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Recent Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 3
2021 Oct (100 marks) Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Recent Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology 2021 Oct (100 marks) Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Oct (100 marks) examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Oct (100 marks) examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 15 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Explain the relationship between theory and research.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: definitions of theory and research; how the two were once separated and later joined; the Parsons and Merton debate and middle range theory as the bridge; the part theory plays at each stage of research; Merton's four ways in which research shapes theory, with examples; the deductive, inductive and cyclical models; the quantitative and qualitative traditions; an Indian case where research challenged theory; the problems in the relationship; a summary table; a conclusion.
Definitions
Theory. Jonathan H. Turner describes sociological theory as the process of developing ideas that explain how and why events occur. A theory is built of concepts linked into propositions, and it claims to explain a class of social facts, not just a single case.
Research. Fred N. Kerlinger defined scientific research as the systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of phenomena. It is guided by theory and by hypotheses about the presumed relations among them. Social research applies this to social life, through surveys, interviews, observation, experiments and the study of records.
The definitions already point to the link. Kerlinger's definition of research mentions theory, and Turner's definition of theory mentions explanation of real events. Each needs the other.
How the two were separated, and joined
In the nineteenth century the two often grew apart.
- Social philosophers such as Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer built vast theories of social evolution with little systematic evidence.
- Social surveyors collected facts with little theory. Charles Booth's Life and Labour of the People in London appeared from 1889 to 1903. Seebohm Rowntree surveyed poverty in York in 1899 and published his findings in 1901. Both mapped poverty street by street, mainly to inform reform.
The joining began in the early twentieth century. Emile Durkheim's Suicide (1897) used official statistics to test a theory. At Chicago, W. I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki's The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1918 to 1920) combined letters, life histories and theory. In the 1940s, at Columbia University, the theorist Robert K. Merton worked closely with the survey researcher Paul Lazarsfeld. Their partnership became a model of theory and research working together.
The Parsons and Merton debate
Talcott Parsons believed sociology first needed a general theory of the whole social system, from which research would later follow. Merton replied that such a theory was premature. He proposed theories of the middle range: limited, testable theories of particular social patterns, such as reference groups or deviance. These were close enough to data to be checked and general enough to explain. Middle range theory became the main bridge between theory and research in modern sociology.
What theory does at each stage of research
Theory is not only the starting point. It guides every step of a study.
- Choosing the problem. Theory tells the researcher which questions are worth asking. A theory of social integration makes the rise of loneliness among the elderly a meaningful problem.
- Reviewing earlier work. Theory organises what is already known into a framework, so that the new study can build on it.
- Defining concepts. Theory supplies the key terms and suggests how to measure them. "Integration" may be measured by membership of groups and frequency of contact.
- Forming hypotheses. A hypothesis is a testable statement drawn from theory, such as "the elderly who live alone report more loneliness than those who live with family".
- Choosing the sample and method. Theory tells the researcher which people to study and which differences to compare.
- Interpreting the findings. Figures do not explain themselves. Theory turns a correlation into an explanation.
- Generalising. Theory allows a finding in one town to be connected to a wider pattern in society.
What research does to theory: Merton's four functions
Merton argued, in his essay on the bearing of empirical research on theory, that research is not a passive servant. It does four things.
1. It initiates theory: the serendipity pattern. An unexpected, odd and strategic finding forces the researcher to develop a new theory. The classic case outside sociology is Alexander Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin in 1928. In sociology, findings that do not fit the expected pattern, such as rising crime in a period of rising prosperity, have often started new theories.
2. It recasts theory. When research brings to light facts that an existing theory ignored, the theory must be widened. Max Weber's study of the Protestant ethic showed that religious ideas helped shape economic life. This forced a recasting of the Marxist view that economic forces alone shape ideas.
3. It refocuses theory. New methods of research shift theoretical interest. Scientific sample surveys and opinion polling rose in the 1930s, after George Gallup's polls of the 1936 American election. They turned theorists towards attitudes, voting and public opinion.
4. It clarifies concepts. To measure a concept, the researcher must define it precisely. Vague ideas such as "status" or "alienation" became sharper when researchers had to build scales to measure them, as Melvin Seeman did for alienation.
Research can also test theory directly. Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson's Pygmalion in the Classroom (1968) tested the theory of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Teachers were told that certain pupils, chosen at random, were about to bloom. Those pupils later showed larger gains, apparently because teachers expected more of them. Later studies questioned how large the effect really is, which is itself research testing a test.
Three models of the relationship
The deductive model. The researcher starts with theory, derives a hypothesis and tests it. Karl Popper argued that science advances by trying to falsify theories: a theory that survives tough tests is provisionally accepted.
The inductive model. The researcher starts with observation and builds theory from patterns in the data. Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss's grounded theory (1967) is the best known method.
The cyclical model. Walter Wallace's wheel of science joins the two. Theory produces hypotheses; hypotheses guide observation; observations are summarised as empirical generalisations; these feed back to confirm, modify or replace the theory. In real research the wheel turns again and again.
Two research traditions
- In the quantitative or positivist tradition, theory usually comes first and research tests it through surveys, statistics and experiments.
- In the qualitative or interpretive tradition, theory more often grows out of research through participant observation, interviews and case studies. Max Weber's idea of verstehen, understanding the meaning of action, belongs here.
Both traditions relate theory and research, but in a different order.
An Indian case: research challenging theory
Louis Dumont, in Homo Hierarchicus (1966), offered a theory of caste as a system of hierarchy. It rested on the opposition of purity and pollution, which, he argued, all castes accepted as natural. Field researchers questioned this. Gerald Berreman, working in a Himalayan village, found that lower castes often resented and resisted their position rather than accepting it. Later studies of caste mobility and Dalit movements supported his view. Here research forced a major theory to be qualified: hierarchy was real, but it rested on power as well as on shared belief.
Theory and research in the study of law
Socio-legal research follows the same path. A theory of unequal access to justice predicts that poor accused persons will stay longer in jail before trial. The reason is that they cannot pay for bail or a lawyer. Research on undertrial prisoners tests this prediction. Its findings then feed back into theory, and into reforms of bail and legal aid. A law student who learns the method can judge whether a reform rests on evidence or only on assumption.
Problems in the relationship
- Observation is theory-laden. What we notice depends on the concepts we carry, so research is never entirely neutral.
- Grand theory and abstracted empiricism. C. Wright Mills warned against theories too remote to test and research too narrow to mean anything.
- Social facts change. A theory confirmed in one period may fail in the next, because people and institutions change.
- Data without theory. Today's large data sets can show patterns without explaining them. Without theory, a correlation remains a puzzle.
Summary
| Theory gives research | Research gives theory |
|---|---|
| Problems worth studying | New theories through serendipity |
| Concepts and measures | Recasting when ignored facts appear |
| Hypotheses to test | Refocusing through new methods |
| Interpretation of findings | Clarified concepts |
| A basis for generalising | Tests that confirm or reject |
Conclusion. Theory and research grew apart in the nineteenth century and were joined in the twentieth. Merton's middle range theory and his partnership with Lazarsfeld did most to join them. Theory guides every stage of research, from the choice of problem to the interpretation of results. Research in turn initiates, recasts, refocuses, clarifies and tests theory. Whether the order is deductive, inductive or cyclical, sociology advances only when the two remain in constant conversation.
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