The role of theory in sociological research

Abstract

Typically, theories are known to aim at explaining things. Similarly, theories, in social sciences, specifically sociology, make attempts at explaining the order in which the social world operates. There has been a belief that a theory has to make a claim to reason in order to be called a theory. In the context of sociology, as Jeffrey Alexander rightly puts it, a claim to reason essentially indicates that the theory takes a perspective on society that is extensive and general, as compared to the lifeworld of the theorist or their immediate social surroundings. Speaking of sociological theory, especially in the Indian context, it has been a loosely defined field of intellectual activity. To elaborate its role in research then, this article would start with plotting sociological theories in the larger map of social science theories, its application from its birth to the present times, and provide examples to back up the same. It would also touch upon the important aspect of how sociological theory, while speaking of the social world, is very different from the common-sensical knowledge that is held about the same. Having said this it, however, does not mean to imply that sociological theory has to prove itself to be something entirely esoteric. What needs to be remembered is that sociology, although different from the natural sciences and common-sensical knowledge, had its roots in the same. It just grew out of there and has been growing from there, on its own, ever since.