Robert Merton and the Sociology of Science: The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations, Robert K. Merton

Abstract:In 1949, Robert Merton asked: "Why did sociology document the problems and performance of the professional thief … but not the problems and performance of the professional social scientist?" Unsuccessfully, he argued for a systematic study of the "social science of social science." This essay, seven decades later, returns to Merton's question, now reframed as "using science as evidence in public policy." Policy use is less robust than it can and should be. This would not be the case if Merton's systematic study had been mounted. The good news is that it is not too late.