Talk:Robert K. Merton

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Untitled[edit]

I started wikifying the large volume of new material that was recently added, after a quick Google check of a few phrases to see if it could be a copyright violation. The searches turned up empty. Spalding 17:30, Feb 7, 2005 (UTC)

What would be a concrete example of Retreatism? Hugo Dufort 20:53, 15 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Picture[edit]

That picture doesn't look like Merton AT ALL. I think it is better to have no picture, or a non-free picture, than to have one which looks like it was drawn in MS Paint and has little relationship to the subject. --24.147.86.187 01:15, 6 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. That picture is ridiculous. There's nothing on the image page to suggest that it's relevant in any way. We should remove it from the article, and the picture should probably be deleted as an orphan. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 10:10, 6 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm, indeed it seems like picture OR :) Suggested WP:IfD.--_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus | talk} 19:24, 6 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why is there an MS Paint drawing of him? That's absolutely ridiculous. 128.8.210.123 22:03, 9 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Removing memetics category[edit]

I am removing the memetics category from this article since you learn no more about the article's contents from the category and v.v. Since so many things may be memes we should try to keep the category closely defined in order to remain useful. Hope you're okay with that. The link to meme would be enough I suggest. Facius 10:59, 23 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Communalism/communism[edit]

Why has Merton's own term 'communism' been replaced with 'communalism'? Writing in the 40s Merton knew very well what was meant by the term and chose it deliberately; retrofitting today's post-McCarthyist PC-ism onto him is silly. I can understand why this is done in the CUDOS article - since that is about the ideas as used now - but not in an article supposed to be about Merton himself Marinheiro 15:28, 20 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

i have a copy of the original article and currently published version, both are communism, so i changed it back. --Buridan 15:51, 20 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ziman (2000) used 'communalism' (and also added 'originality' which is apparently a reinterpretation of 'Mertonian norms' called 'CUDOS principles'). Also re: Merton knowing what he meant to say, he cites Albert Bayet in defining the meaning of scientific 'ethos' , whose biography shows his involvement in various leftwing political groups including the 'Union Progressiste', which is apparently aligned with the French Communist Party. --Louis Maddox 15:02, 4 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Request for editing[edit]

Would one of you able people please proofread the section on middle-range theories and also do some editing to improve the language of particularly the last half of the section to make it more readable. Thanks in advance :-). Henrykwdk (talk) 13:21, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Broken references[edit]

Please could a previous editor of this article take a look at fixing the references — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 18:01, 4 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]