Middle-range theory, developed by Robert K. Merton, is an approach to
sociological theorizing aimed at integrating theory and empirical
research. It is currently the de facto dominant approach to sociological theory
construction, especially in the United States. Middle-range theory starts with
an empirical phenomenon and abstracts from it to create general statements
that can be verified by data. This approach stands in contrast to the
earlier "grand" theorizing of social theory, such as functionalism and many
conflict theories. Raymond Boudon has argued that 'middle-range' theory is the
same concept that most other sciences simply call 'theory'. The analytical
sociology movement has as its aim the unification of such theories into a
coherent paradigm at a greater level of abstraction.
Definition The term "middle-range theory" does not
refer to a specific theory, but is rather an approach to theory
construction. Raymond Boudon defines middle-range theory as a commitment to
two ideas. The first is positive, and describes what such theories should do:
sociological theories, like all scientific theories, should aim to
consolidate otherwise segregated hypotheses and empirical regularities;
"if a 'theory' is valid, it 'explains' and in other words 'consolidates' and
federates empirical regularities which on their side would appear otherwise
segregated." The other is negative, and it relates to what theory cannot do: "it
is hopeless and quixotic to try to determine the overarching independent
variable that would operate in all social processes, or to determine the
essential feature of social structure, or to find out the two, three, or four
couples of concepts ... that would be sufficient to analyze all social
phenomena". History
The midrange approach was developed by Robert Merton as a departure from the
general social theorizing of Talcott Parsons. Merton agreed with Parsons that
a narrow empiricism consisting entirely of simple statistical or observational
regularities cannot arrive at successful theory. However, he found that Parsons'
"formulations were remote from providing a problematics and a direction for
theory-oriented empirical inquiry into the observable worlds of culture and
society". He was thus directly opposed to the abstract theorizing of scholars
who are engaged in the attempt to construct a total theoretical system
covering all aspects of social life. With the introduction of the middle
range theory program, he advocated that sociologists should concentrate on
measurable aspects of social reality that can be studied as separate social
phenomena, rather than attempting to explain the entire social world. He saw
both the middle-range theory approach and middle-range theories themselves as
temporary: when they matured, as natural sciences already had, the body of middle
range theories would become a system of universal laws; but, until that time,
social sciences should avoid trying to create a universal theory.
Merton's original foil in the construction was Talcott Parsons, whose
action theory C. Wright Mills later classified as a "grand theory". Middle
range theories are normally constructed by applying theory building techniques
to empirical research, which produce generic propositions about the social
world, which in turn can also be empirically tested. Examples of middle
range theories are theories of reference groups, social mobility, normalization
processes, role conflict and the formation of social norms. The
middle-range approach has played a key role in turning sociology into an
increasingly empirically-oriented discipline. This was also important in
post-war thought. In the post-war period, middle-range
theory became the dominant approach to theory construction in all
variable-based social sciences. Middle range theory has also been applied to
the archaeological realm by Lewis R. Binford, and to financial theory by
Harvard Business School Professor Robert C. Merton, Robert K. Merton's son.
In the recent decades, the analytical sociology program has emerged as an
attempt synthesizing middle-range theories into a more coherent abstract
framework. Peter Hedstrom at Oxford is the scholar most associated with this
approach, while Peter Bearman is its most prominent American advocate.
Quotes ...what might be called theories of the
middle range: theories intermediate to the minor working hypotheses evolved in
abundance during the day-by-day routine of research, and the all-inclusive
speculations comprising a master conceptual scheme. — Robert K. Merton,
Social Theory and Social Structure Our major task today is to develop
special theories applicable to limited conceptual ranges — theories, for
example, of deviant behavior, the unanticipated consequences of purposive
action, social perception, reference groups, social control, the
interdependence of social institutions — rather than to seek the total conceptual
structure that is adequate to derive these and other theories of the middle
range. — Robert K. Merton Notes
^ Bailey, Kenneth. 1991. "Alternative Procedures for Macrosociological
Theorizing." Quality & Quantity, vol 25:1, pp. 37-55.
^ a b Merton, Robert. Social Theory and Social Structure.
^ a b c Boudon, Raymond. "What middle-range theories are", Contemporary
Sociology 20: pp. 519-522. ^ Robert K. Merton - California State
University, Dominguez Hills ^ a b Mjøset, Lars. 1999. "Understanding
of Theory in the Social Sciences." ARENA working papers.
^ Coockson and Sadovnik in David Levinson, Peter W. Cookson, Alan R.
Sadovnik, ed., "Education and sociology: an encyclopedia."
^ Merton, Robert C. and Zvi Bodie. Design of Financial Systems: Toward A
Synthesis of Function and Structure ^ Scholarly Approach Brings Sweeping
Change ^ P. Hedström and L. Udehn “Analytical
sociology and theories of the middle range". Pp. 25- 47 in P. Hedström and P.
Bearman The Oxford Handbook of Analytical Sociology. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2009. ^ Extracts from Robert King Merton
References Merton, Robert K.. Social Theory and
Social Structure. Free Press. ISBN 0-02-921130-1.