16. METHODS OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Modern sociology uses only three methods: the study of documentary materials, observation and survey. Experiment also plays a known role. It turned out that the survey is most often identified with a specific sociology. But this is not true. Only features of the development of sociology in our country have created such a completely legitimate association.

Documentary method . This method involves the use of information recorded in some "visible way" - on paper, on magnetic tape, film, etc.

The documentary data is divided into official (government materials, state statistics and state archives) and informal (diaries, autobiographies, as well as scientific and literary works owned by individual authors). A special group consists of mass communication materials (newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc.).

Of great importance (in terms of reliability) is the division of documentary data into primary (for example, work orders, payroll) and secondary (for example, monographs in which the relevant materials were used).

Documents can become a source for sociologists only after the reliability of the sociologist's documentary information has been evaluated. As V. Yadov subtly noted, an absolutely false document, in which all facts are reflected incorrectly, may also be of great value. It is only important that the researcher be aware of this. Such a document can be used to study the psychology of its authors, as well as the distortion methods used. It is from this point of view that the sociologist approaches the materials of the Hitler state, for example, those that are published in the recently published book Top Secret, containing the minutes of meetings at Hitler’s headquarters. Of great interest are those personal documents (biographies, letters, etc.) that are obviously known to be biased in nature, because, as noted, such documents allow you to see other people as they see themselves.

In most cases, the sociologist considers the document as a source of information about the facts of interest to the researcher.

Sociologists take into account a number of circumstances when assessing the reliability of documents. They consider it necessary to proceed from the fact that, as a rule, official documents are more reliable than informal ones, and personal ones (various individual record cards, questionnaires, characteristics, etc.) - than impersonal ones (press data, meeting minutes, etc. .).

Documents of a legal nature, as well as documents that are usually subjected to financial control (information about wages, manufactured products, etc.), are particularly reliable. When ascertaining the reliability of documents, it should be borne in mind that the assessment of the events contained in the documents requires more criticality than the facts themselves. It is quite rightly noted that a clear division into information about the events themselves and opinions about them is the first “golden rule” in working with documents. In this regard, it is extremely useful to try to determine the conditions for the emergence of documents and the target settings of their compilers, which can help to find out in which direction the truth could have shifted.

Among the important sources of sociological information is observation . As noted, this method involves the use of the most primitive (like the usual visual observation of the conference, meeting) and the most modern methods associated with the use of the latest technology.

The main advantage of this method is that a sociologist personally comes into contact with the phenomena under study, bypassing all intermediate links. Modern technical means (photo, movie cameras, various recording devices) suggest that the role of this method will steadily increase. True, there are well-known moral obstacles against its wide distribution. After all, its merits are precisely due to the fact that people who have become the object of observation may not be aware of this.

This method of collecting information came to modern sociology from ethnography. Let us recall our famous N. Miklouho-Maclay, who studied the life of the Papuans precisely by the method of observation. Miklouho-Maclay carried out (if we use modern sociological terminology) on New Guinea, the so-called simple (or not included) observation. His friends, the Papuans, clearly understood that their guest had come to familiarize themselves with their customs, customs, etc. In the position of Miklukho-Maklai, a sociologist finds himself whenever he acts as an observer who is not involved in the activities of the aggregate of people who are the object of his study.

Simple observation is used in two versions - as a field and as a laboratory. In the first case, it is carried out in natural conditions for observation, in the second - in artificial conditions (in this case, this is a social experiment).

A series of field observations was planned in the study “The Functioning of Public Opinion in the City and the Activities of State and Public Institutions”. The program of this study included, in particular, monitoring the various assemblies (along with analyzing the content of documents, assemblies, interviewing people who participated and speaking at meetings, etc.), receiving MPs, receiving populations from local government officials and etc.

A great deal of empirical material has been compiled using this method and by some bourgeois sociologists, although many of their conclusions require a critical attitude. As early as the middle of the last century, the French scientist Frederic de Pleet published the results of his observations of the lives of 36 working families of various European countries in the book European Workers.

In the 30s of our century, the couple Lind lived for several years in a typical American city, carefully fixing their daily observations. Their book “The Middle City” is a rich source of information about the lifestyle of Americans and at the same time is useful from the point of view of studying methods and techniques of sociological observation.

Interesting results were obtained using this method abroad. In particular, the results of the study of the life of American wanderers, carried out in the 1920s by N. Anderson, who wandered with them around the country and hid their profession from them, are worthy of attention. The materials collected by V. White, who lived 3 years in American slums and came into close contact with the inhabitants of the “American bottom”, are also very curious.

