Bongkar Mekanisme Tersembunyi di Balik Data

About this episode

The episode discusses Ray Pawson's methodology for understanding causation in social sciences, emphasizing the importance of underlying mechanisms over mere statistical correlations.

The provided text contains excerpts from Ray Pawson’s 2024 book, How to Think Like a Realist , which explores a generative methodology for the social sciences. Pawson argues against the "successionist" view that causation is merely a statistical correlation, asserting instead that true explanation requires identifying underlying mechanisms that produce observed patterns. The author uses a "developmental pipeline" analogy from pharmaceutical research to show that causal powers are established through theoretical understanding of how things work, rather than through randomized trials alone. Central to this realist framework is the interaction between human agency (mechanisms) and pre-existing social structures ( contexts ), which together create observable but often temporary demi-regularities . Finally, the text introduces Coleman’s boat to illustrate morphogenesis, explaining how individual choices and social conditions continuously transform society over time.

People in this episode

Host: Dimas P. Muharam

Topics covered

• causation
• social sciences
• mechanisms
• human agency
• social structures
• morphogenesis

Keywords

• causation
• social sciences
• mechanisms
• human agency
• Coleman's boat
• morphogenesis
• developmental pipeline

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: How to Think Like a Realist

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