Theories of Change: Charting Pathways from Research to Impact

• In Event: ASA Awards Presentation and Presidential Address

Abstract

In our discipline’s long history, sociologists have produced an impressive body of empirically validated theories that explain how the status quo is reproduced. For example, from gender bias to overwork, past research offers theories that explain why women remain underrepresented in leadership positions. Yet, by comparison, we have developed far fewer theories that explain how disrupt the status quo, theories that explain how to get beyond these barriers.

In this address, I argue that we need more research that is solutions-focused —research that develops and evaluates theories of change, not just theories of the status quo. While there are many approaches to such work, I highlight the strengths and benefits of building research partnerships with stakeholders outside the academy.

Drawing on research I have conducted in the tech industry over the past decade, I demonstrate how these collaborations can generate new insights into entrenched social problems while also identifying concrete, theoretically grounded pathways to change.

I conclude by urging sociologists to match the theoretical rigor we bring to understanding social problems with an equally rigorous commitment to discovering how to solve them. At a time when universities face growing scrutiny, solutions-focused research has the potential to demonstrate the capacity of universities to fulfill their core mission of producing knowledge that contributes meaningfully to society.

Author

• Shelley J. Correll, Stanford University