Preface to the second edition. Introduction. 1. Knowledge in context 2. Theory, observation and practical adequacy 3. Theory and method I: abstraction, structure and cause 4. Theory and method II: types of system and their implications 5. Some influential misadventures in the philosophy of science 6.

Quantitative methods in social science 7. Verification and falsification 8. Popper's 'falsificationism' 9. Problems of explanation and the aims of social science. Notes and references. Bibliography. Index.