CRITICAL REALISM AND REALIST RESEARCH IN HUMAN-GEOGRAPHY - A METHOD OR A PHILOSOPHY IN SEARCH OF A METHOD

Recent philosophical debates in human geography tend to misappropriate critical realism as a method per se. Drawing upon an extensive review of the realist philosophy and method in social science, this article argues that critical realism is a philosophy in search of a method. It first delves into recent debates about critical realism within the wi der geographical discourse. It then suggests three useful guidelines i n executing realist research in human geography: iterative abstraction , qualified grounded theory method and methodological triangulation. T he article ends with a detailed empirical example for the readers ro w ork through of the ways in which realist research can be practised in human geography.