http://conference.acspri.org.au/index.php/rc33/2012/schedConf/trackPolicies
The Eighth International Conference on Social Science Methodology is being held at the University of Sydney in July. They have multiple streams/tracks calling for papers covering a variety of methodological issues. Of particular interest to T2mers is the following track. Note that the deadline for abstracts is 1 December 2011.
Tracing the City. Methods of Analysing Urban Structures and Transformations
Session Convenor: Anna Laura Quermann, Technical University DarmstadtThe city is a special kind of space where people meet (to live, work, go shopping etc.). As part of the industrial revolution cities became centres of innovation and progress but also for social and spatial inequality as well as places where ethical and racial differences clash. The specific density of heterogeneous inhabitants and spaces make the urban structure an interesting field of research for social scientists. Over time many sociologists (e.g. Henri Lefebvre or fellows of the Chicago School) worked on exploring the structures of cities by using a wide range of data such as historical documents, interviews, maps, statistical data and observations. The session aims to discuss the empirical methods to research cities. Potential topics should therefore address one or more of the following questions: - Which are appropriate methods to analyse cities? - Which data are suitable for which kind of research questions and how can they be collected? How valid are results drawn from the different kind of data? - When and why is it useful to use a mixed-method or multi-method approach? And which data collection and analysing methods fit best? What are the challenges which researcher are faced with then? Papers debating general methodological questions and papers discussing specific problems using a concrete data type in a specific research project are both equally welcome.
