The Mechanistic Turn : Recent Trends in the Methodological Literature

TL;DRAbstract

During the last few years, a trend towards mechanism-centred explanations and analyses has hit the social sciences. In an analogy with this, current studies founded in micro-perspectives with an embedded focus on providing leverage on causal questions are also more frequently found. This turn towards mechanisms is represented by several examples in the literature on methodology in the social sciences. In this paper, we derive from recent methodological works that together capture a significant part of new strategies in methods for analysing this ‘methodological turn’. Inquiring into similar traits and differences within this literature, we highlight both ontological questions as well as perspectives on analytical techniques. Although we can see a field that has matured opposing views on the foundations of causal mechanisms and how to analyse them still exist. Such differences will pose important consequences for questions related to choices of method, data collection and analytical tec

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