What does it really mean to generalise in realist research? How do we move from rich, contextual description to insights that are genuinely transferable?In this mind-expanding episode, Alejandro is joined by Assistant Professor Dimitri Renmans — health systems researcher and co-founder of the All-Realist Group — to unpack the challenge of generalisation without falling into the trap of purely statistical thinking. From the difference between statistical and theoretical generalisation to what “abstraction” really means (hint: it’s not just about categories), Dimitri offers practical ways to preserve context while still building knowledge that travels.Drawing on his work developing “mechanism concepts,” Dimitri shares why they matter for theory-building and how they can help researchers move their CMOCs towards robust middle-range theory.Whether you’re grappling with generalisation, refining mechanism development, or simply looking to sharpen your realist research practice, this episode will give you fresh tools and perspectives.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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