L'indice segreto : origine e sviluppo del rapporto di Merton con Durkheim

This article provides an in-depth analysis of Robert K. Merton's adherence to the durkheimian tradition through the concept of index. To do so, it provides a detailed analysis of the first essay written by the American sociologist: «Durkheim's Division of Labor in Society» (1934). The results of this analysis are also compared with Merton's subsequent writings, such as Sociological Theory (1945) and The Bearing of Empirical Research Upon the Development of Sociological Theory (1948), in which the confrontation with the Durkheim's indexes is further reaffirmed. This comparison generates the possibility of identifying the evolution of the relationship that the American sociologist establishes with his French counterpart, as a fundamental tool of empirical research. [Publisher's text].