Classification in Social Research

Ramkrishna Mukherjee

Jun 1984 · State University of New York Press

About this ebook

This important work is addressed to all researchers concerned with classification. It shows the serious limits of the traditional form of analytical classification. The solution it proposes, the inductive population approach, considers all possible cross-classifications in regard to attributes of the phenomena. This approach is theoretically grounded, avoids the tendency to generate excessively abstract constructs, and provides a clear way of linking empirical data with theoretically meaningful attributes of social systems. The last section of the book applies the method to kinship structures.

About the author

Ramkrishna Mukherjee, who holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, was Distinguished Scientist of the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, until retirement in 1980. Formerly Additional Director of the Indian Statistical Institute, he was President of the Indian Sociological Society and Vice President of the International Sociological Association. His numerous publications include The Sociologist and Social Change in India Today and Social Indicators.