Building Bridges in Social Research Narrative, Logic and Simulation Matthew David University of Liverpool abstract: The three books examined in this review address the question of causal explanation in the non-experimental social sciences. All three books focus atten- tion on the need to address ‘causation’ in terms of complex processes rather than through prediction. Debates over the meaning of ‘mechanism’ (Stinchcombe), ‘narrative’ (Elliott) and ‘emergence’ (Gilbert and Troitzsch) cross over each other, and are in part alternative ways of describing the same thing, even while such alternatives cannot be easily rendered compatible. keywords: causation ✦ emergence ✦ mechanism ✦ narrative ✦ simulation Jane Elliott, Using Narrative in Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. London: Sage, 2005, 232 pp., ISBN 1412900409 (hbk), US$103.00, 1412900417 (pbk), US$35.95. Nigel Gilbert and Klaus G. Troitzsch, Simulation for the Social Scientist, 2nd edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2005, 312 pp., ISBN 0335216013 (hbk), US$220.94, 0335216005 (pbk), US$40.95. Arthur L. Stinchcombe, The Logic of Social Research. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005, ISBN 0226774910 (hbk), US$50.00, 0226774929 (pbk), US$20.00. The question of causal explanation in non-experimental social science has long been a key point of division and debate, and shows no sign of being resolved to universal assent any time soon. The three books discussed in this review essay highlight the ongoing divisions even as to the meaning of the question, and not just over the provision of an answer. Nevertheless these three books offer deep and distinctive insights into the nature and purpose of social science research, insights that should recommend each to readers keen to develop both analytical and practical knowledge. Read together, the three texts stimulate a International Sociology ✦ May 2006 ✦ Vol 21(3): 349–357 SAGE (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi) DOI: 10.1177/0268580906062848 349