What is social capital?

This paper addresses some of the definitional and methodological issues around the concept of social capital. This concept has been appearing more and more frequently across a range of sociological fields of enquiry, yet its meaning is ill defined and its use, in many cases, lacks methodological rigour. A brief literature review of the use of the term is provided, as well as discussion of its meaning and the possibility of measuring its existence empirically. Conclusions are drawn as to the usefulness of the term and the possibilities for improving its methodological and analytical validity.