MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

positing some underlying mechanism (M) which generates the
regularity and thus consists of propositions about how the interplay
between structure and agency has constituted the regularity. Within
realist investigation there is also investigation of how the workings of
such mechanisms are contingent and conditional and thus only fixed in
particular local, historical or institutional contexts (C).’ (p 71)
Context (C)
Regularity (R)
EXHIBIT 3.1
Basic ingredient of realist social explanation (Source Pawson and
Tilley (1997 p 72)
Realism, then, seeks explanation of mechanisms and structures of
society. This implies, but does not dictate, a qualitative approach which
‘involves examining and reflecting on perceptions in order to gain an
understanding of social and human activities.’ (Hussey and Hussey
1997:12). The nature of that qualitative approach may differ depending
on the context and the nature of the phenomenon under inquiry. Miles
and Huberman (1994:6) have usefully suggested some recurring
features of qualitative research, summarised below:-
• It is conducted through an intense and/or prolonged contact with
a ‘field’ or life situation. These situations are typically ‘banal’ or
normal ones, reflective of the everyday life of individuals,
groups, societies and organisations
• The researcher’s role is to gain a ‘holistic’ (systemic,
encompassing, integrated) overview of the context under study;
its logic, its arrangements, its explicit and implicit rules
• The researcher attempts to capture data on the perceptions of
local actors ‘from the inside’, through a process of attentiveness
(and) empathetic understanding
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Mechanism (M)