G. Nigel Gilbert

Professor Nigel Gilbert

Michael Mulkay

This book proposes a fresh approach to sociological analysis and, in particular, to the analysis of scientific culture. It moves away from previous studies, which have tended to focus on scientists' actions and beliefs to show that analysis of scientific discourse can be productive and revealing. The book demonstrates that scientists produce varying accounts of their actions and beliefs in different social situations. Rather than attempting to extract one coherent interpretation from these diverse accounts, the study identifies two basic scientific repertoires and shows how scientists use them to create their discourse. This provides a point of departure for more complex analytical topics. Discourse analysis is applied to show how different degrees of 'consensus' can be ascribed to the same group of scientists at a given moment in time through the application of standard interpretive techniques. Finally, discourse analysis is used to explore scientists' humour, a neglected topic that is shown to provide important insights into the normally hidden interpretive regularities which underlie the cultural diversity of science.

A Sociological Analysis of Scientists' Discourse

Opening Pandora's Box

Klaus G. Troitzsch

Gilbert (sociology, U. of Surrey) and Troitzsch (social science informatics, U. of Koblenz-Landau, Germany) offer a practical textbook on techniques for building simulations to assist the understanding of social and economics issues. They explain what computer simulation can contribute to the social sciences, which of the many approaches to simulation would be best for a particular research project, and how to design and carry out a simulation and analyze the results. Computer scientists might also benefit from reading what functions social scientists need and what problems they have with existing packages. US distribution by Taylor and Francis. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Professor Nigel Gilbert

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