2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9558.2008.00324.x
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The Meaning of ‘Theory’

Abstract: Theory' is one of the most important words in the lexicon of contemporary sociology. Yet, their ubiquity notwithstanding, it is quite unclear what sociologists mean by the words 'theory,' 'theoretical,' and 'theorize.' I argue that confusions about the meaning of 'theory' have brought about undesirable consequences, including conceptual muddles and even downright miscommunication. In this paper I tackle two questions: (a) what does 'theory' mean in the sociological language?; and (b) what ought 'theory' to mea… Show more

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Cited by 382 publications
(228 citation statements)
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“…Everyone educated in the social sciences knows the word "theory" and has some grasp of what kind of things it refers to, but the word is used in many different ways (see e.g. Abend 2008), usually related to each other but not 180 H. Ruonavaara exactly the same. So a specification of what is meant by theory here is needed.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Everyone educated in the social sciences knows the word "theory" and has some grasp of what kind of things it refers to, but the word is used in many different ways (see e.g. Abend 2008), usually related to each other but not 180 H. Ruonavaara exactly the same. So a specification of what is meant by theory here is needed.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…No entanto, é também um termo com múltiplos significados na linguagem sociológica. Gabriel Abend (2008), por exemplo, observa que ‛teoria" é sobrecarregada com significados e isto a coloca em perigo de perder toda a tração semântica. Ele identifica sete sentidos diferentes da ‛teoria" como utilizada pelos sociólogos, de proposições universais e explicações causais de determinados fenômenos sociais a formas de compreensão, interpretação ou fazer sentido deles.…”
Section: Teorizando a Infância 4 Leena Alanenunclassified
“…The third and final step is modelling the process and outcomes of implementation, culminating in the development of a programme theory (see Modelling process: developing programme theory). As researchers do not always have the same vision of what theory is supposed to be or do, 69 to clarify, then:…”
Section: Overviewmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…We later employed a number of conceptual frameworks and models to 'make sense of or shed light on' 69 the empirical data we gathered, to better understand the implementation and acceptability of the AT programme and to consider how processes could be improved.…”
Section: Modelling Process: Developing Programme Theorymentioning
confidence: 99%