Sociological research methodology. Applied Sociology is

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SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY- an integral part and a special area of sociological knowledge, which has as its content a set of principles and methods of organizing, developing and evaluating theoretical and empirical sociological knowledge, a system of norms and regulations for conducting sociological research. As a type of sociological knowledge, the SI methodology is relatively independent of theory and empiricism, as the direction of the sociologist's activity, the SI methodology is subordinated to the tasks of their development.

Growing out of the needs of organizing and regulating sociological knowledge, being a generalization of the practice of sociological research and other types of science, the activities of a sociologist, the SI methodology at the same time acts as a concretization of the philosophical and general scientific methodology in relation to the specifics of the cognitive situation in sociology. Thus, sociological methodology is one of the sources for the development of the methodology of science as a whole, it contributes to the social self-determination of science. This understanding of the SI methodology has developed in recent decades.

In the methodology of sociology, the following levels are distinguished: a) analysis of the philosophical foundations of sociological knowledge, b) analysis of the problems of theoretical knowledge, c) analysis of the problems of empirical research, d) methodological analysis of the procedure, techniques, tools, research organization as a whole, e) practical and interdisciplinary context sociological research.
Sociology acquired a concrete scientific character with the development of its logical and methodological arsenal and the strengthening of the empirical basis.
In the structure of theoretical sociology, the level of general and special (particular) theories is distinguished. The content of general theories are concepts and conceptual systems that reflect the forms of societies, activities and relations characteristic of significant historical periods (one or more socio-economic formations). Special theories usually have a narrower historical horizon. However, the border between general and particular theory is relative, since any theoretical activity in sociology in one way or another reveals its connection with philosophical foundations.
Due to the logical and methodological requirements for the theory (completeness of its constituent parts, internal logical coherence, consistency, empirical validity, etc.), the most important characteristic of any theoretical construction in sociology is the scale of the subject area subject to consideration (for example, the state, politics or political institutions in general). A particular theory may arise due to a special approach, perspective, the presence special methods or the originality of the empirical basis. So, the family can be considered as a small group, social institution or as part of the social microenvironment, a special type of primary social. connections.
The methodological problems of empirical research are due to both the originality of the methods used and the use of the corresponding theoretical concepts, analysis and synthesis tools (logical, mathematical and statistical techniques).
The most important methodological problem of the empirical level of research is the conceptualization of empirical data or the empirical interpretation of the concepts used and the connections between them. The status of sociological indicators and the empirical validity of sociological theory, the reliability of conclusions and forecasts depend on the solution of these problems. The problem of conceptualizing data and inferences affects, directly or indirectly, all levels of sociological theory.
Sociology's interdisciplinary ties are traditional, both within the disciplines of the social and humanitarian cycles, and outside them - with the philosophical and technical sciences. In recent decades, the interaction between the sciences is not only determined by subject, methodological and service - functional connections, but is increasingly becoming a consequence of common practical problems. Sociologists are actively involved in the elaboration of complex problems of social development, politics, education, etc. In many social sciences, the arsenal of methods and means of analysis developed in sociology is being actively mastered, and sociological concepts and concepts are increasingly used. In other words, the institutionalization of sociology in Russia is acquiring a comprehensive character. Methodologically, the practical orientation of sociology leads to the strengthening of interdisciplinary ties, the importance of general scientific concepts and methods in the process of sociological research increases. Accordingly, important changes are taking place in the structure of sociological theories (the theory of social organizations, semiotic analysis of social texts and a new look at sociological information, system models in social psychology, etc.). The concepts of applied forms of sociological knowledge and the development of a special implementation technique (the idea of social technology) are put forward. The practical status of sociological knowledge is subject to ever more detailed consideration in the SI methodology.
In connection with the inclusion of sociology in the general context of interdisciplinary relations, the methodological role of sociology for other sciences is growing, the subject of sociology and its methodological equipment are enriched. In practical terms, the opportunity arises integrated approach to study social problems; On the epistemological level, the need to defend the ontological and methodological specificity of sociology is becoming more and more urgent in order to resist the unfavorable tendencies of naturalism, technicism, formalism and normativeism in the development of social science as a whole.

Method derived from the Greek words methodos - a way (way) of knowledge - 1. Consciously and consistently applied way to achieve the goal. 2. A way of cognition, research of natural phenomena and social life with the aim of building and substantiating a system of knowledge.

Tutorial

Kemerovo 2014

BBK S5v6ya73

Reprinted by the decision of the Editorial and Publishing Council

Kemerovo State University

Reviewers:

Department of Sociology, Political Relations and Law of the Kuzbass State technical university(head. chair dr Philos. Sciences, Assoc. V. M. Zolotukhin);

Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Law and Socio-Political Disciplines of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "KemGUKI" P. I. Balabanov

Mazhenina, E.A.

М 13 Methodology and methodology of sociological research: textbook / EA Mazhenina, TN Protasova; otv. ed. Dr. Sociol. Sciences, prof. L. L. Shpak. - Kemerovo, 2014 .-- 131 p.

ISBN 978-5-8353-1693-9

The manual was developed for the basic discipline of the professional cycle B3.B.4 "Methodology and methods of sociological research" in accordance with the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Professional Education.

The manual presents material on the problems of methodology studied by students of sociology in a bachelor's degree. Some issues of conceptualization of research and preparation of a program are touched upon, the connection between methodology, method and research procedure is emphasized. The main methods of sociological research are highlighted.

The manual is addressed to undergraduate students in the field of training "Sociology".

Foreword. 4

Section 1. Methodological foundations of sociological research. 7

1.1. Research methodology. 7

1.2. Research conceptualization. ten

Section 2. Organizational and methodological foundations of sociological research 13

2.1. Types of sociological research. 13

2.2. Sociological research program. 16

2.3. Selective method in sociological research. 21

Section 3. Using traditional methods of sociological research 26

3.1. Survey methods .. 26

3.2. Document analysis method. 31

3.3. Secondary analysis. 37

3.4. Observation method. 39

3.5. Social experiment. 43

Section 4. Research potential of some less common methods. 48

4.1. Diary method. 48

4.2. Social mapping method. 49

4.3. Conversion analysis. 56

4.4. Psychosemantic methods in sociological research. 61

Literature. 71

Test questions, practical and test. 75

tasks. 75

1. Test questions and practical tasks. 75

2. Control and measuring materials .. 85

Glossary. 106

Applications. 116

Foreword

As a result of mastering the discipline "Methodology and methodology of sociological research", students develop the following competencies:

Competency code	Content of competence	The result of development
OK-9	Ability to use the basic principles and methods of social, humanitarian and economic sciences in solving professional problems.	Know: - know the existing theoretical approaches, the conceptual apparatus necessary for the development of the methodology of sociological research; - features of the construction of indicators, indicators, scales, indices. Be able to: - use theoretical approaches, conceptual apparatus, in relation to a specific research problem; - to use methods of sociological research in relation to a specific research problem. Own: - terminology in the field of research methodology and methodology; - skills in developing a research program; - skills in using methods for collecting, processing and interpreting sociological data.
PC-1	The ability to apply in professional activities basic and professionally profiled knowledge and skills in the basics of sociological theory and methods of sociological research.	Know: - know the existing theoretical approaches, the conceptual apparatus necessary for the development of the methodology of sociological research; - know the structure and content of the sociological research program; - know the specifics of organizing and conducting certain types of sociological research; - a system of methods for sociological research. Be able to: - develop conceptual and operational research models; construct indicators, indicators, scales, indices in relation to a specific research problem. Own: - terminology in the field of research methodology and methodology; - skills in developing a research program; - skills in developing methods, tools for sociological research; skills in the use of methods for collecting, processing and interpreting sociological data.
PC-3	Ability and willingness to participate in the preparation and execution of scientific and technical documentation, scientific reports, to present the results of research work, taking into account the characteristics of the potential audience.	Know: - know the features of the organization and conduct of certain types of sociological research; - methods of generalization and presentation of sociological research data; structure and logic of the scientific report. Be able to: - prepare a scientific report on the results of sociological research. Possess: - skills of presentation and interpretation of sociological research data.
PC-4	Ability and willingness to use knowledge of methods and theories of social sciences and humanities in the implementation of expert, consulting and analytical activities.	Know: - the peculiarities of the organization and conduct of certain types of sociological research. Be able to: - use the methods of sociological research in relation to a specific research problem. Possess: - skills in developing methods, tools for sociological research; - skills in using methods for collecting, processing and interpreting sociological data.

The manual consists of a lecture notes, a list of references, test questions, practical and test assignments for the discipline, a glossary, and applications.

The lecture notes include 4 sections, the first three of which are devoted to the main topics of the discipline "Methodology and methodology of sociological research", and the fourth section includes material on less common methods that are used in sociological research.

The study of the discipline is impossible without solving practical tasks, the implementation of which is an element of an active creative form of education. Students are required to independently show their search and analytical skills, develop a program, tools, refer to additional literature, a list of which is given in the manual.

To check the acquired knowledge and self-control, questions, test assignments, and a glossary are offered.

