Merton's flawed and incomplete methodological program: Response to Stephen Turner
Philosophy of the Social Sciences 39 (2):272-283 (2009)
| Abstract | Particularly during the 1940s, Robert Merton developed a loosely knit methodological program including such key concepts as "structure and functional analysis" and "middle range theories" which provided guidance for sociological work over several decades and which retains some considerable relevance today. However, there are inconsistencies and incompletions in this program which have become more problematic over time. The paper questions the depth of these difficulties and also points out that in the historical circumstances of a limited stimulus provided by the paucity of critique written at the time and Robert Merton's operational style, it is not surprising that difficulties were not attended to. Key Words: Merton • methodological program • classics in sociology • functional analysis • middle-range theory. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,711 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesCynthia Fuchs Epstein (2010). The Contributions of Robert K. Merton to Culture Theory. In Craig J. Calhoun (ed.), Robert K. Merton: Sociology of Science and Sociology as Science. Columbia University Press.
Charles Camic (2010). How Merton Sociologizes the History of Ideas. In Craig J. Calhoun (ed.), Robert K. Merton: Sociology of Science and Sociology as Science. Columbia University Press.
Hugh Lehman (1966). R. K. Merton's Concepts of Function and Functionalism. Inquiry 9 (1-4):274 – 283.
Harriet Zuckerman (2010). On Sociological Semantics as an Evolving Research Program. In Craig J. Calhoun (ed.), Robert K. Merton: Sociology of Science and Sociology as Science. Columbia University Press.
George E. Smith & Stephen M. Kosslyn (1980). An Information-Processing Theory of Mental Imagery: A Case Study in the New Mentalistic Psychology. PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1980:247 - 266.
Robert J. Sampson (2010). Eliding the Theory/Research and Basic/Applied Divides Implications of Merton's Middle Range. In Craig J. Calhoun (ed.), Robert K. Merton: Sociology of Science and Sociology as Science. Columbia University Press.
Piotr Sztompka (2009). The Assault Badly Misses the Mark: (Comment on Stephen Turner). Philosophy of the Social Sciences 39 (2):260-265.
Harold Kincaid (2009). A More Sophisticated Merton. Philosophy of the Social Sciences 39 (2):266-271.
Stephen Turner (2009). Many Approaches, but Few Arrivals: Merton and the Columbia Model of Theory Construction. Philosophy of the Social Sciences 39 (2):174-211.
Joseph Agassi (2009). Turner on Merton. Philosophy of the Social Sciences 39 (2):284-293.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-05-06Total downloads14 ( #83,239 of 551,105 )Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