Spectacular use of the included observation requires solving a number of difficult issues; among them, the problem of “entering” into an appropriate environment, suitable methods for recording observations and impressions, etc. It is possible, by taking the position of members of a group of people being studied, to lose to a certain extent the advantages of an “observer from the side” And this may lead, under the influence of the assessments that dominate the group, to a distortion of facts, etc. Great prospects open up for film sociology, which, using hidden cameras, is apparently the ideal method of observation. The first sociological films have already appeared.

Poll When using this method, the source of sociological information is a person. The sociologist can get the necessary information either by talking to the individual (interviewing) or by offering him the questions contained in the questionnaire (questioning).

The interview has long been widely used in various fields of activity, in any case, since the profession of a journalist appeared. This method is widely used and ethnographers. Until the 20s of our century, the interview was a conversation without a strict plan (the so-called “free interview”). However, “standardized interviews” began to be of increasing importance, i.e. conversation according to a predetermined plan. This was explained by the desire of sociologists in the context of expanding the number of respondents to obtain comparable results from interviews in which various interviewers participated. In addition, with standardized interviews it is possible to use a wider range of people as interviewers. Training professional interviewers requires a lot of time and effort, and their use is associated with high pay. However, standardized interviews do not allow to fully take into account the peculiarities of an individual, and now there is again a growing interest in free interviews, while maintaining only a general plan of conversations. But still the standardized interview remains the main form.

Today, the method of selective survey is perhaps the most frequently used research tool in sociology. It can be used to describe social facts and to explain them. The researcher begins with a clear definition of the group of people (or other units, such as a family) that he or she will study. This group is called the “general population”. It includes all members of society characterized by a given social attribute. Populations are all people who have one or more common properties. Often these aggregates are so large that each member’s survey would be expensive and long. Therefore, for practical reasons, the next step for the researcher is to conduct a sample, i.e. selection of some part of the general population, which he will study. With a properly constructed sample, it is possible to get reliable conclusions characterizing the entire population. After the sample is constructed, the wording of the questions that are asked to people who are in the sample are developed. Survey results are captured, sorted and summarized (usually using a computer). Selective survey is a very powerful method: it provides the best way to get a representative idea of ​​human behavior and attitude to life. Since almost all information is usually based on the words of the respondents, some researchers believe that surveys do not allow penetrating into the deeper meaning of the answers received.

By the end of the XIX century, the principles of the research experiment , which were formulated by natural scientists and psychologists, began to be applied in sociology. The distinguishing specter of the experiment is the creation of a controlled situation. Artificial modeling of conditions turned out to be useful, first of all, for studying small groups of people. This method is still widely used in the study of leadership and behavioral patterns of cooperation and competition.

To understand the essence of a research experiment, consider the following example. A researcher wants to find out whether students' opinions on teachers who have studied with them last year have an influence on the opinion of students about teachers. The experimenter selects two training groups, the number of which, the age of students and the ratio of men and women are about the same. The researcher informs the first group that last year's students rated the teacher very low. The second group does not report any information about past estimates. After an hour of classes, each group is invited to characterize this teacher.

The first group is experimental, i.e. one that is influenced by an independent variable, in our case, last year’s rating.

The second group is the control, i.e. unaffected by an independent variable. Simply put, the experiment uses two virtually identical groups of people. One of them receives an incentive (for example, information from students of the last year), and the second does not receive. By comparing the results of the study, sociologists can draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the stimulus.

Scheme 15.1. Research Phases

1. The definition of the subject of research, the statement of purpose,
tasks, initial hypotheses. As a subject of study, as right
fork, consider causal relationships between phenomena and process
mi real world. Defining the subject of research, first of all
identify the phenomena that will be investigated, and then their connections,
to be explored. The study of these relationships, the answer to the main
the question posed by the researcher constitutes the goal of the research
Niya. A goal will be more likely to be achieved if it is
differentiate, divide into separate tasks, each of which
rykh in this case will be a part of the goal or a stage on
ways to achieve the goal of the study. The scientific hypothesis should satisfy
meet the following requirements:

• Build on the basis of clear concepts;

• relate to objects that may be subject to empirical verification;

• be consistent with appropriate research techniques.

2. Development of a research plan. Drawing up a research plan is a methodological part of the research work. It should provide methods for collecting, processing and analyzing data; justify the sample, distribute forces and means.

3. Data collection. At this stage, information is collected using methods such as observation, analysis of documentary sources, surveys, interviews, content analysis.

4. Ordering and processing of collected data. Here, coding, classification and typologization methods are applied, tables and diagrams are constructed, trends and variances are measured, relationships between variables, and mathematical modeling.

5. Scientific explanation and verification. Scientific explanation includes knowledge of both the content, structure and functions, as well as the causes, methods of occurrence and development of the phenomena studied. To achieve this, it is necessary to find the typical among the studied phenomena, to separate the main from the secondary, and also to isolate the primary causes from the set of secondary. The verification cannot be strictly separated from the scientific explanation, since in the course of the scientific explanation the verification of the already concluded conclusion about the connection between the phenomena is always carried out. Verification also plays an important role when the working hypothesis is not confirmed. Then a new hypothesis is put forward and new data is collected.