Appendices are included at the end of the manual. When compiling the application, the works of leading Russian scientists were used, as well as the developments of the teachers of the Department of Sociological Sciences, including the authors.

The tutorial makes it possible to effectively organize independent work students.

Mazhenina E.A. Cand. sociol. Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Sociological Sciences (preface, 1.1 in collaboration with T.N. Protasova; 1.2; 2.1; 2.2; 2.3; 3.3; 3.4; 3.5; 4 . 1; 4.2; 4.3; literature, test questions and practical tasks on the indicated topics, control and measuring materials, author-compiler of test tasks, glossary, compiler of appendix 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 ).

Protasova T.N. Cand. sociol. Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Sociological Sciences (1. 1. in co-authorship with E. A. Mazhenina, 3. 1; 3. 2; 4.4; control questions and practical tasks on the indicated topics, compiler of appendices 4, 5).

Section 1. Methodological foundations of sociological
research

1.1. Research methodology

The appeal to factual material in sociology is dictated by its own needs, above all, the requirement for a thorough study of social objects and phenomena.

In modern sociology, a logic has been developed for substantiating social facts, including factual knowledge in the system of science (see Appendix 1). When establishing a social fact, it is necessary to separate the accidental and find the meaningful, typical, pivotal, stable.

In phenomenologically oriented sociology, an individual case, event, state of social interaction, subject to interpretation from the standpoint of an active subject, is considered as a social fact.

Social facts are "raw building blocks." Arranging facts in a certain sequence, establishing cause-and-effect relationships between them, acting within the framework of research tasks, the sociologist builds new knowledge, enriches sociological theory. With the help of factual knowledge, we perceive social reality and establish relations with it as with a stable, understandable and predictable education.

A sociologist, conducting research, strives to obtain reliable and reliable results, an objective study of social reality. At the same time, his actions are subject to the norms, rules, principles developed in science, which form the methodology of science.

In the broad sense of the word, methodology is a complex integral system of knowledge about the methods of obtaining and systematizing new knowledge.

The methodology of sociological science, on the one hand, is a teaching about the initial principles of scientific knowledge and includes general issues the validity of the methods used, the reliability of observations, the criteria for confirming or refuting scientific theories. On the other hand, it is a teaching about the methods and techniques of research based on these principles. At the same time, the sociologist deals with the procedural issues of organizing research, combining research methods, procedures, techniques.

Methodology can be defined as principles for organizing research, “norms” by which a procedure and technique are selected and formalized. The general view of sociological methodology lies in the question: "How to conduct research?", As well as in the answer about the norms and standards of obtaining new knowledge.

The goal of sociological methodology is to substantiate generalizations (general judgments about a certain area of reality) and streamline research results using appropriate methodological tools.

The structure of the methodology reflects a three-level concept of the structure of sociological knowledge. V.A.Yadov identified three interdependent and interrelated levels of sociological methodology:

The highest level is general scientific methodology based on the dialectical method. At this level, the leading principle is that phenomena and processes should be considered in the variety of their connections and in dynamics, revealing their stable and changeable properties. This can also include other general scientific principles: universalism, universality, historicity, concreteness, organized skepticism, procedurality, priority of truth, etc.

At the second level, there are methodologies of various fields of knowledge, including general sociological methodology, the function of which is realized by sociological theory. At this level, there is theoretical knowledge of how to study social reality, indicating the fundamental foundations of the development of private sociological theories. The methodological principles of sociology, as a science of society, include the principles of historical-genetic analysis, multifactorial explanations of social changes, subject-activity analysis, humanistic research orientation, polyparadigmality, concretization, typology, objectification, etc.

At the third level there is a special methodology of sociological research, which includes principles, methodological techniques, rules for collecting, processing and interpreting information. Here, particular sociological theories act as applied logic, implement the search function.

Thus, the methodology, method and technique are closely related.

Methods, techniques, techniques, procedures fools are private (applied) methods of sociological research. Sociology has not developed a single definition of them. Some authors call one and the same system of actions a method, others a technique, others a procedure, and still others a technique or methodology. However, it is generally accepted to understand by method the main way of collecting, processing and analyzing data, under technique- a set of special techniques for the effective use of a particular method. The set of techniques (private operations, their sequence and relationship) associated with the use of the method is called methodology. Procedure- the sequence of all operations, the general system of actions and methods of organizing research, collecting and processing sociological information.

The internal structure of any sociological method contains four groups of elements: (a) the reflective part, based on theoretical principles and laws of social objects; (b) the normative part that sets the regulation of the cognitive activity of the sociologist (certain rules, techniques, procedures); (c) an instrumental part in the form of special means (for example, a questionnaire, observation diary, etc.); (d) the procedural part, representing a strictly defined sequence of actions, each individual action has a strictly defined meaning, contains a function in the structure of the procedure (there are simple procedures, for example, registering certain events during observation, there are more complex ones - designing a questionnaire, etc.). ).

Method classification usually represented as follows:

By the scale of application:

§ general scientific (system analysis, comparative analysis, mathematical);

§ private science (for example, the method of sociological survey).

By level of knowledge:

§ theoretical (induction, deduction, etc.);

§ empirical (observation, content analysis, etc.).

By stages of research:

§ methods of formulating hypotheses, problems, goals and objectives (modeling, analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, etc.);

§ methods of collecting information (sociological survey, observation method, study of documents, biographical method, etc.);

§ methods of information analysis (generalization, qualitative analysis, theoretical and empirical typology, factor analysis, etc.);

§ methods of information processing (grouping, ranking, correlation, regression analyzes, etc.).

In modern sociology, there is a division into quantitative(questionnaire, standardized interview, experiment, etc.) and quality methods (individual non-standardized interview, focus group, biographical method (personal documents), participant observation, etc.) depending on the research approach (see Appendix 3).

Each method or group of methods has a specific purpose, for example, methods of qualitative analysis represent a semantic interpretation of data, while statistical methods are aimed at finding statistical patterns.

1.2. Conceptualizing research

The process of interpreting a fact is a system of logical inferences that are perceived as true . The result of this process is the construction of the research concept.

Concept- a leading idea, a certain way of understanding, interpreting a phenomenon around which a sociological research is organized. The sociological concept is made up of a set of scientific related terms and concepts and empirical indicators of quality that are verifiable.

The concept is developed based on the knowledge of social reality. In fact, it is an incomplete, loose theory. Sociological concepts precede theory as a more complex and complete product of understanding reality (Shpak L.L., 2007).

Concept building begins with a structure in which constructs (elements that make up a structure) fill the main idea with information and facts about the subject of research. The design develops into a conceptual diagram (Appendix 2).

Comprehension of a fact at the level of past knowledge about it and new ideas forms a hypothesis - a connection between empirical facts, everyday knowledge about them and theory.

Conceptualization- the process of studying social facts using the appropriate theoretical and analytical methods. This is a logical movement from the concrete (facts) through the operationalization and comprehension of the concept - to the conceptual scheme, and from it - to the abstract (construction of the concept). The purpose of conceptualization is to identify the nature and methods of working at the theoretical level, to ensure the internal coherence of the concepts and constructs used, to propose an angle of vision of the subject field, to determine the research mode.

Conceptualization is based on working with concepts. The main content of the work is the operational definition of concepts (operationalization).

Operationalization of concepts- movement to the concrete. It is an ontological confirmation of a conceptual schema. The content is formed in line with a certain paradigm, taking into account all its postulates.

Specificity of work during conceptualization: construction of a conceptual scheme, work with concepts at a theoretical level, hypothetical comprehension of the subject of research, application of theoretical research methods. A concept is one of the logical forms of thinking as opposed to judgment or inference. The concept is subject to the requirements of constancy, definiteness, unambiguous linguistic expression. Work on a concept is not limited to etymology (the origin of a word in a language dictionary), but includes an analysis of the constituent parts of the concept, semantic load in relation to the concept, definition (definition) and wording.

Considering the concept, the researcher notes its important characteristics and establishes a logical connection between the characteristics. To limit a concept means to move from genus to species (to add distinctive features of the research subject). Definition definitions- this is work with a concept through the enumeration of features, by indicating the content of the concept. Sometimes the definition can only consist in indicating essential features, since these concepts can have a large number of features.

Categories Are extremely broad concepts. It is necessary to decide on which categories the conclusions and conclusions in the study will be built (for example, to clarify the age category of the object).

A transition is made from conceptual definitions to operational ones in the form of a methodological complex, where each concept corresponds to a variable and an operational definition. At the theoretical level, work is underway with two types of definitions of concepts: operational and conceptual, on which any sociological research is based. Conceptual definition concepts (or a variable) imply a verbal decoding, or a definition borrowed, as a rule, from a dictionary. Conceptual means a theoretical definition in which more abstract concepts are deciphered through more concrete ones. Operational definition- this is a logical way out to an empirical understanding of the content of the concept (measurement of the parameters of an object according to the designed indicators), while the conceptual explanation is linked by the research methodology, since further levels of operationalization are associated with the application of scaling and the explanation of indicators, according to the concept (interpretation).

