The specificity of Québec and Canada in sociological methodologies

This paper addresses the question of the distinctiveness of Canadian research methods by looking first at the broad pattern of methods used in empirical articles published in leading Canadian journals from the 1960s, how these have changed over time, and how they have differed between francophone and anglophone Canada. Issues of US influence raised by the earlier Canadianisation debate are also addressed. It is found that for the more recent period gender differences which cut across these ‘national’ divisions have been the more salient. The net effect is that the total Canadian pattern has something in common with that recorded for other countries, although at a more detailed level there are specifically Canadian or québécois effects. Reasons for the similarities and differences are discussed.