Web-based Tools for Developing and Accessing Sociological Theory

巴里·马尔科夫斯基(P.I.)何塞·维达尔(共同P.I.)南卡罗来纳大学基于网络的工具，用于开发和访问社会学理论摘要该项目涉及设计、实施和测试一个基于网络的系统，用于在该学科的所有领域开发、改进和传播社会学理论。拟议的“维基理论”将通过一套用户友好的工具和一套激励措施来提供一系列服务，以促进广泛的参与。该系统的核心是“模块化理论”的概念，即小的、明确的、可相互联系的理论，可以用不同的方式组合起来，用于不同的目的。在管理方面，该系统将接收和存储原始提交的材料，分析提交材料的逻辑和语义结构，组织、索引和超链接文本，以最大限度地方便使用，展示和传播内容，提出改进建议，并评价使用模式。从用户的角度来看，该系统将提供工具，帮助学习界面，智能地搜索特定领域的内容，识别来自其他实质性领域的相关材料，集体评估和改进提交的材料，在子学科之间交叉培养，确定可研究的主张，评估先前研究的相关结果，从理论上为实证应用提供信息，促进非社会学家的使用，补充教学，等等。该系统将利用行之有效的激励措施和知识汇总方法，促进改进理论的发展。网络界面和基本进程将利用从维基百科和StackOverflow等其他知识系统的成功中学到的东西，以及从谷歌Knol和雅虎！等其他知识系统的失败中学到的东西。答案。模块化的程序将在Google App Engine上开发，这是一个免费的托管平台，允许在Google云服务器上开发和部署应用程序。私人投资机构使用谷歌账户服务和其他用户可能已经熟悉或可以轻松掌握的网络功能。通过提供一个鼓励理论驱动的研究的基础设施工具，维基百科将同时推进实质性知识，并为那些寻求应用这些知识的人提供资源。该系统将相对容易使用，并将向社会学内外的学者和从业者提供信息。该系统的盲目评价制度和对贡献者的开放消除了参与者人口特征的任何可能影响。职业关系网、职级、学科地位、种族、性别和地理位置在决定任何贡献的相关性方面没有起到任何作用。该项目还为学生和教师提供了一些独特的机会来参与该系统，例如贡献理论材料，在课堂上使用内容，以及在讨论组中张贴。

SES - 1123040Barry Markovsky (P.I.)Jose Vidal (co-P.I.)University of South CarolinaWeb-based Tools for Developing and Accessing Sociological TheoryAbstractThis project involves designing, implementing and testing a web-based system for developing, improving and disseminating sociological theories across all areas of the discipline. The proposed "Wikitheoria" will provide a range of services via a set of user-friendly tools, and a set of incentives to foster broad participation. At the heart of the system is the concept of "modular theorizing," i.e., small, explicit, inter-connectable theories that can be assembled in different ways for different purposes. On the management side, the system will receive and store original submissions, analyze logical and semantic structures of submitted materials, organize, index and hyperlink text to maximize ease of use, display and disseminate content, offer recommendations for improvements, and evaluate usage patterns. From the user's perspective the system will provide tools to help learn the interface, search intelligently for content in specific areas, identify relevant materials from other substantive areas, collectively evaluate and enhance submitted materials, cross-fertilize between sub-disciplines, identify researchable claims, evaluate relevant findings from prior research, theoretically inform empirical applications, promote use by non-sociologists, supplement teaching, and more. The system will facilitate the development of improved theories using proven incentives and knowledge aggregation methods. The web interface and underlying processes will capitalize on what has already been learned from the successes of other knowledge systems such as Wikipedia and StackOverflow, and the lack of success of others such as Google Knol and Yahoo! Answers. The modularized program will be developed on the Google App Engine, a free hosting platform that allows application development and deployment on the Google cloud of servers. The PIs use Google account services and other web functions with which users are likely to be familiar already or else can acquire with ease.By offering an infrastructure tool that encourages theoretically-driven research, Wikitheoria will simultaneously advance substantive knowledge and offer resources for those seeking to apply that knowledge. The system will be relatively easy to use, and will inform scholars and practitioners within and outside of sociology. The system's blind evaluation system and openness to contributors eliminates any possible impact of participants' demographic characteristics. Professional network, rank, status in the discipline, race, gender, and geographic location play no part in determining the relevance of any contribution. The project also offers some unique opportunities for students and instructors to participate in the system such as contributing theoretical material, using content in class, and posting to discussion groups.