Conceptualization tasks. Limit the content and define the scope of concepts. Reveal the boundaries of the subject area. Define the main categories of research. Form and interpret derived concepts. Clarify the unambiguity of the meaning of the defined concepts.

Basic methods and techniques. Logical techniques are used: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, analogies, techniques and rules of formal logic. Scientific intuition and the experience of the researcher can play an important role.

Basic conceptualization procedures. Concretization- this is the finding for the concept of relations of the genus and the derivation of the relations of the species from it. An abstract generic relation (abstraction) can be concretized by species-forming constructs or conceptual schemes ("concreters"). Sequential instantiation provides an ascent from the abstract to the concrete.

Interpretation- the process of comparing other elements of the conceptual scheme with the construct and at the same time the result of this process. Interpretation ensures the semantic uniqueness of concepts, the adequacy of the conceptual apparatus of the subject area and methodological characteristics of the research object.

Diagnostic procedures the object consists in establishing a correspondence between constructs and reality, which requires further measurements. In the first type of diagnostic procedure, tools are selected according to concepts that can be considered universal and reproducible in similar research conditions. According to the second type, there is a search for hidden symptoms (reasons for the appearance of certain properties) in the object of research: if the property of the object manifests itself in similar conditions, then there is a reason, as a rule, of a natural nature, which acts in an implicit way. The third type of diagnostic procedure involves the definition of some syndromes (stable complexes or groups of variables). The syndrome unites a number of interrelated variables that require explanation in the course of research. Social status, income, gender, age, marital status, nationality are the most frequently used sociological variables. In the process of conceptualization, a hypothesis is put forward about the existence of relationships between groups of variables, the result of the study contains evidence of the regularity of these relationships.

Conceptualization result- building a conceptual scheme. Hypotheses about the nature of the investigated object are formulated, based on the available theoretical findings and conclusions. The scheme captures in general terms the tendencies, dependencies between constructs and is the basis for reaching the empirical level of research. The concept is born as an independent form of knowledge organization. In practical terms, the result of this stage is the text of the first chapter, for example, a thesis, thesis.

Section 2. Organizational and methodological foundations
sociological research

2.1. Types of sociological research

Sociological research is an integral system of theoretical and empirical procedures that contribute to the acquisition of new knowledge about the object under study for solving specific theoretical and practical social problems. This is one of the main ways of developing sociology, the types of professional activities of people who have received special training. Sociological research becomes necessary when a certain social problem arises that requires its solution.

Distinguish between sociological research and social research. Social research is an interdisciplinary study that is carried out at the intersection of sciences, for example, socio-economic, socio-political, socio-psychological, etc.

Sociological research can be classified on different grounds.

By the nature of research tasks:

Ü fundamental research aimed at analyzing social patterns, trends, the development of scientific knowledge with the subsequent construction of a theory;

Ü applied research aimed at applying scientific knowledge, as well as stable constructs of everyday knowledge that exist in social practice, at developing ways and mechanisms for transforming social life;

Ü fundamentally applied(comprehensive) research, the purpose of which is to contribute to the solution of social problems by developing new theoretical and methodological foundations for their study, interpretation and a deeper and more comprehensive explanation than before.

By the depth and complexity of the analysis:

Ü search (reconnaissance)- is aimed at finding research problems, a more correct formulation of tasks and the advancement of well-grounded hypotheses. The simplest type of sociological analysis, since it solves problems that are very limited in their content. It covers, as a rule, small surveyed populations and is based on a simplified program and a methodological toolkit that is compressed in terms of volume. Reconnaissance research can be used as a preliminary stage of deep and large-scale research, or the collection of "rough" information about the research object for general orientation;

Ü aerobatic- is aimed at approbation of methods and sociological tools. As a result of its implementation, a final decision is made as to which methods of collecting information and in what proportion to apply, and also the organization of collecting information is being worked out. Based on its results, the wording of the questions is specified, the toolkit is tested for reliability and accuracy. Such a study is carried out on a small sample (50-100 people), but so that the sample includes all the groups of respondents that are significant for the research purposes;

Ü descriptive- obtaining empirical information that gives a relatively holistic idea of the studied phenomenon, its structural elements. A descriptive study is carried out according to a complete, sufficiently detailed program and on the basis of a methodically approved toolkit. Its reliable methodological equipment makes it possible to group and classify the elements of the object under study according to those characteristics that are highlighted as essential in connection with the problem under study;

Ü analytical- this is the most in-depth type of sociological analysis, the purpose of which is not only to describe the structural elements of the phenomenon under study, but also to clarify the reasons that underlie it and determine its nature and specificity (identification of cause-and-effect relationships). Social experiment is a kind of analytical research.

By the scope of the research object:

Ü solid - covering all units of the general population (for example, population census);

Ü selective - covering a small part of the general population (sample population), selected according to a special procedure.

By scale:

Ü international;

Ü nationwide;

Ü regional;

Ü industry-specific;

Ü are local.

By timing:

Ü strategic (long-term) - from two years or more;

Ü long-term - 7-9 months;

Ü medium - 4-6 months;

Ü short - 2-3 months;

Ü operational (express polls) - from 10 days to 1 month.

By frequency:

Ü one-time (point) gives information about the state of the object of analysis, about the quantitative characteristics of any phenomenon or process at the time of its study. Such information, in a certain sense, can be called static, since it reflects an instantaneous "cut" of the characteristics of an object and does not give an answer to the question about the tendencies of its change in time;

Ü repeated is aimed at identifying the dynamics of a statistically constant social object and is carried out on the basis of a single program and methodology for collecting information in two or more stages at regular intervals.

There are several types of re-examination.

ü Panel studies- provide for the repeated study of the same persons at specified time intervals using the same program or technique in order to determine the dynamics of processes and phenomena. The main problem in panel studies is the difficulty of keeping a sample from one study to another. It is also possible that over time, the members of the sample will become atypical for the general population, and the data about them will not be reliable for it. Therefore, for panel studies, it is necessary to observe such intervals that allow the maximum stability of the studied population in terms of its size and composition.

ü Cohort studies - a special kind of panel, the specificity lies in the fact that the sample object is a certain age group studied over a sufficiently long time period (a cohort is people of the same generation or, more strictly, of one year of birth). The goal is to study how the conditions and way of life, interests, value orientations and attitudes change in a cohort over time.

ü Trend Research - These are studies on a single general population or on similar samples (without the mandatory requirement to maintain the previous sample) at certain intervals in time, in order to establish trends (tendencies) of social changes.

ü Longitudinal studies - long-term periodic research of the same persons as the surveyed population reaches a certain stage of its development. Individual and group changes are recorded when external factors change or remain. The object of such research, most often, is youth, as a dynamically developing age group (for example, the professional development of youth).

Social monitoring - a form of organizing sociological research that provides constant information about the state of a particular social object, process or social situation. The monitoring object is constantly monitored by means of periodic measurement of indicators (indicators) that determine it.

Monographic research is a type of research in which only one unit of any class of social processes or phenomena acts as an object of study. Moreover, this object is considered as characteristic of the entire class of studied processes. A monographic study does not pretend to obtain representative information, but is limited to a detailed analysis of only a new phenomenon, the lack of sufficient information about which makes it impossible to conduct a wide sample study.

Omnibus Is a study carried out simultaneously for several customers on several topics. Questions asked at the request of different clients and touching on various topics and plots are included in a single questionnaire, which is used at the stage of field research, but at the end of it it is divided into separate blocks, according to the requests of customers, the processing and analysis of which is carried out individually. Omnibus allows you to reduce costs (the cost of participation in such a study is significantly lower than the cost of a separate project), to receive information that is of interest to various clients in a short time.

Any sociological research is planned and carried out in stages. In the scientific literature, there are various schemes for conducting a sociological study, but usually three stages are distinguished.

1. Preparatory stage. At this stage, the labor intensity of the research is determined, a research program, methods are developed, the situation is studied, pilot studies (pilot studies) are carried out to test the tools and techniques on a small sample, some organizational and preparatory work is carried out.

2. Operational (field) stage. Characterized by the collection of social information, experimentation is carried out.

3. The resulting stage (final). At this stage, information is processed, analyzed, summarized and interpreted. Recommendations are developed, reports are drawn up.

2.2. Sociological Research Program

Sociological Research Program is a scientific document that contains the methodological, methodological, organizational and procedural foundations of the study. The program is a statement of the theoretical and methodological premises of the study (general concept) in accordance with the main goals and hypotheses of the work undertaken, indicating the rules and procedures, as well as the logical sequence of operations and their verification. The program combines a set of theoretical, methodological, organizational and technical tasks that a researcher solves, and is, on the one hand, a kind of outline of the entire course of research, and on the other, a document that allows ensuring the reliability of the data obtained and drawing conclusions based on them.

The purpose of the program is revealed through its functions: methodological, methodological and organizational.

The methodological function allows you to determine the scientific problem for the solution of which the research is carried out; to establish a system of external relations of this study with other previously carried out, on similar issues; to fix the initial idea of the initial state of the object under study, to determine the subject of research; to formulate a goal and a set of tasks necessary to achieve it.

