Sociological Forensics : Illuminating the Whole from the Particular

A central task in sociology is to make links between the micro world of events in everyday life and wider social structures and long-term processes of change. This is particularly evident in studying the impact of globalization on local cultural life. I argue that case studies are a good method for making connections between the micro and the macro. I use an example of a study of globalization I conducted in a village in Ireland. However, I also argue that within each case study there will be clues, episodes or events which, when analysed with the appropriate theories and concepts, will illuminate the micro and macro connections. This is what I mean by sociological forensics. I justify this approach by grounding it in sociological theory and pointing out how versions of it have been used in some classical case studies.