When developing a research plan, the rationale for the sample is of central importance . For this, the sociologist must clearly understand the magnitude of the volume of empirical research (organization, city, region) and the amount of forces and means allocated for the study. Based on this, he can determine whether the study will be continuous (each member of the organization, a resident of a city, region will be interviewed) or selective. In the case of a sample study, it should satisfy the requirements of representativeness.

Representativeness is the property of a sample population to reproduce parameters and significant elements of the population. Moreover, the general population is understood as the total amount of all possible social objects to be studied within the framework of this research program.

A secondary (sample) population or sample is a part of the objects of the general population, selected using special techniques to obtain information about the entire population as a whole.

Sample definition is an important planning task, which sociologists use to solve statistical theory.

In addition to justifying the sample size, the development of questionnaires and interview plans should be included in the research plan.

So, in order to conduct a sociological study, it is necessary to determine the subject of research, to formulate a goal, objectives and a working hypothesis. Then develop a research plan, collect and process the data. After that, we can proceed to the scientific explanation and verification of the hypothesis put forward. If it is not confirmed, the entire process of scientific research, consisting of five phases, must be repeated.

Scheme 15.2. Basic data collection methods

Observation method . This is a direct registration of facts by an eyewitness. Unlike ordinary scientific observation has the following features:

• subordinate to research goals and objectives;

• has a plan, a procedure for collecting information;

• Observation data is recorded in a diary or protocol.

Distinguish between included and non-included surveillance.

A method of studying documentary sources. Documentary in sociology is any information recorded in printed or handwritten text, on magnetic tape, film, or film, a computer diskette, or any other medium.

Polling method. This method is divided into:

• interviewing method;

• survey method.

Content Analysis Method. Its essence is the translation into quantitative indicators of textual information using semantic, quantitative and qualitative units.

Reliability of information that is noon by means of receiving content analysis is provided by:

• control with the help of experts;

• control by an independent criterion (by monitoring the control group);

• re-encoding text by different encoders.

Scheme 15.3. Classification of documentary sources

In relation to the state:

• official, that is, created and approved by officially existing state bodies, organizations and private individuals who are licensed for a certain type of activity;

• unofficial documentary sources - these are documents compiled by persons and organizations not authorized by the state for this type of activity.

In relation to the personality:

• personal, that is, directly related to a specific individual (for example, individual registration cards, characteristics, signature-certified profiles, diaries, letters);

• impersonal, not directly related to a particular person (statistical materials, press reports).

In relation to participation in registered events or their study by the person who compiled this document:

• primary, that is, compiled by the participant in the events or the first researcher of this phenomenon;

• secondary documentary sources (derived from primary).

It should be said about the reliability of documentary sources, which may be intentionally or unintentionally distorted. Reliability or inaccuracy of documentary sources is determined by:

• position, intentions of the author;

• the environment in which the document was created;

• the purpose of compiling the document.

Scheme 15.4. Classification of survey methods

Interview - interview of the interviewer with the respondent, conducted according to a certain plan, with the aim of obtaining data.

Direct questionnaire - respondents' answers to questionnaire questions in the presence of the questionnaire.

A free interview is not a strict conversation, but a free plan (interview guide).

Correspondence questionnaire - respondents' answers to questionnaire questions without the presence of the questionnaire.

The depth of insight into the problems distinguish between clinical (deep) and focused interviews. The purpose of the first is to obtain information about the internal motives, inclinations of the respondent. The task of the second is to find out the reaction to a given effect.

By the nature of the organization, interviews are divided into:

• group, which are rarely used (for example, a group conversation with a discussion);

• individual, which, in turn, are divided into personal and telephone.

The second type of survey is a questionnaire survey, which involves rigidly fixed order, content and form of questions, a clear indication of the response form. A questionnaire survey can be conducted by direct survey, which provides for the presence of a questionnaire, or in the form of an absentee survey.

Each profile includes:

• open question; the answer is given in free form;

• a closed-ended question, respondents answer either “yes” or “no”; answer options are provided in advance;

• a semi-closed question (combines the two previous ones).

There is also a kind of questionnaire survey, such as a lightning survey (voting survey, public opinion polling). It is used in the survey of public opinion and usually contains only 3-4 points of the main (interesting) information, plus several points related to the demographic and social characteristics of the respondents.

The reliability of the information can be determined using the so-called trap questions.

In its most general form, the interview algorithm may look as follows:

• establishing contact (introduce oneself, meet);

• consolidation of contact (show importance, interest in information, respect for the respondent);

• transition to the main questions of the interview.