Ryan and Debi Cragun’s Blog

A Primer on the Construction and Testing of Theories in Sociology

Author:

Janet Saltzman Chafetz

Publisher:

F. E. Peacock Publishers

Date of Publication:

1978

ISBN:

0875812325

Rating:

10

Summary:

A book on theory construction? Yes! And its superb… What makes this book stand out from, say, the numerous sociological research methods textbooks out there is that it focuses exclusively on sociological theories and their constituent parts and not on all of the different research methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, statistical analysis, etc.). What it gives up in breadth it more than makes up for in depth. Even so, the book is relatively short, at just over 100 pages, and is a relatively quick read. In that short expanse it covers topics ranging from: what theories are and are not; why theories are necessary; how to formally construct a theory that includes: assumptions, concepts, propositions, and hypotheses; how to test theories; and the logical problems that can arise (e.g., teleologies and tautologies).

Review:

I’ve read a couple of sociological research methods books and found them useful. But I consider myself lucky that I happened to be looking for a book like this when I saw it mentioned in Footnotes, the newsletter of the ASA (sadly, it was mentioned in the obituary of the author; a tremendous loss to sociology). I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when I ordered it on Amazon.com, but boy am I glad I did.

It seems like formal theory construction is falling by the wayside in sociology these days. Few people actually set out to develop a complete theory that includes clear definitions of concepts and clearly stated assumptions, propositions, and hypotheses. Yet, when I do come across such theories, inevitably I find them attractive (if you don’t, this may not be the book for you). They just seem to make more sense than rambling about how X is related to Y without simplified formulations of the actual relationships. I think Chafetz is right to argue that, when you have to formally state your assumptions, propositions, and hypotheses, you are forced to clarify how you think about the relationships between your concepts of interest. As a result, I think formal theories are clearer and easier to understand. This book will guide you every step of the way and do so in a way that most research methods books won’t.

In the interest of encouraging others to pick up a copy of this book, I’m not going to spend any time summarizing all of the definitions and explanations. Let me just conclude by saying that I think every graduate student in sociology should read this book during his/her first year (and, again, when preparing to work on his/her dissertation) and every sociologist should have a copy sitting on his/her shelf for ready consultation as they write. I highly recommend this text for anyone serious about sociological theory.

(Note: I had a hard time finding a copy of this book; it is no longer in print. If you want a copy, email me and I’ll see what I can work out for you.)

I don’t know why I’ve put this off for so long, but I have… Anyway, I do actually have some big news though most people who read this blog already know about it: I accepted a tenure track position at the University of Tampa, in Tampa, FL. We’ll be moving to Tampa this summer.

It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m very excited about it. Even though Debi doesn’t presently have a job down there, she has applied for a few and is also considering going back to school to get her PhD in Public Health (at University of South Florida).

On a different news front: We just listed our condo for sale last week (Saturday, to be precise). The next day, our furnace went out. Monday we dropped $3,000 for a new furnace that we’ll use for a total of 3 or 4 months… Grrrh! We aren’t very happy about that incident, but such is life…

All in all, we’re excited. Debi gets to live somewhere warm (she’s always cold) and I’ll have a job at a great little Liberal Arts University teaching what I want to teach. We’ve been busy planning and organizing things, which will probably continue for a while (so expect even fewer posts from me than usual). We’re headed down to Tampa in mid-March to scout out places to live. Hopefully I’ll snap a few pictures here and there of our new community to post here.

The weather here has been pretty awful lately. A nasty combination of snow and freezing rain left our cars with about 2 inches of ice and snow on them. It took almost 30 minutes to clean just the windows on each of our cars this morning. Here’s a photo of Debi holding her ice-encrusted antenna:

Freezing rain is amazing…

I received an email today with the following introduction and stories. They may not be real, who knows… But they’re still funny:

Have you ever spoken and wished that you could immediately take the words back or that you could crawl into a hole? You’re not alone…

I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women’s type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said, “I think I like playing with men’s balls.”

My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts. As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, “No, I’m just looking at your nuts.” My sister started to laugh hysterically, the boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away. To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while, so I asked him if he needed to go, and he said, “No.” I kept thinking, “Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don’t have any clothes with me.” Then I said, “Danny, are you SURE you didn’t have an accident?” “No,” he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. Soooooo, I asked one more time, “Danny, did you have an accident?” This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over and spread his cheeks and yelled. “SEE MOM, IT’S JUST FARTS!!” While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better by thanking me for the best laugh they’d ever had!

This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don’t get any? A true story. We had a female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn’t, turned to the weatherman and asked: “So Bob, where’s that 8 inches you promised me last night?” Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too!
While on a flight from New York, the Stewardess was busy passing out peanuts and cokes to everyone. There were about sixteen flights lined up waiting to get clearance to take off. Then the other Stewardess got a message from the Pilot that the tower said the wind had changed 180 degrees and they were first in line to take off, and to have everyone buckle up. Without thinking she just announced “Please buckle up, grab your drinks and hold your nuts, we’re taking off!”. No one saw her for the rest of the flight to Houston, and all the other Stewardesses were laughing all the way and so were half of the passengers.

We had a massive snowstorm last night - dumped at least 6″ to 8″ of snow.  I know any family members I have in Utah who read this will laugh at that.  But you have to understand that the amount of snow is relative to the region - 6″ to 8″ in Cincinnati is like 2 to 3 feet in Morgan, UT (where I grew up).  That’s a lot of snow.  It will probably all be gone by tomorrow (not likely, but you never know here), but it sure is wreaking havoc today.  I just spent the last 2 hours shoveling our parking area so I can be sure to make it to my classes today (which might still be canceled).