Durkheim's Suicide and Problems of Empirical Research

The theoretical content of Suicide has been thoroughly discussed, but relatively little attention has been paid to the ways in which Durkheim tested and refined his theories with empirical data. Durkheim's empirical analyses are multivariate: each additional variable is systematically incorporated into the relationships that have perviously been studied. The analyses are also replicative: the same relationship is studied in widely varying contexts. A careful study of the consequences of these procedures, both intended and unintended, yields valuable insights into current problems of theoretically oriented empirical research.