The STAM group is a joint forum for regular seminars and research activities related to social theory and methodology at ISS. It represents a venue for exchange, in which students and staff can become better informed about issues related to social and political theory, applied theory, and diverse methodological issues (concerning e.g., causation, ontology, and epistemology). As the research frontier unfolds across a future that is sure to include more and better data, not to mention new research questions and social challenges that we are today unable to imagine (let alone predict), there should be little doubt about the need to develop stronger deductive skills and the capacity for greater methodological reflection in our student body. Our ambition is that the STAM group can spotlight these shortcomings in a way that will allow us better equip the next generation of sociologists and political scientists with the appropriate epistemological tools. The activities under STAM's auspices consist of 1) ongoing seminars, 2) PhD courses and 3) book projects.

For several years, STAM limited itself to being a joint departmental seminar, but more recently has also been an important contributor to PhD courses, including SFEL8000 – "Theory of Science"/Peter Sohlberg and more recently Håkon Leiulfsrud), and PhD courses given by ISS (SOS8539 "Theorizing in Social Science Research"/Leiulfsrud and Sohlberg; SOS8540 "Explorations in Class, Power and Social Inequality"/Leiulfsrud & Bjørkhaug; SOS8534 "Comparative Educational Sociology" /Leiulfsrud, Hjellbrekke and Harding).

While in an early phase STAM had a strong link to general theory and theory construction in book projects with contributions from several members of the ISS staff, the focus today is more methodological, with particular interest in comparative analysis. This is also the focus of a majority of planned STAM activities in autumn 2024/spring 2025 in seminars, a further PhD course (SOS8540) and in an ongoing book project "Explorations in Class, Power and Social Inequality".