SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY: A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH What is a theory? ! What does a theory consist of? (e.g. what are the elements of a theory?) ! Answer: A theory is a proposition or a set of interrelated propositions that purports to explain a given social phenomenon. It is a systematic explanation for the observed facts and laws (or principles) ! that relate to a particular aspect of life, for example: juvenile delinquency, social stratification, or political revolution. Theories are composed of concepts and statements (e.g. propositions and ! axioms). CONCEPTS CONCEPTS are the "basic building blocks of theory." ! They are abstract elements representing classes of phenomena within the field of study. For instance, the concepts relevant to a theory of juvenile delinquency ! would include juvenile and delinquency.
STATEMENTS There are several types of statements which can comprise a theory. ! Principles or laws are one type. ! Axioms are another. ! AXIOMS are fundamental assertions which are assumed to be true, upon ! which the theory is grounded. PROPOSITIONS PROPOSITIONS are conclusions drawn about the relationships among ! concepts, based on the logical interrelationships among the axioms. HYPOTHESES HYPOTHESES are specified expectations about empirical reality, derived ! from propositions.
VARIABLES A variable is the empirical counterpart to a concept. ! while concepts are within the domain of theory, variables are a matter of observation and measurement. A variable is a concept which is measured (usually but not always ! quantitatively). It contains two or more values or categories that can vary over time or over a given sample (e.g. age).
THEORY: The Traditional Scientific Approach The TRADITIONAL (or classical approach) consists of three stages. ! Stage 1 is what takes place at the conceptual level. ! It consists of defining the concepts a writing a proposition stating a relationship between them. Stage 2 bridges the gap between the conceptual and empirical levels. ! It consists of devising ways to measure the concepts empirically. This stage includes writing a testable hypothesis that links the empirical ! measures of the two concepts. The hypothesis of stage 2 is identical to the proposition of stage 1 except ! that stage 2 is on the empirical level (relates empirical measures) while stage 1 is on the conceptual level and cannot be tested as it contains no empirical measures. Stage three (the final stage) consists of gathering and analyzing data in an ! attempt to verify the hypothesis.
THEORETICAL--EMPIRICAL TRANSLATION: EXAMPLE Problem (or research question): ! Why is there more violence in urban than rural areas? Concept (or theoretical variable) #1: density ! [Conceptional definitions need to be provided -- I' ve skipped this step.] Concept (or theoretical variable) #2: aggression ! [Conceptional definitions need to be provided -- I' ve skipped this step.] Proposition (or theoretical hypothesis): ! Aggression is positively correlated with human density. Operational Definitions (variables, empirical variables, or empirical ! indicators). density: is measured by the number of people per square kilometre as indicated by the Canada Census. aggression: number of assaults as indicated by police records.
Hypothesis (empirical hypothesis, or empirical expectation): The greater the number of people per square kilometre, the greater the number of assaults.
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