The notion of accountability was introduced by Harold Garfinkel in the opening pages of Studies in Ethnomethodology (1967) as part of his ‘central recommendation’ for sociological inquiry. Though the term itself first appears in the Studies, it will be argued that elements of the idea were already discernible in earlier writings. The current article traces the development of the notion from its early emergence in the proto-ethnomethodological period, through its elaboration in the Studies, and, finally, to its refinement in certain later works produced toward the end of the author’s career. In so doing, it reveals the centrality of the notion to ethnomethodologically-informed study and shows its enduring contribution to social theory.

中文翻译：

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在 Garfinkelian Œuvre 中追溯责任的开创性概念

问责制的概念由 Harold Garfinkel 在《民族方法学研究》（1967 年）的开篇中引入，作为他对社会学调查的“核心建议”的一部分。尽管该术语本身首次出现在研究中，但有人认为该概念的元素在早期的著作中已经可以辨别了。本文追溯了这一概念的发展，从它在原始民族方法学时期的早期出现，到它在研究中的阐述，最后，到它在作者职业生涯末期创作的某些后期作品中的完善。这样做，它揭示了这个概念在人种方法学研究中的核心地位，并显示了它对社会理论的持久贡献。