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<p>Sociological theory today exists for the most part as narrow descriptions of specific empirical events, scholastic exegeses of the writings of historical figures, and political diatribes. We argue that the goal of scientific sociological theory is to produce cumulative knowledge about the fundamental forces underlying social and cultural dynamics. In this paper, we outline our approach for doing so. First, we describe the importance of building theoretical models specifying direct, indirect, and reverse causal processes amongst theoretical variables. We then note the usefulness of translating these models into propositions. Models and propositions drawn from the sociology of geo-politics are provided as examples.</p>

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A strategy for developing explanatory theories in sociology

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年6月3日

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  • Jonathan H. Turner,
  • Kevin McCaffree

摘要

Sociological theory today exists for the most part as narrow descriptions of specific empirical events, scholastic exegeses of the writings of historical figures, and political diatribes. We argue that the goal of scientific sociological theory is to produce cumulative knowledge about the fundamental forces underlying social and cultural dynamics. In this paper, we outline our approach for doing so. First, we describe the importance of building theoretical models specifying direct, indirect, and reverse causal processes amongst theoretical variables. We then note the usefulness of translating these models into propositions. Models and propositions drawn from the sociology of geo-politics are provided as examples.