ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the problems raised by Thomas Kuhn and then, using the field of deviance research as an example, illustrates how might go about empirically investigating a few of these problems. The late 1960s, social structure and anomie (SS&A) was probably the dominant theory in the area of deviance. Many sociologists have turned their attention to the symbolic interactionist-labeling perspective on deviance. Prior to the 1950s most historians and philosophers of science described science as a body of knowledge approaching ever more closely "objective truth." There is one truth, one reality in nature, and the scientist aims to learn this truth. In order to carry out the research program outlined, it is necessary to have at least an elementary familiarity with the substance of the scientific discipline being studied. To study intellectual change in deviance research, had to be able to define a sample of research published in the area.
