¡ect separating out these regularities from their particular contexts.…”

“…In addition, and more positively, various cases can also be cited in which the chief statistical accomplishment has been to identify and characterize important social regularities that were hitherto unappreciated, or incorrectly understood, by in e¡ect separating out these regularities from their particular contexts. For example, loglinear modelling has been applied to demonstrate how temporal constancy and a large degree of cross-national commonality in relative rates of social mobility^or patterns of social £uidityĉ an underlie historically and geographically speci¢c and often widely £uctuating absolute rates Featherman, Jones, and Hauser, 1975;Goldthorpe, 1987;Erikson and Goldthorpe, 1992). Likewise, sequential logit modelling, as pioneered by Mare (1981), has been used in order to show up more or less constant class di¡erentials in educational attainment during eras in which educational provision has steadily expanded and in which the`e¡ects' of class origins on educational attainment overall would thus appear to decline^that is, simply on account of increased rates of participation (see e.g.…”

Building on Progress: Expanding the Research Infrastructure for the Social, Economic, and Behavioral Sciences

“…This is particularly true with respect to individual decisionmaking processes, coping strategies, and biographical "turning points," i.e., events or experiences that play a decisive role an individual's life course by correcting trajectories (Abbot 1997). The importance of decision-making is not only central to the so-called rational actor model that has become a common reference model in the economic and social sciences and is typically associated with the large-scale quantitative data analysis (Goldthorpe 2000); it is even considered a broader "unifying framework" for the behavioral sciences (Gintis 2007).…”

Qualitative Interviewing of Respondents in Large Representative Surveys

“…This is particularly true with respect to individual decisionmaking processes, coping strategies, and biographical "turning points," i.e., events or experiences that play a decisive role an individual's life course by correcting trajectories (see Abbot 1997). The importance of decision-making is not only central to the so-called rational actor model that has become a common reference model in the economic and social sciences and is typically associated with the large-scale quantitative data analysis (see Goldthorpe 2000); it is even considered a broader "unifying framework" for the behavioral sciences (Gintis 2007).…”