罗伯特·金·默顿（1910年－2003年）是美国一位已逝的、知名的社会学家。他毕生在哥伦比亚大学担任教授。1994年，默顿由于创建了科学社会学并在此方面做出的贡献获得了美国国家科学奖章。

默顿发展了法国社会学家涂尔干的失范理论（法语：Anomie）概念，提出了犯罪学上著名的紧张理论（英语：Strain Theory） ，另外提出内团体与外团体的概念，在犯罪学上加以延伸并且套用。(如内团体是帮派份子的组织，而将外团体视为社会组织。) 。

Robert King Merton (July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was an American sociologist. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor. In 1994 Merton won the National Medal of Science for his contributions to the field and for having founded the sociology of science. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern-day sociology.