The methodological function consists in organizing the transition from theory to empirical facts, and from them to theoretical generalizations.

The organizational function allows you to combine the efforts of the members of the research group to achieve a set goal; provides a clear division of labor between researchers; facilitates control over the course of research; creates the basis for the systematization of sociological data.

When developing a sociological research program, it is required to highlight the key concepts that express the nodal points of the problem being studied, which are subsequently subjected to empirical interpretation. This is reflected in two sections of the program - methodological and methodological. All components of the program are logically connected and subordinate to the general concept of scientific research.

Methodological section includes the definition of the problem situation, the formulation of the problem, the object and subject of research, the goals and objectives of the research, hypotheses, interpretation of the concepts used in the research.

Problem situation - this is a kind of contradiction between the adequate (ideal) state of the object and reality . At the same time, the object is characterized by instability, inadequacy of functioning to actual needs. As a problem situation can be, for example, social disagreements, conflicts; difficulties in achieving the goals of any activity or its inefficiency.

The description of the problem situation is fixed by the wording research problems - in

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3 Evolution of the institution of the family

Social institutions arise as a consequence of functional and structural needs and are unintentional.

Social institute(according to G. Spencer):

"A relatively stable set of norms and values, positions and roles, groups and organizations, which provides a structure for behavior in any area of social life."

"The system of norms, values, attitudes and activities arising around the basic goal of society."

home (family);

ritual (ceremonial);

religious (church);

political;

professional;

economic (industrial).

G. Spencer's consideration of the evolution of family relations from the simplest forms in primitive societies to the forms that they have reached in civilized societies allows us to better understand what is happening with the institution of the family in our time.

Types of family relationships between the sexes:

endogamy; (the norm that prescribes marriage within a particular social or ethnic group)

exogamy; (ban marriage relations between members of a sibling or local (for example, community) collective,)

promiscuity; (19th century. Messy, limited by nothing and no one sexual intercourse with many partners. 2 meanings: to describe sexual relations in primitive human society before the formation of families and to describe the promiscuous sex life of an individual.)

polyandry; (rare form polygamy, in which a woman is in several marriages with different men. It originated in the 19th century on the Marquesas Islands, now it is preserved among some ethnic groups in the South India)

polygyny; (polygamy is a form polygamous marriage, in which a man is simultaneously in several marriage unions)

monogamy. (monogamy, historical form marriage and families, in which there are two representatives of opposite sexes in a marriage union. Opposed polygamy, in which a member of the same sex has more than one member of the opposite sex in marriage.)

Before monogamy became the main form of the family in a civilized society, it has come a long way in accordance with the various stages of the evolution of society. Before the birth of the patriarchal family, in many primitive societies, the lineage was carried on the maternal line. The transition to the patriarchal type of family took place simultaneously with the transition from hunting to herding societies. At the same time, a division of labor within the family and a regulatory family structure arose.

Patriarchal family characterized by:

unlimited power of the eldest in the family of a man (Father);

a system of male inheritance and related property laws;

reverence for a common ancestor;

the idea of \ u200b \ u200bthe responsibility of the group for the individual's misconduct;

blood feud and revenge;

complete submission of women and children.

A family- (according to Anthony Giddensau) a group of people connected by direct family relations, whose adult members take on the responsibility of caring for children. Kinship relations are considered to be relations that arise at the conclusion of a marriage (that is, a sexual union of two adults that has received recognition and approval from the society) or that are the result of a blood relationship between persons.

Marriage- regulated by society and, in most states, registered in the respective state bodies family connection between two people who have reached marriage age, giving rise to their rights and obligations in relation to each other.

PLAN

1. Essence, typology and stages of sociological research.

2. Sociological research program.

3. Basic methods of collection, processing and analysis of sociological information.

The history of the emergence and development of sociology is inextricably linked with empirical (applied) research - sources of new knowledge necessary both for the development of theories and for the regulation of social processes. Direct recognition sociological research(this is how empirical sociology is simply called) received in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, they replaced individual methods of accumulating sociological knowledge and relied on the practice of socio-statistical observations and social surveys.

The idea of the research was borrowed by sociology from natural science, economics, ethnography, jurisprudence, where the forms of empirical and experimental research were established earlier. The twentieth century was a time of rapid development of empirical sociology, and the center of its formation was the University of Chicago (Chicago "school of life"). Here in the 20-30s. unfolded multipurpose applied research, which marked the bright flowering of empirical sociology. This direction was focused on detailed studies of private local areas: comprehension of the living process of human life in specific situations.

Adapting the most general principles, the provisions and methods that form the basis of sociological knowledge, to the specific features of the studied phenomenon or process, to the specifics of the tasks being solved, finds expression in the methodology of sociological research. Sociological research methodology is a set of operations, procedures for establishing social facts, their processing and analysis. The set of skills, abilities, methods of organizing and conducting sociological research (for example, the art of drawing up questionnaires, building scales, etc.) is called his technique.

Sociological research is a tool for studying social phenomena in their specific state using methods that allow for quantitative and qualitative collections, measurements, generalizations, and analysis of sociological information.

Sociological research is a system of logically consistent methodological, methodological and organizational-technical procedures, interconnected by a common goal: to obtain reliable information about the phenomena and processes that are being studied, about the trends and contradictions of their development, so that these data can be used in social practice ...

Sociological research is a multifaceted scientific process of generating new knowledge, which combines the theoretical, methodological and empirical levels of social cognition, which, accordingly, ensures its integrity and gives a concrete idea of any side of social reality, of various types of social activities of people. Sociological research is driven by a social need for social knowledge, for social orientation.

It reflects the interests of certain class, social-group and other forces aimed at establishing or changing the relationship of an individual, social groups and society. In this respect, case study is part of scientific and social process, reflects the worldview of a sociologist and is conditioned by his social position. Sociological research is a type of professional activity of people who have received special training. The term "sociological research" was established not earlier than the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Depending on the level of scientific knowledge, sociological research is divided into theoretical and empirical. Research focused on collecting and analyzing data using methods, techniques and techniques of sociological research is called empirical. Empirical research can be carried out within the framework of both fundamental and applied sociology. If its goal is to build a theory, then it belongs to the fundamental, if the development of practical recommendations, then to applied research.

In sociology, there is not only theoretical and applied research, but also mixed or complex, in which not only scientific, but also practical problems are solved. Regardless of whether the research is carried out at one or two (theoretical and empirical) levels of sociological knowledge, or it is only scientific or applied, it, as a rule, contains the solution of methodological issues.

Depending on the complexity and scale of tasks to be solved there are three main types of sociological research: reconnaissance (aerobatic, sounding), descriptive and analytical.

Intelligence research- a preliminary study conducted with the aim of checking, clarifying all the elements and tools of the main study, making the necessary adjustments to them. It covers small populations of people and, as a rule, precedes deeper and larger research.

Descriptive research aims to determine the structure, form and nature of the studied phenomenon or process, which allows you to form a relatively holistic idea of it. It covers a fairly large population of people, heterogeneous in their characteristics, helps to better understand the situation, more deeply substantiate and rationally determine the ways, forms and methods of managing social processes.

Analytical research consists not only in describing the structural elements of the studied phenomenon or process, but also in identifying the reasons underlying it. So, if in the course of a descriptive study it is established whether there is a connection between the characteristics of the phenomenon under study, then in the course of an analytical study it is found out whether the previously identified connection is of a causal nature. This is the most profound and large-scale type of research, which differs from others not only in the complexity and content of its preparatory stage and the stage of collecting primary sociological information, but also in a more thorough approach to the analysis, generalization and explanation of the results obtained.

A kind of analytical research can be considered experiment... Its implementation involves the creation of an experimental situation by changing in one way or another the usual conditions for the functioning of a social object.

Social phenomena or processes can be studied both statically and dynamically. In the first case, we are dealing with one-time (point) research, in the second - with repeated. Point research gives information about the state and quantitative characteristics of any phenomenon or process at the time of its study. This information, in a certain sense, can be called static, since it reflects, as it were, a momentary cut of the object, but does not give an answer to the question about the tendencies of its change in time space.

Repeated research is called, carried out sequentially at regular intervals, based on a single program and a single toolkit. They represent a method of comparative sociological analysis aimed at identifying the dynamics of the development of a social object. A special type of re-examination - panel research: statistically valid and conducted at regular intervals on the same population of people (for example, annual, quarterly survey of the budget of certain families). Panel research allows you to establish trends, the nature of changes in moods, orientations of public opinion, etc., giving a dynamic picture of the studied social phenomena.

Research is carried out both in laboratory and in vivo. For example, the study of the socio-psychological climate in a work brigade is carried out in its usual living conditions. Such research is called field. There are also cohort study suggesting research cohorts(from Latin cohorts - set, division) - groupings that include individuals selected on the basis that they experience the same events, processes in the same periods of time (for example, a cohort of persons born in a certain period of time) ... If a sociological study covers all units (social objects) of the general population without exception, it is called solid. If only a certain part of social objects is examined, the study is called selective.

The choice of the type of research is influenced by two circumstances:

1) the purpose, practical and scientific feasibility of the research;

2) the essence and characteristics of the social object to be studied.

Each research begins with preliminary organizational work with the customer ("client"), where the topic is determined, the general outlines of the work are outlined and the issues of financial and logistical support are resolved. Then the actual research work begins.

There are three main stages in conducting a sociological research:

1) preparatory;

2) main (field);

3) final.

At the preparatory stage, a sociological research program is developed - a document containing a methodological, methodological, organizational and technical rationale for a sociological research. At the second, field stage, sociological data are collected, at the third, their analysis, processing, generalization, and preparation of practical recommendations.

Thus, sociological research is a system of theoretical and empirical procedures that contribute to the acquisition of new knowledge in order to solve specific theoretical and social problems. A characteristic feature of sociological research is that the study of social processes is carried out through the analysis of human activity or its results, through the identification of the needs and interests of people.

Conducting any sociological research necessarily begins with the development of its program, which is called a strategic document of scientific research, containing a comprehensive theoretical substantiation of methodological approaches and methodological techniques for studying the phenomenon under study. The development of sociological theory and the accumulation of factual material constitute an organic unity.

A case study program must answer two basic questions. First, how to move from the initial theoretical principles of sociology to research, how to “translate” them into research tools, methods of collecting, processing and analyzing material. Secondly, how from the obtained facts, from the accumulated empirical material, to rise again to theoretical generalizations, so that the study not only gives practical recommendations, but also serves as the basis for the further development of the theory itself.

The adaptation of the most general principles, provisions and methods that form the basis of sociological knowledge to the specific features of the phenomenon or process being studied, to the specifics of the tasks being solved, finds expression in the methodology of sociological research.

Sociological research methodology - a set of operations, techniques, procedures for establishing social facts, their processing and analysis. The set of skills, abilities, methods of organizing and conducting sociological research (for example, the art of drawing up questionnaires, building scales, etc.) is called his technique.

The program is a statement of the general concept of research, which includes step-by-step programming and the rules of procedures for scientific and practical research activities.

Program functions:

1. Theoretical and methodological , which allows you to define a scientific problem and prepare the basis for its solution.

2. Methodological, which allows you to outline the methods of collecting data and describing the expected results.

3. Organizational, which allows you to plan the activities of the researcher at all stages of work.

Basic requirements for the program:

1) necessity;

2) explicitness (clarity, clarity);

3) flexibility;

4) the logical sequence of the structure.

The structure of the program includes three sections - methodological, procedural (or methodical) and organizational.

The sociological research program consists of three sections: methodological, methodological (or procedural) and organizational.

The methodological section of the sociological research program contains the following elements:

1. Research problem formulation.

Problem- This is a form of interrogative statements expressing uncertainty, which is subject to a scientific and practical solution. Its formulation is the initial link in any sociological research, since the problem itself is a social task that needs an immediate solution. In turn, the problem posed subordinates to its solution all the cognitive actions of the researcher and determines the composition of cognitive actions. In the process of formulating a problem, two main procedures can be distinguished: understanding the problem situation and formulating (developing) the problem.

Problem situation- this is a contradiction that really exists in social reality, the methods (algorithm) of resolving which at the moment are not yet known (not clear). Lack of knowledge of the ways, means and methods of resolving the arising contradiction forces them to seek help from science ("social order"). The formulation of the research problem involves carrying out a certain theoretical work, in particular, identifying which aspects of the problem can be solved by sociology, which elements of the problem are main and which are secondary, and most importantly, which aspects of the problem have already been solved by other studies, and which are to be solved in this research (scientific problem).

The problem is phrased in the form of clear questions or attitudes, for example:

Question: What are the reasons for such and such phenomena?

Installation: Find ways to solve this and that. Build a model that explains the given range of factors.

The research problem should be formulated in terms of science, that is, proceeding from the developed systems of theoretical knowledge in this area, and adequately reflecting the content of the question (attitude). The problem becomes visible when it is caught in some social phenomenon, i.e. by highlighting the object and subject of research.

Object of study - a phenomenon or sphere of social reality that act as direct carriers of a problem situation, towards which cognitive activity is directed .

Subject of study - these are the sides, properties, characteristics of an object that are subject to direct study in this study.

No research is able to cover all the variety of interactions that characterize a given object. Therefore, the subject of research denotes the spatial boundaries within which the object is studied, the time boundary (a certain period of time). Highlighting the object and subject of research allows you to move on to defining the goal and objectives of the research.

Under the purpose of the study the final result that the researcher intends to obtain after the completion of the work is understood. This result can be theoretical-cognitive, applied, or both. As a rule, the purpose of the study is determined jointly with the customer.

V research objectives contains the range of problems that need to be analyzed in order to answer the main target research question. For example, if the purpose of the study is to study the influence of family education on the formation of deviant (deviant) behavior of adolescents, then among the tasks of the study can be identified such as determining the role of the father and mother in shaping the personality of a teenager, studying the family value system, etc. All these are links that help to see the integrity of the phenomenon and the processes to be studied.

The next step in developing a research program is the interpretation and operationalization of the basic concepts that are presented in the conceptual model of the problem situation and the subject area of analysis.

Interpretation of concepts - theoretical clarification of the basic (initial) concepts is carried out so that researchers have a clear and clear idea of the content (meaning) of the concepts (terms) with which they work, use them uniformly, avoiding different interpretations of the same concept. The empirical interpretation of concepts is a directly sociological task: it is a scientific procedure for moving from the content of basic concepts through a hierarchy of mediating concretizing ones to potentially available fixation and measurement of units of the required information (indicators).

Empirical indicator is a fact used for empirical measurement. Target operationalizing concepts- establishing a connection between the conceptual apparatus of the research and its methodological tools. It unites into a single whole the problems of concept formation, measurement techniques and search for indicators. For example, such a concept as "attitude to work" cannot be expressed in indicators, i.e. in the characteristics of the object available for observation and measurement. This concept can be decomposed into three components, which are intermediate concepts: attitude to work as a value, attitude to one's profession, attitude to a given work at a given enterprise.

The latter also need to be decomposed into a number of objective characteristics - attitude towards work (labor discipline, labor productivity, etc.) and a number of subjective characteristics - attitude towards work (degree of job satisfaction, etc.). Then each of this operational definition of the concept needs to be offered empirical indicators and a system of research tools for fixing them.

Operational definition of the concept - it is the operation of decomposing its theoretical content into empirical equivalents available for fixation and measurement. Operationalization makes it possible to establish what sociological data should be collected about. The meaning of these operations is the transition from the theoretical development of the program to the empirical sociological research: a way opens up for the application of methods of sampling, collection and analysis of sociological information in research.

The next stage is the development of hypotheses. A hypothesis (from the Greek. Hypothesis - basis, proposal) is a reasonable scientific assumption put forward to explain a phenomenon and requiring verification. A hypothesis is a form of assumption or assumption in which the contained knowledge is probabilistic in nature. This is a preliminary "draft" of the solution to the problem posed, the truth of which is yet to be verified. According to the research tasks, hypotheses are basic and non-basic, according to the sequence of nomination - primary and secondary, according to content - descriptive (about the essential properties of the object), explanatory (assumptions about the significance of factors), predictive (about trends).

The hypothesis put forward must meet a number of requirements:

1) it should not contain concepts that do not have empirical indicators within the framework of this study;

2) must be available for verification (verification) during the study;

4) should be simple and not contain various kinds of conditions and clauses.

The hypothesis put forward must be sufficiently theoretically reliable, consistent with previous knowledge, it must not contradict the facts of science. Hypotheses that meet these requirements are called workers (employed in this study); this is a preliminary (tentative) explanation of the phenomenon, sufficient for further empirical study of the research problem.

Proof of the reliability of hypotheses becomes the main task of subsequent empirical research, since the goal of any research search is not their formulation, but the acquisition of new scientific and practical knowledge (discoveries), which enrich science with knowledge of fundamentally new facts and develop ways and means of purposeful impact on the problem the situation and its resolution. The confirmed hypotheses become theory and law and are used for implementation in practice. Those that have not been confirmed are either discarded or become the basis for putting forward new hypotheses and new directions in the study of a problem situation.

The methodological section of the sociological research program is organically interconnected with the procedural section. If the first one lays down the research methodology, then the second one reveals its procedure, that is, the sequence of research operations.

Procedural (or methodical) section of the program sociological research consists of the following components:

Determination of the sample population that is being surveyed, that is, the rationale for the sampling system. The main idea of the sample is to judge the general in part, through a small representation (micromodel) to judge the general (macromodel). This essence was wittily expressed by J. Gallup: “If you mix the soup well, the chef will take one spoon for a sample and tell you how the whole pot tastes!”. The sampling system includes the general population and the sample population .

General population- this is the entire set of survey units that is relevant to a given problem, although it may be limited by territory, time, profession, and functional framework. A survey of the entire general population (for example, all students of Donetsk universities, or all residents of city N) requires significant financial costs and time expenditures.

Therefore, as a rule, part of the elements of the general population is directly examined - the sample population,

Sample- this is the minimum representation of the composition of the surveyed units according to the selected parameters (criteria), which reproduces the law of distribution of the attribute in this population.

The procedure for selecting a part of the elements of the general population, which makes it possible to draw conclusions about the entire set of elements, is called sampling. In addition to saving money and shortening the research time, the sample implements the fundamental principle randomization(from English random - participatory, chosen at random), that is, random selection. Only the equality of chances of being included in the sample for each survey unit, that is, selection “at random” guarantees against intentional or unintentional bias.

The sampling procedure itself consists in the fact that first the sampling unit is determined - an element of the general population that acts as a unit of reference in various sampling procedures (it can be an individual, a group, an act of behavior, etc.). Then compiled sampling frame- a list (list) of elements of the general population that meets the requirements of completeness, accuracy, adequacy, convenience of working with it, excluding duplication of observation units. This can be, for example, a list of all members of the surveyed work collective or city residents. And already from the sampling frame, the selection of observation units is carried out.

The main types of sampling are:

1. Random sampling - a method in which the principle of equality of chances of being included in the sample for all units of the studied population is strictly observed on the basis of statistical randomness (here they use a table of "random numbers", selection by dates of birth, by surnames starting with certain letters, etc.) ... Sampling can be simple random or multi-stage, when the selection is carried out in several stages.

2. Quota sampling(non-random) is the selection of people with a specific set of characteristics in accordance with given proportions.

3. Systematic(pseudo-random) sampling is a method in which the ratio between sample size and population size is used to determine an interval (sampling step) in such a way that every sampling unit that is at the distance of this step is included in the sample (for example, every 10th or 20th on the list).

4. Serial (nested) a sample in which the selection units are statistical series, that is, a set of statistically different units, which can be a family, team, student group, department staff at a university, etc.

5... Stratified sampling, in which the general population is initially divided into private, internally homogeneous populations, "strata" (classes, layers), and then sampling units are selected within each population.

The sample size as the total number of survey units included in the sample population depends on the degree of homogeneity of the general population (if there are 100 apple trees of the same variety in an orchard, it is enough to try an apple from one tree to judge all apples in the garden), the required level of accuracy of the results, the number of sample features. The sample size affects the errors of representation: the larger the sample size, the smaller the possible error. However, the intention to double the precision would require quadrupling the sample. The measurement accuracy (representativeness) of 95% is sufficient for research.

When defining a sample, it is important to avoid it. displacement.

Sample bias is the deviation of the sample structure from the real structure of the general population. The reasons for this may be different, but most often these are the so-called "Systematic errors". They are caused by ignorance of the structure of the general population and the use of selection procedures that violate, for example, the proportionality necessary for the representativeness of the sample in the representation of various types of elements of the general population. Systematic errors can also be caused by the deliberate selection of the most "convenient", advantageous elements of the general population.

How much bias in the sample can devalue the entire work of sociologists is illustrated by a classic example from the history of sociological research in the United States. During the presidential election campaign 1936 The Literary Digest magazine, on the basis of a colossal study with mail questionnaires of several million readers, prepared an incorrect forecast, while George Gallup and Elmo Roper correctly predicted the victory of F. Roosevelt on the basis of only 4 thousand questionnaires. The staff of the journal, it would seem, have minimized the probability of the so-called random error, which is due to the difference in the sizes of the general and sample population.

The smaller the difference, the less likely an accidental error is. However, in doing so, they allowed systematic error. They took the addresses for sending out questionnaires from the phone book, and at that time in the United States, only the wealthy, mainly homeowners, owned the phones. In this regard, the opinion of the respondents was not an average statistical one that could be extrapolated to the whole country. The bulk of the lower strata of the population remained uncovered during the poll, but it was they who had a decisive influence on the victory of F. Roosevelt.

There is an opinion that the sample size should be from 1.5% to 10% of the total population, but not exceed 2000-2500 respondents. However, experience shows that when conducting public opinion polls, it is enough to include 500 - 1200 people in the sample in order to obtain reliable results. The Gallup Institute and other American organizations distribute 1,500-2,000 questionnaires on the basis of a careful sample. Each time, the number of questionnaires must be determined using the mathematical theory of sampling, taking into account the required accuracy, providing for all units of the general population the same chances of being selected for study.

The next component of the procedural section of the program is the definition methods of collecting primary sociological information.

When determining the methods for collecting information, it should be borne in mind that:

1) the efficiency and economy of research should not be ensured at the expense of the quality of sociological information;

2) none of the methods for collecting sociological data is universal, that is, each of them has clearly defined cognitive capabilities;

3) the reliability of a particular method is ensured not only by its validity and compliance with the goals and objectives of the study, but also by the observance of the rules and procedures for its practical application.

The choice of method depends primarily on the source of information. Documentary sources imply the use of the document analysis method, and if the source of information is external manifestations of social phenomena or acts of behavior, then the observation method is used. The survey method is used when the source of information is a person, his opinions, views, interests, and the experiment method is used when the source of information is a specially created situation.

After determining the method or methods of collecting information, you can proceed to the development of research tools, that is, a set of methodological and technical techniques for conducting research, embodied in the relevant operations and procedures and presented in the form of various documents.

Toolkit - it is a set of specially developed documents of a methodological nature, adapted to sociological methods, with the help of which the collection of sociological data is ensured.

The toolkit includes a questionnaire, an interview plan (questionnaire), an observation card, a content analysis form, instructions for the questionnaire (interviewer), coder, etc., methods of data processing and analysis, including a rationale and a list of relevant social indicators (indicators) and scales serving as a tool for assessing social information. It should be noted that the research toolkit is being worked out in close connection with the operationalized concept-scheme: the choice of the indicator - empirical indicators - the source - the construction of the toolkit.

Considering the technological foundations of program development, it is necessary to dwell on the measurement problem, which should be provided for by the procedural (methodological) section of the program. .

Measurement (quantification) is a procedure for assigning quantitative definiteness to the studied qualitative characteristics. The main measuring procedures are testing, rating, peer review, popularity ranking, polls. The facts used for sociological measurement are indicators, and finding them helps to understand how and in what form you need to approach the collection of information.

All indicators have a variety of characteristics, which in the toolkit act as options for answering questions. They are arranged in one order or another by positions and form the corresponding scale of measurements. In form, the scales can be verbal, that is, have a verbal expression.

For example, an indicator of such a social property as “education” is the “level of education”, and its characteristics are:

Lower secondary;

General average;

Specialized secondary;

Unfinished higher education;

This is the verbal position of the measurement scale. Scales can also be numerical (position in points) and graphical.

The following types of scales are distinguished:

1) nominal (disordered) is a scale of names, consisting of a list of qualitative objective characteristics (for example, age, gender, occupation or motives, opinions, etc.);

2) rank (ordinal) is a scale of ordering the manifestations of the studied properties in a strict order (from the most significant to the least or vice versa);

3) interval (metric) is a scale of differences (intervals) between ordered manifestations of the studied social property, assigning points or numerical values to these divisions.

The main requirement for the scales is to ensure reliability, which is achieved:

a) validity, i.e. justification, which implies the measurement by a scale of exactly the property that the sociologist intended to study;

b) completeness, i.e. the fact that all the values of the indicator are taken into account in the options for answering the question asked to the respondent;

c) sensitivity, i.e. the ability of the scale to differentiate the manifestations of the studied property and to express the number of positions on the scale (the more there are, the more sensitive the scale).

The methodological section of the program is completed by a logical scheme for processing primary sociological information, which provides, first of all, the processing, analysis and interpretation of the data obtained, as well as the formulation of appropriate conclusions on their basis and the development of certain practical recommendations.

Organizational section of the program includes strategic and operational research plans.

The strategic plan of a sociological research, depending on its type, has four options:

1) reconnaissance, when little is known about the object and there are no conditions for formulating hypotheses;

2) descriptive, when there is enough data about the object for descriptive hypotheses;

3) analytical and experimental, when there is complete knowledge about the object and the conditions for explanatory foresight and functional analysis;

4) re-comparative, when it is possible to identify trends in the studied processes.

The research work plan is a list, a scheme of actions of sociologists in this research with the distribution of time, material and technical costs and a network schedule. It records all types of organizational and methodological work, from the approval of the program to the formulation of conclusions and practical recommendations for the customer of the sociological research. In addition, in the organizational section of the program, instructions for organizing field research, instructions for the questionnaire and work rules and ethical standards are drawn up.

Thus, the first stage of sociological research is associated with the development of a program, which is a strategic document of scientific research, a theoretical and methodological basis for the entire set of research procedures. The results of sociological research depend on the quality of the development of the program.

Differentiation of sociological methods allows us to consider each of them separately, emphasizing its specificity. The main methods of collecting primary sociological information are document analysis, survey, observation and experiment.

Document in sociology, a specially created object is called, designed to transmit and store information.

Document analysis method is a method of collecting data, which involves the receipt and use of information recorded in handwritten or printed texts, on magnetic tape, film and other media. Depending on the method of recording information, documents are classified into text, statistical and iconographic (film and photographic documents, works of fine art). According to the reliability of documents, originals and copies are distinguished, according to status - official and unofficial, according to the degree of personification - personal and impersonal, according to functions - informative and regulatory, according to content - historical, legal, economic.

Analysis of documents can be external and internal. External analysis involves the establishment of the time and circumstances of the appearance of the document, its type, form, authorship, purpose of creation, its general characteristics, reliability and reliability.

Internal analysis of documents is a study of their content, the essence of the information contained in them, in the context of research tasks. Internal analysis methods - traditional and formalized, or content analysis.

Traditional (classic)- This is a method of qualitative analysis, which is understood as mental operations for the interpretation, understanding of the essence of the information contained in documentary materials. In addition to the traditional (classical, qualitative) analysis of documents, they also use content analysis (formalized, quantitative).

The first assumes all the variety of mental operations aimed at interpreting the content of the document, and the second determines meaningful units that can be unambiguously recorded and translated into quantitative indicators using certain units of account. It is important to emphasize that content analysis uses meaningful units in accordance with the research concept, the leading idea of the text of the document. Individual concepts, themes, events, names can be indicators of units. With the help of counting units, a quantitative assessment of an object is carried out, the frequency of manifestation of its features in the field of view of a researcher, which is recorded with mathematical precision.

It is the high degree of accuracy with a large volume of material that is the advantage of content analysis. Its advantage over traditional methods also lies in the fact that the impressions of the observer-researcher, which depend on his personal qualities, are replaced by more standardized and neutral procedures, which for the most part involve measurements, that is, the use of quantitative analysis techniques. And the limitation of this method is that not all the variety of document content can be measured using quantitative indicators. Traditional and formalized methods of document analysis are complementary, compensating for each other's shortcomings.

The most common method of collecting primary information is a survey. A survey is a question-and-answer method of collecting sociological data, in which the source of information is the verbal message of people. It is based on a set of questions to the respondent, the answers to which provide the information the researcher needs. With the help of polls, information is obtained both about events and facts, as well as about the opinions and assessments of the respondents. When studying the needs, interests, opinions, value orientations of people, a survey can be the only source of information. Sometimes the information obtained by this method is supplemented by other sources (document analysis, observation).

Distinguish between the types of survey: written (questioning), oral (interviewing), expert survey (survey of competent persons) and sociometric survey (study of socio-psychological manifestations of interpersonal relations in a group).

According to the contact forms, the following survey options are distinguished:

1) personal or indirect (handout, postal, press, telephone) survey;

2) individual or group;

3) free or formalized, focused (directed);

4) solid or selective;

5) at the place of residence or work, in temporary target audiences (train passengers, meeting participants).

Questionnaire survey - one of the main types of sociological survey, the essence of which is that the respondents answer in writing to the questions presented to them in the form of questionnaires. A written survey can simultaneously reach a large number of respondents in a relatively short period of time. A feature of the questionnaire survey is that the researcher cannot personally influence the course of the survey. The disadvantage of an absentee survey is that it does not guarantee a full return of all questionnaires.

The central problem of the questionnaire survey is the formulation of questions to which the respondents will answer.

The questions of the questionnaire are classified according to their content:

Questions about facts, questions about knowledge, awareness, questions about behavior, questions about attitudes;

Depending on the formalization of the answer options: open (without pre-formulated answers);

Semi-closed (along with the answer options, there is a place for free answers);

Closed (with pre-formulated answer options);

Depending on the functions performed: content-functional, serving directly to collect information on the topic of the survey;

Filter questions that allow you to “weed out” those respondents from the next question who are not intended to this question;

Control (trap questions) designed to control the sincerity of the respondent;

Functional and psychological, serving to establish social and psychological contact with the respondent.

For the correct construction of questions, it is important to observe the following basic requirements:

The question must strictly correspond to the indicator or operational concept that it describes and measures;

Unambiguously interpreted by the respondent;

Be consistent with the cultural and educational level of the respondent;

Be formulated in a neutral manner;

Should not involve several questions;

Must obey the requirements of a "random variable", i.e. the options for answering it should be equivalent and make up a complete group of events;

Formulated lexically and grammatically correct;

The text of the question should not exceed 10-12 words.

The composition of the questionnaire should include a title page, introductory part, main (substantive part), socio-demographic part and coding of questions.

Interview- This is a conversation conducted on a predetermined topic, which is disclosed in a specially prepared questionnaire. The interviewer acts as a researcher who not only asks questions but also guides the conversation without being noticed.

There are several types of interviews: standardized (formalized), in which a questionnaire is used with a clearly defined order and wording of questions in order to obtain the most comparable data collected by different interviewers; non-standardized (non-formalized) interview - a free dialogue on a specific topic, when (open-ended) questions are formulated in the context of communication and the forms of recording answers are not standardized. In a semi-formalized interview, both prepared questions and additional questions are asked during the dialogue. There are also interviews at the venue (at the workplace, in a relaxed atmosphere); according to the procedure (individual, group, one-act, multiple).

Method sociometry is used in the study of small groups and allows you to assess relationships in a team, its informal structure, informal microgroups and the relationship between them. The essence of the method is to collect information about the structure of interpersonal relations in a small group by studying the choice made by each member of the group according to one criterion or another.

The criteria for sociometric elections are formulated in the form of questions about the desire of a team member to participate with someone in a certain type of activity:

Jointly carry out a responsible task (reliability);

Eliminate a malfunction in a technical device (professionalism);

Spend a weekend together (friendly disposition), etc.

Each respondent is given a list of the group, in which each of its members is assigned a certain number and offered to make a choice from the proposed list according to a certain criterion. On the basis of the matrix, a sociogram is built (a graphic representation of the scheme of interpersonal relations), which allows you to see the structural elements of interpersonal relations in a team, leaders of a team, a microgroup.

Such forms of collecting sociological information as questionnaires, interviews, postal polls, etc., are intended primarily for mass polls. However, in practice, situations may arise when, in order to assess a phenomenon, it is difficult or even impossible to single out the object - the carrier of the problem and, accordingly, use it as a source of information. Such situations are usually associated with an attempt to predict a change in a particular social process or phenomenon.

Objective information in this case can only come from competent persons - experts, having in-depth knowledge of the subject or object of research. The criteria for selecting experts are occupation, work experience, level and nature of education, experience in a particular field of activity, age, etc. The central criterion for selecting experts is their competence. There are two methods to determine it with varying degrees of accuracy: self-assessment of experts and collective assessment of the credibility of experts.

Interviews with competent persons are referred to as expert, and the results of the polls - expert assessments... In the most general form, two main functions of the method can be distinguished peer review in sociological research: assessment of the state (including reasons) and forecasting trends in the development of various phenomena and processes of social reality. One of the simplest forms of expert forecasting is an exchange of views, which presupposes the simultaneous presence of all experts at a round table, where the dominant position on the issue under discussion is revealed. More complex shapes can also be used.

Observation in sociology, it is a method of collecting primary data through the perception and registration of events, the behavior of people and groups related to the object under study and significant from the point of view of the research goal. In scientific observation, its organization is planned in advance, a methodology for registering, processing and interpreting data is being developed, which ensures the relative reliability of the information received. The main object of observation is the behavior of individuals and social groups, as well as the conditions of their activity. Using the observation method, one can study real relationships in action, analyze the real life of people, the specific behavior of the subjects of activity. During the observation, various forms and methods of registration are used: a form or diary of observations, photographic, film, video equipment, etc. In this case, the sociologist registers the number of manifestations of behavioral reactions.

Distinguish between included observation, in which the researcher receives information, being a real member of the studied group in the course of a certain activity, and non-included observation, in which the researcher is outside the studied object. Observation is called field observation if it is carried out in a real life situation, and laboratory observation if it is carried out under artificially created and controlled conditions. According to the regularity of the observation, it can be systematic (carried out with a certain frequency) and random.

According to the degree of formalization, standardized (formalized) observation is distinguished, when the elements of observation are predetermined and they are the object of attention and fixation of the observer, and non-standardized (non-formalized), when the elements to be studied are not predetermined and the observer determines and fixes them during observation. If the observation is carried out with the consent of the observed, then it is called open; if the members of the group do not know that their behavior and actions are being observed, then this is covert observation.

Observation is one of the main ways of collecting data, which either leads to hypotheses and serves as a springboard for the use of more representative methods, or is used in the final stage of mass research to clarify and interpret key findings. Observation can be carried out both relatively independently and in combination with other methods, for example, experiment.

Social experiment - it is a method of obtaining new knowledge about the cause-and-effect relationships between indicators of functioning, activity, behavior of a social object and factors influencing it, which can be controlled in order to improve this social reality .

Conducting a social experiment requires a clearly formulated hypothesis about cause-and-effect relationships, the possibility of a quantitative and qualitative influence of factors that are introduced during the experiment and change the behavior of the research object, control of changes in the state of the object and conditions during the experiment. The logic of a social experiment consists in, for example, choosing a particular group for an experiment, influencing it with the help of certain factors and monitoring changes in characteristics that are of interest to the researcher and are important for solving the main task.

