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Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 2, No. 2, 220-226 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/107780049600200205

Qualitative Sociology and Deconstructionism

William Foote Whyte

Cornell University

To what extent can we consider a report of qualitative research as factual? This article seeks to answer that question in the context of recent critical reviews of Street Corner Society. This essay discusses a critique by W A. Marianne Boelen and the deconstruc tionist perspective introduced by Laurel Richardson and Norman Denzin. I argue that there are such things as physical and social facts. This involves a distinction between observation and interpretation. Observation focuses on things that can be directly observed or otherwise documented. Interpretation can only be inferred from the actor's own account of his behavior and the reports of others on him. Another important cnterion for judging the value of a case study report is the extent to which others can build on its conclusions for further theorizing or new studies. That is one important road toward behavioral science advances.


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