Methodology and Epistemology of Multilevel Analysis

The possibility to analyse human behaviours taking account of the multiple contexts in which they occur, is opening a new research avenue in social sciences. This book considers, through examples drawn from different social sciences, the methodological challenges multilevel analysis permits to answer and points out some limitations of these models. It also considers the more general philosophical and epistemological issues raised by their use, as the multilevel approach offers a mean to combine causal and systemic explanations.