Thinking about Theory

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• Thinking about Theory
• Salzmans Point About Margaret Mead
• Three Levels of Theory Meta, Heuristic,
  Substantive
  
• Two Types of Theories Nomothetic and
  Idiographic
  
• The Bulletin Board Postings What they tell us
  about sociological theory

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Question What is the point that Salzman is
trying to make in his discussion of Margaret Mead
and the subsequent controversy over her early
research in Samoa?
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Distinguishing Between Different Levels of Theory
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Meta-Theory
Meta-theory has to do with the nature of
knowledge what we can know and how we can know
it. Philosophical (epistemological) assumptions.
Question What kind of meta-theory did Margaret
Mead hold that she shared with most
anthropologists and sociologists at the time?
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Heuristic Theory sets a research agenda by
drawing attention to key factors and
relationships in the social world
Question From whom did Mead derive her basic
heuristic theory and what did it consist of?
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Substantive Theory What is the difference between
heuristic theory and substantive theory?
What was Meads substantive theory? How did it
lead her to Samoa? What did her Samoan research
lead her to conclude?
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Why should anyone care if Derek Freeman thinks
that Mead didnt describe 1930s Samoa correctly?
Whats going on theoretically in this
controversy?
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Lets discuss why.... Heuristic theories cannot b
e directly tested. Their test is whether they
are fruitful for research, understanding, and
action. Substantive theories can in varying degre
es be tested and can be either supported or not
supported by data. But substantive theories can
never be conclusively proven. Facts are always in
terpretations. They do not stand outside of
theory.
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Two Types of Substantive Theories
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Discussion of bulletin board postings