THE ELEMENTS AND LOGIC OF GENERAL THEORY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
Abstract
On the assumption that abstraction is a major goal in developing theory in social science, as well as in science generally, the purpose is to outline the essential elements and essential logic of general theory, and thus suggest how such general theory might systematically be formulated. First an important distinction is made between the conceptual and operational levels of theory. In making this distinction, five key metaconcepts are defined, illustrated, and discussed--namely, conceptual variables, conceptual hypotheses, operational variables, operational hypotheses, and epistemic correlations. Then the discussion is focused on the relationships of the five key metaconcepts to one another, and finally on the logic of epistemic derivations, of testing general theory, and of establishing epistemic validity. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1961
- Accession Number
- AD0264839
Entities
People
- Robert L. Hamblin
Organizations
- Washington University in St. Louis