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.)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007 at 3:11 pm and is filed under reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.