Concept
middle-range theory
A testable theory of a delimited domain, standing between small working hypotheses and large theories that aim to explain everything at once.
Middle-range theory (Merton) stands between the small working hypotheses that are produced in abundance in day-to-day research and the unifying efforts at theory that aim to explain all of social behaviour, organisation and change. It is abstract but close enough to observation to be turned into testable propositions. Its domain is limited: reference groups, role conflict, the formation of norms.
Such theories are not derived from a single “theory of everything”; they may later prove consistent with one. In mass communication, agenda-setting, cultivation and the spiral of silence can be read as close to this description (our interpretation).
Example
Boyle’s “sea of air” image: if the atmosphere is a sea, pressure should be lower on a mountain top (Pascal’s inference); a limited, testable and fruitful idea (Merton’s example).