Sociology is pluralist in subject matter, theory, and method, and thus a good place to entertain ideas about causation associated with their use under the law. I focus on two themes: (1) the legal lens on causation that “considers populations in order to make statements about individuals” and (2) the importance of distinguishing between effects of causes and causes of effects.
AllisonPaul D.2005. Fixed Effects Regression Methods for Longitudinal Data Using SAS®. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.
2.
AndersonElijah. 1990. Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
3.
BlalockHubert M.Jr. 1991. “Are There Really Any Constructive Alternatives to Causal Modeling?” Pp. 325–335 inSociological Methodology, edited by Peter V. Marsden. Oxford, England: Basil Blackwell.
4.
CherlinAndrew J.2004. “The Deinstitutionalization of American Marriage.”Journal of Marriage and Family66:848–61.
5.
DawidA. Philip. 2000. “Causal Inference without Counterfactuals.”Journal of the American Statistical Association95:407–24.
6.
DawidPhilip A.FaigmanDavid L.FienbergStephen E.. 2014. “Fitting Science into Legal Contexts: Assessing Effects of Causes or Causes of Effects?”Sociological Methods & Research43:359–90.
7.
FountainChristineBearmanPeter. 2011. “Risk as Social Context: Immigration Policy and Autism.”Sociological Forum26:215–40.
8.
FreedmanDavid A.1991. “Statistical Models and Shoe Leather.” Pp. 291–313 in Sociological Methodology, edited by MarsdenPeter V.. Oxford, England: Basil Blackwell.
9.
FreeseJeremyAlex KevernJ.. 2013. “Types of Causes.” Pp. 27–41 in Handbook of Causal Analysis for Social Research, edited by MorganStephen L.. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
10.
GlennNorval D.1997. “A Reconsideration of the Effect of No-fault Divorce on Divorce Rates.”Journal of Marriage and the Family59:1023–25.
11.
GlennNorval D.1999. “Further Discussion of the Effects of No-fault Divorce on Divorce Rates.”Journal of Marriage and the Family61:800–2.
12.
GriffinLarry J.1993. “Narrative, Event-structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology.”American Journal of Sociology98:1094–133.
13.
HeiseDavid. 1988. “Computer Analysis of Culture Structures.”Social Science Computer Review6:183–96.
14.
HeiseDavid. 1989. “Modeling Event Structures.”Journal of Mathematical Sociology14:139–69.
15.
HollandPaul W.1986. “Statistics and Causal Inference.”Journal of the American Statistical Association81:945–60.
16.
HollandPaul W.2008. “Causation and Race.” Pp. 93–10 in White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology, edited by ZuberiTukufuBonilla-SilvaEduardo. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
17.
JickHershelKayeJames A.. 2003. “Epidemiology and Possible Causes of Autism.”Pharmacotherapy23:1524–30.
18.
KimKeong-il. 1997. “Genealogy of the Idiographic vs. the Nomothetic Disciplines: The Case of History and Sociology in the United States.”Review (Fernand Braudel Center)20:421–64.
19.
KingMarissa D.FountainChristineDakhlallahDianaBearmanPeter S.. 2009. “Estimated Autism and Older Reproductive Age.”American Journal of Public Health99:1673–79.
20.
LiebersonStanley. 1992. “Small N’s and Big Conclusions: An Examination of the Reasoning in Comparative Studies Based on a Small Number of Cases.” Pp. 105–18 in What Is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry, edited by RaginCharles C.BeckerHoward S.. New York: Cambridge University Press.
21.
LiuKa-YuetKingMarissaBearmanPeter S.. 2010. “Social Influence and the Autism Epidemic.”American Journal of Sociology115:1387–434.
22.
LiuKayuetZerubavelNoamBearmanPeter. 2010. “Social Demographic Change and Autism.”Demography47:327–43.
23.
LundquistJennifer. 2004. “When Race Makes No Difference: Marriage and the Military.”Social Forces83:1–28.
24.
LundquistJennifer. 2006. “The Black-white Gap in Marital Dissolution among Young Adults: What Can a Counterfactual Scenario Tell Us?”Social Problems53:421–41.
25.
MariniMargaret MooneySingerBurton. 1988. “Causality in the Social Sciences.” Pp. 347–409 in Sociological Methodology, edited by CloggClifford C.. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association.
26.
RaginCharles C.1987. The Comparative Method: Moving beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press.
27.
RaginCharles C.BeckerHoward S., eds. 1992. What Is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry. New York: Cambridge University Press.
28.
RodgersJoseph L.NakoneznyPaul A.ShullRobert D.. 1997. “The Effect of No-fault Divorce Legislation: A Response to a Reconsideration.”Journal of Marriage and the Family59:1026–30.
29.
RodgersJoseph L.NakoneznyPaul A.ShullRobert D.. 1999. “Did No-fault Divorce Legislation Matter? Definitely Yes and Sometimes No.”Journal of Marriage and the Family61:803–9.
30.
RosenbaumPaul R.1984. “From Association to Causation in Observational Studies: The Role of Tests of Strongly Ignorable Treatment Assignment.”Journal of the American Statistical Association79:41–48.
31.
RubinDonald B.1974. “Estimating Causal Effects of Treatments in Randomized and Nonrandomized Studies.”Journal of Educational Psychology66:688–701.
32.
SloanJohn HenryKellermannArthur L.ReayDonald T.FerrisJames A.KoepsellThomasRivaraFrederick P.RiceCharlesGrayLaurelLoGerfoJames. 1988. “Handgun Regulations, Crime, Assaults, and Homicide: A Tale of Two Cities.”New England Journal of Medicine319:1256–62.
33.
SmithHerbert L.1990. “Specification Problems in Experimental and Nonexperimental Social Research.” Pp. 59–91 in Sociological Methodology, edited by CloggClifford C.. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell.
34.
SmithHerbert L.2003. “Some Thoughts on Causation as It Relates to Demography and Population Studies.”Population and Development Review29:459–69.
35.
SmithHerbert L.2005. “Introducing New Contraceptives in Rural China: A Field Experiment.”Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science599:246–71.
36.
SmithHerbert L.2009. “Causation and Its Discontents.” Pp. 233–42 in Causal Analysis in Population Studies: Concepts, Methods, Applications, edited by Engelhardt-WoelflerHenrietteKohlerHans-PeterFuernkranz-PrskawetzAlexia. Berlin, Germany: Springer Verlag.
37.
SmithHerbert L.2013a. “Research Design: Toward a Realistic Role for Causal Analysis.”Pp. 45–73 in Handbook of Causal Analysis for Social Research, edited by LStephen. Morgan. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
38.
SmithHerbert L.2013b. “La causalité en sociologie et démographie. Retour sur le principe de l’action humaine.”PSC Working Paper Series, PSC 13-11. Philadelphia, PA: Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania. Accessed 28 January 2014. http://repository.upenn.edu/psc_working_papers/51.
39.
SobelMichael E.1995. “Causal Inference in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.” Pp. 1–38 in Handbook of Statistical Modeling for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, edited by ArmingerGerhardCloggClifford C.SobelMichael. New York: Plenum Press.
40.
SobelMichael E.2000. “Causal Inference in the Social Sciences.”Journal of the American Statistical Association95:647–51.