Every year, the International Network of Analytical Sociologists awards an outstanding paper with the Robert K. Merton Award.
Robert K. Merton was one of the most influential sociologists of the 20th century. His writing on the principles and importance of middle-range theory as well as his own theories of self-fulfilling prophecies and Matthew effects have been important sources of inspiration for the emergence of analytical sociology. Merton attended the first analytical-sociology conference held at the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm in 1996, and he remained a strong supporter of analytical sociology throughout the rest of his career.
The Robert K. Merton Award for the best paper in analytical sociology is an annual award announced at the annual INAS conference. The award is based on a thorough selection process. Nominations are sought from the international scholarly community and the decision is made by a committee of leading scholars appointed at the INAS meeting.
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Robert K. Merton Award 2026
Ozan Aksoy and Aron Szekely, Making Sense of Honor Killings, published in American Sociological Review, 2025
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Robert K. Merton Award 2025
Marco Giesselmann, David Brady and Tabea Naujoks, The Increase in Refugees to Germany and Exclusionary Beliefs and Behaviors, published in American Journal of Sociology, 2024.
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Robert K. Merton Award 2024
René D. Flores, María Vignau Loría, and Regina Martínez Casas, Transitory versus durable boundary crossing: what explains the indigenous population boom in Mexico?, published in American Journal of Sociology, 2023.
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Robert K. Merton Award 2023
Christopher Muller and Daniel Schrage, The political economy of incarceration in the cotton south, 1910–1925, published in American Journal of Sociology, 2021.
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Robert K. Merton Award 2021
Hanno Kruse and Clemens Kroneberg, More than a Sorting Machine: Ethnic Boundary Making in a Stratified School System, published in American Journal of Sociology, 2019
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Robert K. Merton Award 2020
Arnout van de Rijt, Self-Correcting Dynamics in Social Influence Processes, published in American Journal of Sociology, 2019
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Robert K. Merton Award 2018
Ozan Aksoy and Diego Gambetta, Behind the Veil. The Strategic Use of Religious Garb, published in European Sociological Review, 2016
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Robert K. Merton Award 2017
Marc Keuschnigg and Tobias Wolbring, Disorder, social capital, and norm violation: Three field experiments on the broken windows thesis, published in Rationality and Society, 2015
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Robert K. Merton Award 2016
Sarah K. Cowan, Secrets and Misperceptions: The Creation of Self-Fulfilling Illusion, published in Sociological Science, 2014