Developing Theories in the Social Sciences

Jane Sell is Professor Emerita of Sociology at Texas A & M University. She has published widely on theory and theory construction, public goods, group processes and methodology. In 2017 she received the Cooley-Mead Award from the Social Psychology Section of the American Sociological Association for life-time achievement. Murray Webster Jr. is a Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in sociological theory at several universities. He has published on theory building in American Sociological Review, Social Science Research, and The American Journal of Sociology. He served twice as Program Director for Sociology at the National Science Foundation, and has chaired the Theory, Social Psychology, and Mathematical Sociology sections of the American Sociological Association.

• 1. What is a theory?; 2. Concepts; 3. Logical sentences and truth; 4. Types of reasoning and definitions; 5. Testing theory; 6. Developing a theory of status effects; 7. Public good theory and research: an example for theoretical development and empirical assessment; 8. Avoiding common missteps.