Methodological considerations: an abductive approach

An important aim of the research was to gain insight into the views of some ‘ordinary citizens’ and to allow their opinions to become part of ongoing social science and political debates about the reform of the welfare element of British citizenship. An abductive research strategy (see Mason, 1996; Blaikie, 1993, 1992) within what may broadly be defined as an interpretative/qualitative research approach was, therefore, particularly relevant to the study. The abductive approach, defined as,

… the process used to produce social science accounts of social life by drawing on the concepts and meanings used by social actors and the activities in which they engage. (Blaikie, 1993 p 176)

offers the possibility of moving backwards and forwards between lay and social science accounts. It begins by seeking to discover and describe the way the social world is experienced and perceived from the ‘inside’ by developing an understanding of the insider views, moves across to social science (‘outsider’) accounts, and aims ultimately to form a more comprehensive understanding of the social world by developing or amending social science accounts that take lay explanations seriously. It is a layered process that Blaikie (1993, p 177) summarises as follows:

It is to the process of moving from lay description of social life, to technical descriptions of social life, that the notion of abduction is applied. (Blaikie, 1993 p 177)

Ontological and epistemological concerns

The research is fundamentally geared towards getting at ‘lay’ (ie welfare service user) accounts of experiences and attitudes to citizenship and welfare and relating them to the understandings generated by social science. The ontological position on which the research is based is, therefore, one which recognises that the differing experiences, attitudes, perceptions and accounts of various groups are relevant and meaningful constituent elements of social reality that are suitable for further investigation.