Markovsky, Barry

Barry Markovsky (b. 1956) is a social theorist and proponent of integrating theory with empirical research to develop social structural theories that span multiple levels of analysis. His theoretical work has contributed to the explanation of such diverse social phenomena as power, influence, status, legitimacy, equity and justice, and social solidarity.

Markovsky's approach to social theory was shaped by his training in theory construction at Stanford University and especially by his mentor, Bernard P. Cohen, whose influential book, Developing Sociological Knowledge (1989), provides techniques for sociologists who do empirical research to build testable theories. The theory construction approach sees theory not as a separate subfield of sociology but rather as a part of sociological methodology that can be practiced by all sociologists. Theoretical and empirical methods ...