The main types of sociological research

Sociological research is the main tool for developing sociological knowledge, this concentration of research efforts on the performance of certain tasks, is a system of consistent procedures that provide reliable information about the phenomenon being studied. The term "sociological research" first appeared in 1897 in the work "Suicide" of the French sociologist E. Durkheim.

Since then, various types of sociological research have become a special way of knowing and the main foundation of sociological knowledge. There are different types of sociological research.

First of all, this is an intelligence survey , which is the simplest small study, with a compressed toolbox and a small number of respondents. This research is performed for tasks that are limited in content. As a rule, it is carried out under a simplified program and covers small surveyed populations.

Such types of applied sociological research are used to perform a preliminary survey of a particular phenomenon or process. The need for them arises in the event that the problem is not studied at all or studied very little. With the help of such studies it is possible to obtain additional information, to reveal the boundaries of the surveyed population in further study, to determine the necessary tools and difficulties that may arise in the process of large-scale research.

The following types of sociological research is a descriptive study . Such a study is already a deeper species, for which more respondents are required. The processing of materials of such studies already requires computer processing of data. This study makes it possible to form an idea of the phenomenon being studied, which is already relatively complete.

Accounting and understanding of the resulting information helps to understand the situation well and on this basis justify the choice of the necessary means, methods and forms of management of social processes. Such types of sociological research should be conducted according to a detailed program and on the basis of reliable methodological tools.

Such equipment makes it possible to group and classify the research elements by the essential characteristics that affect the problem under study. This research is used in cases where the object is a relatively large community of respondents who differ in different characteristics.

The analytical research closes the types of sociological research . It is the most complex research and the deepest. It covers the largest number of respondents and is not only descriptive. Usually such a study not only describes the phenomenon, but also considers its dynamics.

Analytical research is applied with the purpose of the most profound study of the phenomenon, when it is not enough just to describe the structure, but it is also necessary to know what are its main quantitative and qualitative parameters, and what influences and determines them. These types of sociological research, already by virtue of their purpose, have the greatest scientific and practical value. Their preparation requires a well-developed program, quality tools and considerable time. In it can be applied, complementing each other, various forms - a survey, analysis of documents, observation. Such sociological research is usually complex.