The Role of Theory in Research (original) (raw)
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Before theory comes theorizing or how to make social science more interesting
The British journal of sociology, 2016
The basic argument in this article is that sociology and social science more generally are today severely hampered by the lack of attention being paid to theory. Methods--qualitative as well as quantitative methods--have proven to be very useful in practical research (as opposed to theory); and as a result they dominate modern social science. They do not, however, do the job that belongs to theory. One way to redress the current imbalance between methods and theory, it is suggested, would be to pay more attention to theorizing, that is, to the actual process that precedes the final formulation of a theory; and in this way improve theory. Students of social science are today primarily exposed to finished theories and are not aware of the process that goes into the production and design of a theory. Students need to be taught how to construct a theory in practical terms ('theorizing'); and one good way to do so is through exercises. This is the way that methods are being taugh...
2019
This course is intended to introduce you to social theory, the process of theorizing, and the canonical works that arguably serve, and some that should serve, as the core of an inclusive professional identity for sociologists. As a one semester course, this can by no means be a comprehensive theory survey: the goal is help you develop a basic literacy of key sociological texts ranging from the 19th century to the present that can serve as a foundation and springboard for your own research and teaching interests. The course asks what it means to think sociologically: What is social reality? Which components are important? How do we go about analyzing these? It traces out lineages of how social scientists have addressed these questions, the logics and styles that set different streams apart from each other, and the substantive areas they do and do not address. During the course, we will be thinking through three overarching questions. First, many of the "canonical" social theory texts were written from the standpoint of a relatively small cultural group in the Global North but have been read over the years as presenting a universalistic vision of humanity that tends to ignore gender, race, sexual orientation, and empire/colonialism. We will ask how classical and contemporary theorists' treatment-explicit or implicit-of race, sex, and empire affected their work and its potential to provide satisfactory explanations of important social phenomena. Second, middle-range theory has dominated sociology for decades now. By considering these larger theoretical frameworks, this course implicitly rejects the view that middle-range theory alone can guide and organize research in the social sciences and encourages you to reflect on the relationship between the works under consideration and the project of middle-range theory building. Third, we should all reflect on how to use theory and theorize in our own research practice.
The introduction to The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory provided an interesting metaphor explaining the nature and work of social theory, including sociological theory (Turner, 2009). He said that we can imagine theory as a scaffold built around a building that is the social reality. This scaffold helps sociologists move around with some ease, take a look at the nooks and corners of the social building, and gain a better understanding of it. It also helps us gauge which parts of the social building we have no idea of, and for which parts we need to build further scaffolding to investigate¹. Social theories, including sociological theories, are basically concepts or ideas or sets of concepts or ideas developed by people to better understand and explain their social surroundings. At their simplest, they are regularly developed and used by all of us. The popular idea that shopkeepers and autorickshaw drivers charge more when they know that the customer is someone new in town and uninformed is a rudimentary social theory. Same goes for the ever present fear of many elders that society in the hands of the new youth is at the verge of collapse. We all observe our social surroundings (though often unsystematically) and draw conclusions from our observations. This helps us make sense of our extremely complicated and somewhat debilitating world. They provide order amidst chaos by categorizing and labeling social realities, and offer a range of predictions. They help us choose our everyday course of action in social settings.
Editor: Nitza Geri The Social Side of Theory: A Community-Based Narrative of Research and Theory
2014
Theory is a central issue to be considered by researchers, particularly new researchers such as research students. In this paper we describe the role theory had in developing a research commu-nity. This community, the Information Society Doctoral Programme, faced with the usual ques-tions that researchers have regarding theory, undertook a prolonged discourse on theory, using a range of means of discussion. The current paper describes the development of this discourse and its influence on the development of a shared research identity. The result of the discourse was not agreement on any particular theoretical positions but an increased ability to understand one an-other across theoretical divides. The paper thus develops a narrative of the role theory can have in shaping community, a perspective usually neglected in theoretical discourses.
Reading and Evaluating Theory in a Research Publication
Perioperative Nursing Clinics, 2009
The purpose of this article is to explain how theory is used in both quantitative and qualitative research reports. Several confusing concepts are defined and clarified. Questions are posed that will help readers determine whether theory was used correctly in the various kinds of research reports. Finally the article will help the reader evaluate the state of the theory and whether it is appropriate for use in informing practice. Running head: THEORY IN A RESEARCH ARTICLE 3
The Anthem Companion to Robert K. Merton, 2022
Aims-and-scope sections of most social science academic journals or peer-reviewed book series come with a familiar caveat: the editors especially welcome theoretically oriented empirical research, empirically grounded theoretical framework, or, less pompously stated, submissions combining theory and research. In the same spirit, such a combination is usually underscored when major scientific accomplishments are hailed, often commended, for having conveyed both evidential and epistemic insights. Though not without exceptions, the same praise applies to classical authors (whose work made the best of both worlds more often than not) and becomes a warning when directed to graduate students (whose work should at least try to keep data and speculations together). Indirectly, however, the stress on intertwining theory and research in social science indicates the likelihood of the opposite possibility, its lack thereof; otherwise, why value and recommend the standard scenario or average outcome?