Role of Theory in Social Science Research

This article discusses the importance of theory in social science research and its relationship with methodology and research design. It also explains the deductive and inductive approaches and the role of theory in providing explanations and predictions.

Running head: ROLE OF THEORY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
ROLE OF THEORY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
Name of student:
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ROLE OF THEORY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
My introduction to the world of social science shaped my understanding about the
society through a critical perspective. This critical perspective was developed over the course
of the study of the subject especially after I learnt to contextualize the individual events
taking place in the society within the broader socio-political context. In this regard,
understanding the relationship between theory, methodology and research design facilitated
my insight about the pathbreaking work of different social scientists (George and Bennett
2015). In the social science research, there are main stages that lead to the collection of data.
The first stage is the stage of theory that is followed by methodology that is once again
followed by research design. In my understanding, theory is a set of testable propositions that
have emerged through empirical data. In social science research, there are mainly two types
of methodology-Quantitative and Qualitative. Quantitative methodology is influenced by the
epistemology of positivism and emphasizes on objectivity and detachment in the pursuit of
research. On the other hand, Qualitative methodology is informed by the interpretivists
methodology and emphasizes on subjectivity and understanding the social action of the social
actor. Researchers who swear by the positivist philosophy begin their research with a
hypothesis about the research problem (Berg 2014). This is followed by the beginning of
fieldwork through either the survey method or the structured interview schedule. After the
completion of the research the theory used by the researcher may or may not stand true.
Therefore, this is known as the deductive approach. On the other hand, interpretivist
epistemology involves beginning with a basic research question and then going to the field.
After the collection of data and collation of the findings, it can be found that a theory emerges
through the fieldwork. This is known as the inductive theory and it is widely known as the
inductive approach.
The importance of theory lies in its ability to explain a phenomenon that would
otherwise posit as puzzling for the researcher. In other words, theories provide coherence to

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ROLE OF THEORY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
understand a social event. For example, the deviant attitude of a child and his unmanageable
behaviour can be understood through Sorin and Galloway’s constructions of different kinds
of children based on the context. Apart from providing explanations, theories have the
potential to provide predictions. In this regard, Durkheim’s sociological theory of suicide
becomes a lens to examine the role of instability and breakdown of the social machinery in
contributing to suicide of a person. Similarly, Durkheim linked the rate of suicide with the
degree of one’s attachment with the community. This brings m to the third aspect of a theory
that it comprises two or more variables where one variable is a dependant variable and
another one is an independent variable (Wodak and Meyer 2009). One important aspect that I
learnt about theories is that it is not necessarily generalisible to a larger demographic region
and is limited to a specific socio-political context. Another important aspect of theory that I
have realized that in case of research, theory provides direction about the way the research is
to be conducted by presenting a framework to begin and pursue the research.

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ROLE OF THEORY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
References
Berg, B.L., 2014. Methods for the social sciences. Qualitative Research Methods for the
Social Sciences. Boston: Pearson Education.
George, A.L. and Bennett, A., 2015. Case studies and theory development in the social
sciences. mit Press.
Wodak, R. and Meyer, M. eds., 2009. Methods for critical discourse analysis. Sage.