1970 年代前後，西方曾有許多重大的學術知識「轉向」，旨在批判或修改邏輯實證論的基本結構。政治學界沒有抓好這個重要的轉折，故陷入方法論的困境，而無法調節學門內各領域的關連，形成「分桌吃飯」的局面。這個危機在冷戰驟然結束之時爆發，形成國關內部現實主義和建構主義的大論戰，其後又形成 2001 年美國「政治學的改造運動」。然而，都未能有效地化解政治學內部長年積壓的矛盾。本文認為，索緒爾開啟的現代語言學概念，以及維根斯坦科學哲學後期的逆轉，共同奠定了一道更寬廣的轉..

According to the language concepts defined by Ferdinand De Saussure and the late philosophy created by Ludwig Wittgenstein, this article attempts to point out a possible “turn” that may render the study of politics “an ecumenical science of politics” upheld by Gregory Kasza in the Perestroika movement of the discipline in 2001.  

厚資料(thick data)這個名詞大約在 2013 到 2014 年間被創造出來。先在網路上流傳，後來出現在管理學的評論及期刊之中。一開始，這個詞的意思是強調「質化」方法的知識建構，多是從人類學的視角出發。但這並不新。其實，「厚」的核心內涵很早就在人類學中被運用，原稱叫作厚實描述(thick description)，因此，現在使用「厚資料」一詞者，不少是從「厚描述」或「厚敘事」(thick descriptions)的人類學民族誌研究方法(ethnog..

As a reflection and supplement to data-driven research, thick data was firstly proposed as a complementary method of using data to engage in meaning mining in 2013. Through the case of Chinese political economy, this article demonstrates how the use of thick data enables researchers to overcome the problem of data distortion. It argues that meaningful use of data sources is based on the identification of actors. In order to do so, researchers are required to answer the following two questions: Who are the actors contributing to the tendency..