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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Critically assess R. K. Merton’s views on the contributions of research to the development of sociological theory.

  • UPSC 1986
  • Sociological Thinkers

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Robert K. Merton rejected both speculative grand theory and fact-gathering without ideas. In "Sociological Theory" (American Journal of Sociology, 1945) and "The Bearing of Empirical Research upon the Development of Social Theory" (American Sociological Review, 1948), later chapters of Social Theory and Social Structure (1949; 1968), he argued that research does far more than test…

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions.

What the full answer covers

  • I. The reciprocal relation
  • II. Four contributions of research to theory
  • III. Critical assessment
  • IV. Indian illustration
  • Conclusion
Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions

Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions

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