TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1987//
TI  - The sociological study of suicide: methodological issues
JO  - Suicide and life-threatening behavior
A1  - Stack, S.
SP  - 133
EP  - 150
VL  - 17
IS  - 2
N2  - This paper is a critical review of selected methodological issues in the sociological study of suicide. It first distinguishes between two broad research orientations: the micro and macro approaches to the subject. The paper than focuses on a critical assessment of the dominant macro-level methodology. Three recurrent problems are identified: measurement issues on four key variables (suicide and parasuicide, economic conditions, religion, and political conditions such as war); problems in studying the effect of mass media stories on suicide; and reasons why we need to adopt a cross-national method in order to test sociological theories for contextual effects. Partial remedies to many of these problems are discussed.
LA  - 
SN  - 0363-0234
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -