Abstract
Realism represents a distinctive stance within the philosophy of knowledge, with its own particular combination of ontological and epistemological presuppositions. For realists, the world in which we co-exist is objectively true, but our ability to know and understand how it works and with what effects is inherently limited and so inevitably dependent on some degree of subjectivity. It therefore contrasts with the robust claims of the more positivisitically inclined that science, whether as method or metaphor, will inevitably reveal the true nature of reality, and the equally strongly held belief of others that the diversity and complexity of ‘associations’ between ‘objects’ (Latour, 2005) are such that often it is not possible to fully comprehend cause and effect. As a perspective, it therefore stakes out the parameters for a particular ‘take’ on the perennial issues of how best we might understand the world, especially where our aim is to use this knowledge as a basis for intervening in it. This, of course, is the ‘stuff’ of social science, and these enduring philosophical debates have had notable recent impact upon the discourse of social researchers, including in social work research and, to some extent, practice.
The books reviewed in this issue each, in their own way, make the case for a realist approach – to social research, policy and programme evaluation and social work research, respectively. Maxwell’s A Realist Approach to Qualitative Research, reviewed here by Ray Pawson, provides a considered advocacy of the positive potential of realist methods and their contribution to research practice. Pawson’s own ‘manifesto’, meanwhile, reviewed by John Hudson, expands upon his much cited prior work concerning realist evaluation, engaging in particular with the challenges that ‘complexity’ raises for attempts to generate generalizable knowledge. Finally, and a bit closer to home, Longhofer, Floersch and Hoy’s Qualitative Methods for Practice Research seeks to demonstrate the advantages for both social work research and practice of a broadly realist approach to understanding the nature of the issues social workers deal with, and generating research knowledge to enable them to do so.
It has been suggested that realism offers a means of reconciling contrasting perspectives within social science. Notwithstanding one’s sympathies – or otherwise – with realism as an approach, it is clear from the diversity of proposals and actions suggested by the authors of these books that even within realism there are a diversity of assumptions, positions and perspectives. The prospects of reconciliation within the ongoing ‘science wars’ seem limited. Realistically, this is how things are likely to remain, at least for the foreseeable future.