Book excerpt: In his provocative new book, Robert Alford proposes that the starting point for any researcher in the process and craft of inquiry should begin with an understanding of how to translate elements of his/her own history, personal experience, and issues which can then be formulated into researchquestions. He presents three basic explanatory approaches to sociology -- multivariate, interpretive, and historical -- and strives to illustrate the artistic, rather than formulaic, side of research design, presenting several ways that research questions can be framed.