subject: WikiLeaks Search Needs Theory Construction in Sociology [print this page] WikiLeaks Search Needs Theory Construction in Sociology
Hasan A. Yahya, a writer from the Arab Land
WikiLeaks, may be, constitutes a good opportunity for research in social sciences in general and Sociology in particular. Selecting or creating appropriate theory for use in examining an issue is an important skill for any researcher. Important distinctions: a theoretical orientation (or paradigm) is a worldview, the lens through which one organizes experience (i.e. thinking of human interaction in terms of power or exchange); a theory is an attempt to explain and predict behavior in particular contexts. A theoretical orientation cannot be proven or disproven; a theory can. Having a theoretical orientation that sees the world in terms of power and control, I could create a theory about violent human behavior which includes specific causal statements (e.g. being the victim of physical abuse leads to psychological problems). Inthe wikileaks case, as a social phenomenon, applying a theory of control and power of information in politics, we may sign an hypothesis (prediction) about what we expect to see in a particular sample, (Politicians, or public opinion) e.g. "a wikileaks will develop to be normal in world politics." We can then test the hypothesis by looking to see if it is consistent with data in the real world. we might, for instance, review political diplomatic records to find politicians who were in power and control of their posts, then track them down and administer a personality test to see if they show signs of being deviant when they report their information. Such measurements can be conducted professionally. The selection of an appropriate (i.e. useful) theoretical orientation within which to develop a potentially helpful theory is the bedrock of social science.
The case of wikileaks opens a new avenue for research projects. Research may be comparative among several nations or globally conducted to see differences between advanced and developing countries. Questions to be included in surveys may look like these after the contextual variables and questions: On a five-point scale from one to 5, the questions measure acceptance or rejection of the statement. One represents the least acceptance (high rejection), and five represents high acceptance (low rejection). The statements look like this: 1) The wikiLeaks phenomenon is necessary and normal against political corruption. 2) WikiLeaks is accepted in advanced countries than developing countries.
A theory then, may be constructed after testing the study hypotheses , the theory will include in the final recommendation, that a wikiLeaks-like phenomenon is normal in politics and expected to happen as far as power struggle for information and power domination continue. Researchers, however, may find other issues related to wikiLeaks phenomenon, such as politicians satisfaction toward WikiLeaks reports, or the influence of WikiLeaks phenomenon on world diplomacy and political relations. Other issue may be the pros and cons divisions of world countries toward WikiLeaks phenomenon. Finally, an important issue may be researched also, concerns directions of diplomatic relations in the age of information technology. These ideas only to give researchers certain topics to study in the near future dealing with the role of sociologists as theorists in future studies to describe, to test, to analyze, and recommend ways to deal with social phenomena theory construction, such in the case of WikiLeaks. (542 words) www.askdryahya.com
