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Application of social scientific methods and approaches to the study of history has always been the subject of considerable and often acrimonious debate. In recent years, however, the terms of the debate have taken a somewhat different and, to some of us, surprising turn. Notes of pessimism and defensiveness have entered the arguments of practitioners; some feel the need to repeat the once useful polemics of twenty odd years ago; and there is talk of the intrinsic limitations of the general enterprise. At the same time, the traditionalist camp announces with a measure of glee that the tides of social scientific history are on the wane.

The possible contributions of history to social scientific knowledge are explored. Many historians find the social sciences unsatisfactory, criticizing their tendency to abstract & generalize, often from a single historical situation, & their inability to explain the actions of specific individuals in specific situations. It must also be noted, however, that the criticisms of historians are often based on a misunderstanding of social science goals. History offers an expanded range of cases against which general theories can be tested. However, questions of method inescapably arise when it is used for this purpose. Much of the new social scientific history has tended to neglect issues of theory & method. Problems arise in particular through the use of vaguely defined concepts & because of the fragmentary character of historical data, which require more sophisticated methods of statistical analysis than historians normally use. The historical method tends to resemble that of law more than that of science. Social scientific history differs from traditional history in treating diversity not as an end in itself, but as a means to the development of more general theories. Any such attempt, however, must deal with the obstacles of fragmentary historical sources, formulation of strong working theories, & sophisticated mathematical methodologies. W. H. Stoddard.

Der Autor stellt Ansätze der quantifizierenden historischen Forschung in den USA vor, die einen Fortschritt auf dem Weg zu einer sozialwissenschaftlichen Geschichtswissenschaft darstellen. Auch bei der Übernahme sozialwissenschaftlicher Methoden bleiben die ursprünglichen Ziele der Historiographie erhalten. Für die Anfänge dieser Entwicklung konstatiert der Autor eine Vernachlässigung konzeptioneller Fragen zugunsten der reinen Datenerhebung. Für ihn ist die Entwicklung in der neuen ökonomischen Geschichte am weitesten fortgeschritten, die von einem neoklassischen Ansatz ausgeht. (BG)

Die Entwicklung einer quantitativen Sozialgeschichtsschreibung verstärkt die interdisziplinären Beziehungen zwischen Geschichte, Soziologie, Politikwissenschaft und anderen Sozialwissenschaften. Diese verstärkte Kooperation und methodische Diskussion findet in dem Sammelband ihren Niederschlag. Behandelt werden (1) theoretische Überlegungen zum Problem einer quantifizierenden Geschichtswissenschaft; (2) Analysen von Volkszählungsdaten; (3) Analysen von kollektiven und individuellen Biographien; (4) Gehaltsanalysen von Dokumenten; (5) Periodisierungsprobleme; (6) Analysen des sozialen Netzwerks; (7) Probleme der offiziellen statistischen Daten; (8) Probleme der Datenorganisation; (9) neue Datenbanken und Projekte. (BG)