Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

A Primer in Theory Construction.

Rate this book
This brief text for students in the social and behavioral sciences provides a formal introduction to the way theories are constructed, stated, tested, and connected together to form a scientific body of knowledge.

194 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1971

18 people are currently reading
71 people want to read

About the author

Paul D. Reynolds

24 books1 follower

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
18 (21%)
4 stars
20 (23%)
3 stars
36 (42%)
2 stars
7 (8%)
1 star
4 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for morbidxmagpie.
63 reviews
September 30, 2017
An essential read for anyone interested in social science theory. Far ahead of its time (e.g. his discussion on NHST) and one of the rare few books on social science metatheory, i.e. how and why to do theory.
Profile Image for Rebecca Del Rossi.
19 reviews3 followers
September 3, 2025
😵‍💫😵‍💫 take a PhD class they said, it’ll be fun they said (only I said that) (and yes I am having fun even tho my head hurts)
Profile Image for Melissa Lee-Tammeus.
1,593 reviews39 followers
February 24, 2013
I had to read this for a research class for my PhD program. Reading is an overstatement. I merely skimmed this, because reading this is just too much to ask. Yes, this will be helpful when dissertation time rears its ugly head, but a walk in the park it is not.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
74 reviews5 followers
July 30, 2013
Dated. Very. The language was not very readable, and the explanations were thick and difficult. The examples were good - rereading the explanations after studying the examples helped. I did not find this text to help me with my coursework - I looked for supplemental material to fill in the gaps.
Profile Image for Bryan Fencl.
3 reviews3 followers
August 3, 2012
Not for the lighthearted. Reynolds gives a construct for understanding a theory.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.