Usable Theory
eBook - PDF

Usable Theory

Analytic Tools for Social and Political Research

  1. 352 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Usable Theory

Analytic Tools for Social and Political Research

About this book

The project of twentieth-century sociology and political science--to create predictive scientific theory--resulted in few full-scale theories that can be taken off the shelf and successfully applied to empirical puzzles. Yet focused "theory frames" that formulate problems and point to relevant causal factors and conditions have produced vibrant, insightful, and analytically oriented empirical research. While theory frames alone cannot offer explanation or prediction, they guide empirical theory formation and give direction to inferences from empirical evidence. They are also responsible for much of the progress in the social sciences. In Usable Theory, distinguished sociologist Dietrich Rueschemeyer shows graduate students and researchers how to construct theory frames and use them to develop valid empirical hypotheses in the course of empirical social and political research. Combining new ideas as well as analytic tools derived from classic and recent theoretical traditions, the book enlarges the rationalist model of action by focusing on knowledge, norms, preferences, and emotions, and it discusses larger social formations that shape elementary forms of action. Throughout, Usable Theory seeks to mobilize the implicit theoretical social knowledge used in everyday life.


  • Offers tools for theory building in social and political research

  • Complements the rationalist model of action with discussions of knowledge, norms, preferences, and emotions

  • Relates theoretical ideas to problems of methodology

  • Situates elementary forms of action in relation to larger formations

  • Combines new ideas with themes from classic and more recent theories

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Yes, you can access Usable Theory by Dietrich Rueschemeyer in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Social Science Research & Methodology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Chapter I Analytic Tools for Social and Political Research
  7. Chapter II A General Frame: Social Action
  8. Chapter III Knowledge
  9. Chapter IV Norms
  10. Chapter V Preferences
  11. Chapter VI Emotions
  12. Chapter VII “The Human Group” Revisited
  13. Chapter VIII Midpoint
  14. Chapter IX Aggregations
  15. Chapter X Collective Action
  16. Chapter XI Power and Cooperation
  17. Chapter XII Institutions
  18. Chapter XIII Social Identities
  19. Chapter XIV Macrocontexts
  20. Chapter XV Cultural Explanations
  21. Chapter XVI Conclusion: Usable Theory?
  22. References
  23. Index