Robert Merton is one of the founders of functionalism (Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons are the other two). In the book Social theory and social structure (1957, New York: Free Press), he provided five general guidelines for the study of deviance:
1-describe the specific form of deviance being studied
2-identify the range and type of alternatives excluded by the dominant pattern of deviance
3-assess the meaning of the deviant activity for those involved
4-discern the motives for conforming to or deviating from a particular dominant interaction pattern
5-describe patterns not recognised by participants but that appear to have consequences for the particular individuals involved and /or other patterns or regularities in the wider social context.
