Topic Selection: Is There a Real Theoretical Problem? (soctheory-topic-selection)

When to trigger

• You have an interesting phenomenon, intuition, or critique but no theory yet
• You are unsure whether the idea belongs at ST or at an empirical/specialist venue
• A draft exists but you cannot state, in one sentence, what theoretical work it does
• You suspect the "theory" is really a literature review or an empirical finding in disguise

What counts as an ST-fit theoretical problem

ST publishes work "in all areas of theory" — new substantive theories, history of theory, metatheory, formal theory construction, and synthetic contributions (submission guidelines, 检索于 2026-06；以官网为准). A fit problem is one where the deliverable is a conceptual advance: existing theory cannot see, name, or explain something, and your paper supplies the concept, mechanism, distinction, or reconstruction that lets it. Abend's "The Meaning of 'Theory'" (ST 2008, 26(2):173–199) is the discipline-level reminder that "theory" is several things at once — be explicit about which you are doing.

The four screening questions

1. Is there a theoretical problem, not just a topic? "Trust" is a topic; "existing theories treat trust as either calculative or moral, and cannot account for trust that is simultaneously both" is a problem.
2. Is the contribution conceptual, not empirical? If the punchline is "X causes Y in this sample," it is an ASR/AJS paper. At ST the punchline is "here is a better way to think about X and Y."
3. Does it engage a live tradition? ST theory intervenes in an ongoing conversation (field theory, pragmatism, mechanisms, cultural sociology, Bourdieu, Luhmann, relational sociology), not in a vacuum. (Develop this with soctheory-literature-positioning.)
4. Can data stay illustrative? ST permits examples and cases to illustrate a concept, but they must never be the test. If you need a sample to make the claim true, the project is empirical.

Sibling-venue map (route off ST if the fit is wrong)

ST is the ASA's dedicated theory journal; do not confuse it with these neighbors.

Checklist

• The problem is stated as a tension existing theory cannot resolve (not a topic)
• The contribution is conceptual, not an empirical finding
• The kind of theory work is named (substantive / history / metatheory / formal / synthetic)
• A live tradition or conversation is identifiable for the intervention
• Any data is illustrative, never the test
• The project is not a better fit for ASR / AJS / Sociological Methodology / ARS / Theory and Society

Anti-patterns

• A "topic" ("emotions," "the state") presented as if it were a theoretical problem
• An empirical paper relabeled as theory by removing the regression table but keeping the test logic
• A literature review with no original theoretical move
• "Applying" an existing theory to a new case with no change to the theory itself
• Inventing a problem no tradition recognizes, so no reviewer can place the stakes

Output format

【Theoretical problem】[the tension existing theory cannot resolve]
【Kind of theory work】substantive / history of theory / metatheory / formal / synthetic
【ST-fit】yes / no → [route to ASR / AJS / SM / ARS / Theory and Society]
【Tradition to engage】[name]
【Data role】illustrative only / none
【Next step】soctheory-literature-positioning