In a recent article in Sociology, Anderson et al. (2005) explore the plans Scottish young adults formulated for their future lives, drawing largely on survey evidence. They do so in the context of taking issue with qualitative research conducted by Brannen and Nilsen (2002) concerning how British young people and young Norwegians think about the future.This article compares the respective studies in greater depth. First, it examines the different aims of the respective studies and their conceptualizations. Second, it looks at issues of methodological difference.
Anderson, M., F. Bechhofer, D. McCrone, L. Jamieson, Y. Li and R. Stewart (2005) ‘Timespans and Plans Among Young Adults’, Sociology39(1): 139–155.
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Blumer, H. (1956) ‘What is Wrong with Social Theory?’, American Sociological Review19(1): 3–10.
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Brannen, J. and A. Nilsen (2002) ‘Young People's Time Perspectives: From Youth to Adulthood’, Sociology36(3): 513–537.
4.
Brannen, J. and A. Nilsen (2005) ‘Individualisation, Choice and Structure: A Discussion of Current Trends in Sociological Analysis’, Sociological Review53(3): 412–428.
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Nilsen, A. (1999) ‘Where is the Future? Time and Space as Categories in the Analysis of Young People's Images of the Future’, Innovation. European Journal for the Social Sciences12(2): 175–194.
6.
Nilsen, A. and J. Brannen (2002) ‘Theorising the Individual-Structure Dynamic’, in J. Brannen, S. Lewis, A. Nilsen and J. Smithson (eds) Young Europeans, Work and Family: Futures in Transition, pp. 30–47. London: Routledge.
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Nilsen, A., M. dos Dores Guerreira, J. Brannen (2002) ‘Most Choices Involve Money’, in J. Brannen, S. Lewis, A. Nilsen and J. Smithson (eds) Young Europeans, Work and Family: Futures in Transition, pp. 162–185. London: Routledge.
