Robert Merton initially developed his functional paradigm in reaction to Malinowski’s scheme, although it would not be difficult to visualize his strategy as an alternative to Parsons’ even grander scheme.

The first step in protocol is description of the phenomenon of interest to investigator, for only through description can be the social context in which certain structures operate, be exposed.

A next necessary procedure is to describe the “meaning” of a situation for the actors implicated in process and structures of interest to an investigator. Understanding this can offer  clues as to the reasons behind, or “manifest functions” of certain events. A related step is to determine the motives for both deviation and conformity among participants in processes and structures  of  concern to an investigator. In this way, clues about the psychological needs being served by particular facets of a system can be uncovered.

Then, Investigators must be attuned not just to manifest, but also to “latent functions” of events.

The identification of manifest and latent dysfuctions is must for completion of the functional analysis.

Now, it is possible to assess the “net balance of consequences” of  an item.  This  assessment involves determining if an item of concern has positive (functional), negative (dysfunctional), or no discernible consequences for various system referents. Such assessment is assisted by understanding the requisites of  various  system referents and by concern with objective consequences, whether manifest or latent, of an item. Functional analysis thus becomes a kind of “balance sheet” of functions and dysfunctions for different aspects of a system.

A final step  which concerns  the functional question is to whether or not alternative structures, operating through alternative mechanisms, could have the same functions. In this way, speculation about the range of potential variations of substructures in systems is possible ( functional alternatives).  And  assessing the degree to which the balance of functions promotes or retards social change and stability.

What Merton proposes therefore, is a way to conduct functional analysis without implicitly employing the questionable postulates of “functional unity,” “functional indispensability,” and “functional universality.”

The method can be summarized as below :

•          Functional analysis must concern empirical systems, not abstract systems.
•          Investigation must focus on a particular structural pattern of interest.
•          This structural pattern must be assessed in terms of its consequences for empirically determined requisites (not a priori, abstract needs) of the system in which it is implicated and of the individuals in the system.
•          Functional analysis must assess the positive, negative, and nonfunctional consequences of a structure on empirically established requisites.
•          By careful performance of number 4 above. The “net balance of consequence” of a structure can be assessed.
•          Understanding the net balance of functions can allow for the developed of abstract generalizations about limited ranges of phenomena.