soctheory-workflow
GitHubSociological Theory 投稿工作流的路由器，根据用户当前阶段或瓶颈（如选题模糊、论证薄弱等），指导选择对应的专用技能以完成从问题构建到同行评审修改的完整稿件撰写。
Trigger Scenarios
Install
npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill soctheory-workflow -g -y
SKILL.md
Frontmatter
{
"name": "soctheory-workflow",
"description": "Use when deciding which soctheory-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing a Sociological Theory manuscript from theoretical-problem framing through peer-review revision for a Sociological Theory (ST) submission. Routes — does not replace — the specialized skills."
}
Sociological Theory Workflow (soctheory-workflow)
Overview
This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill — it tells you which soctheory- skill to use at the current stage* of a Sociological Theory (ST) manuscript.
Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as Sociological Theory, the American Sociological Association's (ASA) dedicated theory journal, published by SAGE. ST publishes work "in all areas of theory, including new substantive theories, history of theory, metatheory, formal theory construction, and synthetic contributions" (submission guidelines, 检索于 2026-06；以官网为准). The deliverable is a conceptual advance — a new concept, a sharpened mechanism, a typology, a reconstruction of a tradition, or a metatheoretical clarification. There is no hypothesis-testing, no estimation, and no results section: data, when present at all, is illustrative, never a test. If the project hinges on identifying a causal effect in a dataset, it belongs at ST's empirical siblings (American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology), not at ST.
Two reference points keep the bar in view at every stage. Gabriel Abend's "The Meaning of 'Theory'" (ST 2008, 26(2):173–199) shows that "theory" means several distinct things in sociology — be explicit about which kind you are doing. Isaac Reed's "Justifying Sociological Knowledge" (ST 2008, 26(2):101–129) shows that the warrant for a theoretical claim is itself a theoretical commitment. References follow the ASA Style Guide (author-date).
When to trigger
- The user asks "what should I do next?" on a theory paper
- A draft arrives and you must locate its bottleneck (problem? concept? argument? contribution?)
- Work is thrashing between theorizing, diagram-building, and prose
- An ST decision letter has arrived and the work shifts to revision
Routing table
| Current symptom | Next skill |
|---|---|
| Idea is vague; not sure there is a real theoretical problem | soctheory-topic-selection |
| Have a problem but concepts/mechanisms/propositions are not built | soctheory-theory-construction |
| Unsure which tradition or conversation you are intervening in | soctheory-literature-positioning |
| Propositions exist but the chain of reasoning is missing or shaky | soctheory-argument-development |
| Theory over-reaches; scope and domain are unstated | soctheory-boundary-conditions |
| Need a typology / mechanism diagram / process figure (not a table) | soctheory-conceptual-exhibits |
| Prose reads like a literature review, not an argument | soctheory-writing-style |
| Cannot say what new way of seeing the theory provides | soctheory-contribution-framing |
| Want to understand ST's double-anonymous, multi-round review | soctheory-review-process |
| Ready to submit; need the Manuscript Central preflight | soctheory-submission |
| Received an R&R; need to write the response document | soctheory-rebuttal |
Default order
soctheory-topic-selection— lock the theoretical problem (what existing theory cannot see)soctheory-literature-positioning— name the tradition/conversation you intervene insoctheory-theory-construction— build concepts, mechanisms, propositionssoctheory-argument-development— make the reasoning valid; engage rival theoriessoctheory-boundary-conditions— state scope, domain, and what the theory does NOT claimsoctheory-conceptual-exhibits— typology / mechanism diagram / process figuresoctheory-contribution-framing— the new way of seeing; the "before → after"soctheory-writing-style— ASA Style Guide; argument-driven prose (polish)soctheory-submission— Manuscript Central preflightsoctheory-review-process— understand the review you are about to entersoctheory-rebuttal— after the R&R
soctheory-writing-styleis a late-stage polish. Do not polish prose before the argument is valid (soctheory-argument-development) and the contribution is named (soctheory-contribution-framing).
Session gate sheet
Open each ST work session by filling this sheet; the first blank or "no" is the route. Gate 0 is ST-specific: a manuscript that cannot name its kind of theory will drift.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY — SESSION GATE SHEET
Gate 0 Which sense of "theory" (Abend 2008) is this paper doing? kind: ______________
Gate 1 What existing theory cannot see is stated ............. soctheory-topic-selection
Gate 2 Tradition / conversation intervened in is named ....... soctheory-literature-positioning
Gate 3 Concepts, mechanisms, propositions are built .......... soctheory-theory-construction
Gate 4 Chain of reasoning valid; rivals engaged .............. soctheory-argument-development
Gate 5 Scope + domain stated; over-reach trimmed ............. soctheory-boundary-conditions
Gate 6 Typology / mechanism / process figure drafted ......... soctheory-conceptual-exhibits
Gate 7 The new way of seeing is nameable (before -> after) ... soctheory-contribution-framing
Gate 8 Prose argues; ASA author-date style throughout ........ soctheory-writing-style
Gate 9 Manuscript Central preflight complete ................. soctheory-submission
Gate 10 Double-anonymous multi-round review understood ........ soctheory-review-process
Gate 11 R&R response revises the THEORY, then the letter ...... soctheory-rebuttal
Standing rule: Gates 6–8 wait on Gate 4; data mentioned anywhere stays illustrative, never a test.
Decision shortcuts
- "I have an interesting phenomenon but no theory" →
soctheory-topic-selection - "I don't know whose tradition I'm arguing with" →
soctheory-literature-positioning - "My propositions read like assertions" →
soctheory-theory-constructionthensoctheory-argument-development - "A reviewer will say the theory claims too much" →
soctheory-boundary-conditions - "My figure is boxes and arrows with no mechanism" →
soctheory-conceptual-exhibits - "A reviewer will ask 'what's new here?'" →
soctheory-contribution-framing - "It reads like a review essay" →
soctheory-writing-style - "I'm about to hit submit" →
soctheory-submission - "I got a Major/Minor Revision" →
soctheory-review-processthensoctheory-rebuttal
Differences vs. ASR / AJS empirical skill stacks
If the manuscript identifies an effect in data and the contribution is the finding, an empirical-sociology stack (ASR / AJS) fits better. The core split:
- Sociological Theory: builds theory; the contribution IS the conceptual advance; data illustrative only; propositions, not hypotheses tested.
- ASR / AJS: test or demonstrate empirically; samples, measures, estimation, results.
ST is also not Theory and Society, the European Journal of Social Theory, or
Sociological Methodology — it is the ASA's flagship for theory proper (see
soctheory-topic-selection for the sibling-venue map).
Anti-patterns
- Do not skip
soctheory-literature-positioningand jump to building — reviewers first ask whose tradition you are in. - Do not let
soctheory-conceptual-exhibitspretty up a diagram before the mechanism exists. - Do not let
soctheory-rebuttaldraft a response before the theory itself has been revised. - Do not treat ST as a venue for an empirical test; route hypothesis-testing to ASR/AJS.
Volatile specifics (exact fee, word limit, ASA Style edition, portal) change — see
resources/official-source-map.mdand confirm on the official ST / SAGE author page. The 2024–2026 co-editor team is identified in the source map (verified 2026-06-22), but editors rotate (next term begins 2027-01-01), so re-confirm the slate before naming editors.
Version History
- 1839142 Current 2026-07-05 14:28
