Studying Organizations Using Critical Realism A Practical Guide

ThedevelopmentofCriticalRealism(CR),asaphilosophyofscience,isgenerallyattributedtoaseriesofbooksbyRoyBhaskar.Ithasproventobeinfluential,notleastbecauseithasanaffinitywithmanypeople'sviewsaboutthewaytheworldfitstogether,bothwithinandoutsideofacademia.WhilsttherearenumerouscontributionsoutliningCRtheoryinsociologicalandorganizationalresearch,aswellasgeneraltextsaboutrealistontology,workdelineatingtheconsequencesoftheseviewsforresearchpracticeisanemergingareaofinterest.ThisbookaimstofillasignificantgapintheliteraturebyprovidingapracticalguidetotheapplicationofCRinempiricalresearchprojects.Morespecifically,itexploresthemethodologicalconsequencesofcommittingtoaCRontology--theassumptionsthatresearchersfromthistraditionmakeaboutthenatureofreality.Theseassumptionsareimportantbecauseontologicalcommitments,whichrelatewhatwebelieveexists,oftenaffectourepistemologicalconcerns,whichrelatetoourbeliefsabouthowwhateverexistscanbestudiedandknown.Thus,foraresearcher,ontologyandepistemologyareimportantbecausetheyhaveconsequencesforthepossibilitiesandlimitsoftheresearchmethods,techniques,andanalysesthattheyemploy.ThebookexplainswhatCRisandoutlinesthelogicofresearchdesign.Inaseriesofchaptersonmajorsocialscienceresearchmethods,purpose-writtenbyexpertsintherelevanttechnique,thebookcontainsextendedillustrationofhowtoconductinquiryusingCR.,