CPC Webinar: Reflections on the language of explanation in demography: Clarity or confusion? Elspeth Graham Youtube. 2021
Emeritus Professor Elspeth Graham, from The University of St Andrews, presented on 16 December 2021: "Reflections on the Language of Explanation in Demography: clarity or confusion?". Measurement and modelling are staples of demographic analysis where precision is valued. Demographers frequently query the accuracy of their data and note the limitations of their analyses. In contrast, relatively little time has been devoted to considering the conceptual underpinnings of the language in which research is framed and findings are interpreted. Demography, then, tends to be long on description and short on explanation. In this paper, I select examples from fertility research to reflect on the language of explanation in quantitative demography. I consider how familiar terms such as 'drivers', 'determinants', 'mechanisms' and 'causes' have been used in the published literature and argue that demography would benefit from more attention to conceptual precision. I conclude that greater clarity in the use of such terms is needed if demography is to advance an explanatory agenda.