Experiments are distinguished both by the nature of the experimental situation and by the logical sequence of proving the research hypothesis. . According to the first criterion, experiments are divided into field and laboratory . In a field experiment, the group is in the natural conditions of its normal functioning (for example, students in a seminar session). In this case, the members of the group may or may not be informed about their participation in the experiment. In a laboratory experiment, the situation, and often the experimental groups themselves, are formed artificially. Therefore, team members are usually informed about the experiment.

In field and laboratory experiments, as additional methods of collecting information, polling and observation can be used, the results of which adjust research activities.

According to the logical sequence, the proofs of the hypothesis are distinguished linear and parallel experiments. Linear experiment consists in the analysis of one and the same group, which is both control and experimental at the same time. This means that before the start of the experiment, all the control, factor characteristics that the researcher introduces and changes, and neutral characteristics that do not seem to take part in the experiment are recorded. After that, the factor characteristics of the group and / or the conditions of its functioning are changed, and then, after a certain time, the state of the group is again assessed (measured) by its control characteristics.

In a parallel experiment, two groups are simultaneously involved - control and experimental. They must be identical in all control and neutral characteristics. The characteristics of the control group remain constant throughout the experiment, while the characteristics of the experimental group change. Based on the results of the experiment, the control characteristics of both groups are compared and conclusions are drawn about the causes and magnitude of the changes that have occurred.

The successful conduct of this type of experiment depends to a large extent on the correct selection of its participants.

The final stage of empirical sociological research involves the processing, analysis and interpretation of data, obtaining empirically substantiated generalizations, conclusions and recommendations.

The data processing stage includes several sequential actions:

1. information editing, the main purpose of which is verification, unification and formalization of the information that was obtained in the course of the study. First, the entire array of methodological tools is checked for accuracy, completeness and quality of filling, and poorly filled questionnaires are rejected.

The quality of the primary sociological information, and, consequently, the reliability of the conclusions and the validity of practical recommendations depend on the nature of the completion of the questionnaires. If the questionnaire does not contain the respondent's answers to more than 20% of the questions, or to 2-3 in the socio-demographic block, then such questionnaires should be excluded from the main body as low-quality and capable of distorting sociological information.

2. Coding of information, its formalization, assignment of certain conditional numbers-codes to each answer option, creation of a system of numbers in which the order of codes (numbers) itself is of decisive importance.

Two types of procedures are used to encode information:

1) continuous numbering of all positions (ordinal coding system);

2) numbering of options only within one question (positional coding system).

3. After coding, they go directly to data processing (most often using a personal computer), to their generalization and analysis, for which mathematical, primarily statistical methods are used.

But for all the relevance of the mathematical support of sociological analysis, in particular the generalization of data, the final result of the entire study depends, first of all, on how the researcher can correctly, deeply and comprehensively interpret the material obtained.

4. Interpretation procedure- this is the transformation of certain numerical values into a logical form - indicators (indicators). These indicators are no longer just numerical values (percentages, arithmetic mean), but sociological data that have been evaluated by correlating them with the original intentions of the researcher (the goal and objectives of the study), his knowledge and experience. Each indicator, carrying a certain semantic load, indicates the direction of the subsequent conclusions and recommendations.

Further, the assessment of the data obtained is given, the leading trends in the results are indicated, and the reasons for the answers are explained. The data obtained are compared with hypotheses and it is established which hypotheses were confirmed and which did not receive confirmation.

At the final stage, the results of the study are documented - in the form of reports, attachments to it and analytical reference. The report includes a rationale for the relevance of the study and its characteristics (goals, objectives, sample population, etc.), analysis of empirical material, theoretical conclusions and practical recommendations. Conclusions, proposals and recommendations should be specific, realistic, have the necessary justifications in the research materials, be supported by documentary and statistical data.

Under reliability of sociological information understand the general characteristics of empirical data obtained during a sociological survey. Reliable such information is called, in which, firstly, there are no unaccounted for errors, that is, such information, the magnitude of which the sociologist-researcher is not able to estimate; second, the number of errors taken into account does not exceed a certain specified value. At the same time, the classification of errors is of great importance for characterizing the reliability of sociological information.

So, the absence of theoretical errors is called validity, or validity of sociological information, the absence of random errors - accuracy of information, and the absence of systematic errors is called the correctness of sociological information. Thus, sociological information is considered reliable if it is substantiated (valid), accurate and correct. At the same time, sociological science to ensure the reliability of sociological information uses a whole arsenal of methods for improving it, that is, accounting for errors or monitoring the reliability of sociological data.

In conclusion, we note that sociological research is one of the most accurate instruments for measuring and analyzing social phenomena, although for all the significance of the results, they cannot be absolutized. Along with other methods of cognition, sociological research expands our possibilities of cognizing society, and increases the effectiveness of practical activity.

LITERATURE

1. Jol K.K. Sociology: Navch. posibnik. - K .: Libid, 2005 .-- 440 p.

2. Kapitonov E.A. Sociology of the 20th century. History and technology. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1996 .-- 512 p.

3. Lukashevich M. P., Tulenkov M. V. Sociology. Basic course. - K .: Karavela, 2005 .-- 312 p.

4. Osipov G.V. Theory and practice of sociological research. - M., 1989 .-- 463 p.

5. Rudenko R.I. Workshop on Sociology. - M., 1999.

6. Sociology: Terms, understanding, staff. Navchalny vocabulary-dovidnik / For zag. Ed. V.M. Pichi. - K., Lviv, 2002.

7. Surmin Yu.P., Tulenkov N.V. Methodology and methods of sociological research. - K .: MAUP, 2000.

8. Poisons V.A. Sociological research strategy. - M .: Dobrosvet, 2000 .-- 596 p.

GLOSSARY

Sociological research - a system of logically consistent methodological, methodological and organizational procedures, interconnected by a single goal: to obtain objective, reliable data about the phenomenon under study.

Intelligence research - preliminary research conducted in order to obtain primary information about the studied phenomenon or process, check and clarify all elements of the main research and make the necessary adjustments to them.

Descriptive research - aims to determine the structure, form and nature of the studied phenomenon or process, which allows you to form a relatively holistic idea of it.

Analytical research - the most profound and large-scale type of research consists not only in describing the structural elements of the phenomenon or process being studied, but also in identifying the reasons underlying it.

Sociological Research Program - a document containing the methodological, methodological, organizational and technical substantiation of the sociological research.

Sociological research methodology - a set of operations, techniques, procedures for establishing social facts, their processing and analysis .

Purpose of the study- the final result that the researcher intends to obtain after the completion of the work.

Research objectives- the range of problems that need to be analyzed in order to answer the main research question.

Interpretation of concepts- theoretical clarification of the basic (initial) concepts.

Operationalization of concepts- a set of operations, with the help of which the initial concepts used in sociological research are decomposed into components (indicators) that can, in aggregate, describe their content.

Hypothesis- a reasonable scientific assumption put forward to explain a phenomenon and requiring verification.

General population is the entire set of survey units that are relevant to a given problem.

Sample population- part of the elements of the general population , selected using special methods and reflecting the characteristics of the general population on the basis of its representation (representation).

Representativeness- the property of the sample to reflect the characteristics of the studied general population.

Sample bias is the deviation of the sample structure from the real structure of the general population.

Tools is a set of specially developed documents of a methodological nature, adapted to sociological methods, with the help of which the collection of sociological data is ensured.

Document analysis method is a method of collecting data, which involves the receipt and use of information recorded in handwritten or printed texts, on magnetic tape, film and other media.

Survey- question-answer method of collecting sociological data, in which the source of information is the verbal message of people.

Questionnaire- a written appeal to the respondents with a questionnaire (questionnaire) containing a set of questions ordered in a certain way.

Interview- This is a conversation conducted on a predetermined topic, which is disclosed in a specially prepared questionnaire.

Sociometry- the method proposed by J. Moreno for describing the system of interpersonal relations in small groups.

Observation is a method of collecting primary data through the perception and registration of events, the behavior of people and groups related to the object under study and significant from the point of view of the research goal.

Social experiment is a method of obtaining new knowledge about the cause-and-effect relationships between indicators of functioning, activity, behavior of a social object and factors influencing it, which can be controlled in order to improve this social reality.

Reliability of sociological information - this is a general characteristic of the empirical data obtained during the sociological research. Information is considered reliable if it is substantiated (valid), accurate and correct.

TESTS

1. Applied sociology is:

A. Macrosociological theory of society, revealing the universal laws and principles of this area of knowledge.

B. A set of theoretical models, methodological principles, research methods and procedures, as well as social technologies, specific programs and recommendations.

B. Social engineering.

2. Arrange the types of sociological research known to you in order in accordance with the parameters of the scale and complexity of the problems to be solved:

1. ____________________________________

2. ____________________________________

3. ____________________________________

The left column lists the main stages of sociological research, the right - the content of these stages (in no particular order). It is necessary for each stage of the study to determine the correct content.

4. Indicate (underline) the most common method of sociological research:

A. Document analysis.

Sociological research methodology. Applied Sociology is

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