Interpretative methodology and social constructivism
Interpretative methodology and social constructivism

Summary/Abstract: Starting from the controversies connected to the qualitative and quantitative approach of social knowledge, this article tries to rehabilitate interpretative methodology and its role within social constructivism. After the analysis of the theoretical aspects of the explanation and understanding of social phenomena, the first part of this paper approaches the importance of “ideal types” and their cognitive role. The following section examines the suppositions of symbolic interactionism and the way in which it contributes to the edification of rules, norms, regulations or practices of knowledge and action. The last part of the article focuses upon the implications of social constructivism, of the convergences and discrepancies which take place in this field, as well as the possibilities of exploiting this explicative option in social sciences.

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