What is a Respondent? Meaning and interpretation of the word respondent, definition of the term. Sociological research

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The survey is the most widespreadnyresearch method in sociology

questionnaire demand sociological respondent

Introduction

Sociological research is a system of logically consistent methodological, methodological, organizational and technical procedures interconnected by a single goal: to obtain objective, reliable data about the phenomenon or process being studied for their subsequent use in the practice of social management.

The bulk of empirical information is obtained in sociology using survey methods. The great importance of these methods is determined, firstly, by organizational advantages; secondly, relative cheapness; thirdly, the content and universality of the information obtained by the survey method; fourthly, the possibility of maximum use of technical means for processing the data obtained as a result of the survey.

1. The main types of sociological survey.

A survey is the most common type of research in modern sociology, with the help of which it obtains up to 90% of information. In each case, the survey involves addressing a direct participant and is aimed at those aspects of the process that are little or not amenable to direct observation. This is why a survey is indispensable when it comes to studying those substantive characteristics, social, collective and interpersonal relationships that are hidden from the external eye and make themselves felt only in certain conditions and situations.

A survey method that relies on a sufficient number of trained questionnaires or interviewers makes it possible to survey large populations of people and obtain a variety of information in the shortest possible time. Although the cognitive possibilities of a survey are limitless, the information obtained with its help reflects the reality being studied only in the form in which it was refracted in the mind of the respondent. Therefore, sociologists are in no hurry to equate objective reality, which is the subject of research, with data reflecting people’s opinions about facts, events and phenomena. They carefully take into account and try to level out the distortion of information.

Depending on the source of information, there are mass and specialized surveys. In the first case, the source of information is representatives of large social groups (ethnic, religious, professional). Participants in mass surveys are called respondents. In specialized surveys, the main source of information is competent persons (experts, experts) who have the professional and theoretical knowledge or life experience necessary for the researcher, which allows them to give authoritative conclusions. Such surveys are called expert surveys.

There are two main types of sociological survey:

Questioning,

Interviewing.

A questionnaire survey is the most important source of information about real-life social facts and social activities. It begins with the formulation of program questions, with the “translation” of the problems posed in the research program into questions that exclude different interpretations and are understandable to the respondents.

A questionnaire is a duplicated document containing on average 30 to 40 questions addressed to a selected number of respondents. Any list of questions cannot be called a questionnaire. Thus, a journalist’s questions are not considered a questionnaire, although they have their own logic and consistency. A questionnaire is just something that is addressed to a multitude of people who are interviewed in a standard way. That is why we apply the statistical apparatus to them. In addition, the interviewee is required to independently fill out the questionnaire according to the rules set out in the instructions for it.

Depending on the form, it can be individual or group. Group surveys are widely used in places of work and study. Questionnaires are distributed to be filled out in the audience, where the respondents included in the sample are invited. Typically one surveyor works with a group of 15-20 people. At the same time, 100% return of questionnaires is ensured, respondents can consult on filling out techniques, find out difficult and unclear areas, and the surveyor, collecting questionnaires, can control the quality of filling. During an individual survey, questionnaires are distributed at the workplace or place of residence (study) of respondents, and the return time is discussed in advance. The second form of survey has the same advantages as the first.

Questioning can also be done in person or by correspondence. The most common forms of the latter are: postal survey, survey through a newspaper.

According to the level of competence of respondents, they are distinguished:

Mass survey (non-specialist opinion on a particular topic),

Mass survey in collaboration with a researcher (involves information assistance to the respondent from the questionnaire in understanding the analyzed situation),

Symptomatic survey (the respondent’s understanding of general information without deep understanding),

Expert survey (survey of specialists on the problem being analyzed).

A fairly common form of sociological surveys is the interview, which is a kind of targeted conversation “face to face” with the respondent, the interviewer himself asks questions and records the answers. At first, interviews were used mainly in medicine as a clinical conversation with a patient as a means of obtaining reliable information about the patient. Subsequently, as empirical research developed, along with questioning, it became one of the most common methods for obtaining sociological information about the object being studied.

An interview is a targeted, pre-programmed conversation with a respondent. The nature of communication, the degree of contact, mutual understanding of the interviewer (the person conducting the interview) and the interviewee largely determine the depth and quality of the information received about a particular social fact or phenomenon. When conducting an interview, a sociologist, based on the situation and observing the behavior of the interlocutor, can obtain information that would not become available to him in the case of a questionnaire survey.

The form of the interview can be direct or indirect, for example, by telephone.

There are several types of interviews:

A free interview, as a rule, does not have a plan or pre-formulated questions. It is conducted mainly not by specially designated persons, but by sociologists who themselves determine the topic of the conversation, formulate questions, their sequence, clarify the topic, etc. Most often, free interviews are used when interviewing experts in the initial (exploratory) stage of sociological research.

An in-depth interview aims to obtain information indicating not only the presence of a particular social fact or phenomenon, but also explaining the reasons for the appearance of these facts or phenomena.

The purpose of a focused (directed) interview is to study public opinion regarding a specific fact or situation. The respondents in these cases are familiar with the object of interest to the sociologist, and express their attitude towards it and opinion about it, giving it an assessment.

When conducting an interview, the questions that the interviewer asks his respondents can be open-ended or closed-ended. An interview with open-ended questions is conducted according to a pre-developed plan, which is a whole set of open-ended questions arranged in a certain sequence. By asking these questions to the respondent, the researcher listens to the answers to them, recording their full content using magnetic recording or shorthand. In a closed-ended interview, which is usually called a standardized interview, the researcher approaches respondents with a questionnaire, which is essentially a questionnaire containing mainly closed-ended questions. The respondent must express his agreement or, conversely, a negative attitude to one of the questions posed. The interviewer is not able to change the content of the questions, their sequence, or ask any additional questions. The standardized interview is the most common type and is most often used in census surveys.

Sociology is most often identified with the survey method, or questionnaire procedure. Indeed, in sociology the most popular is the questionnaire survey. It is used in approximately 70-80% of cases. Social psychologists are more inclined to tests and sociometric methods, but the questionnaire procedure is by no means uncommon in psychology studying human behavior, motivation of activity and value orientations.

2. Questionnaireand the requirements for its preparation

Drawing up a questionnaire is considered an extremely responsible matter, associated with translating the language of hypotheses into the language of questions accessible to the respondent. Compiling a questionnaire requires the competence and experience of a sociologist. A well-written questionnaire is not just any set of questions; there are certain rules for its preparation and requirements for it. Only if these conditions are met can objective quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the subject of analysis be obtained.

The questionnaire should begin with a brief address to the survey participant, which indicates: by whom and for what purpose the questionnaire is being conducted, emphasizes the anonymous nature of its completion, indicates how the completed questionnaire is filled out and how the completed questionnaire is returned; are requested to take part in the survey. This appeal precedes the formulation of questions and is a kind of introduction; it should be short, understandable and clear. Let me give you an example:

Dear colleague! We are asking you to express your opinion on new forms of labor organization. Your sincere and accurate answers will allow us to make generalizations and develop practical recommendations for improving work organization. Please read the proposed answer options carefully and mark the answer that matches your opinion. If none of the printed answers satisfy you, write your opinion (a special space has been left for this). Thank you in advance for your help with this work.

After the application, the main part of the questionnaire follows, consisting of targeted questions that can be divided into three categories:

a) contact - they are needed to attract the attention of respondents to

b) basic - aimed at obtaining the main information necessary to solve research problems;

c) final - they relieve the respondent’s psychological stress and create confidence in the usefulness of the survey.

This part is of particular importance, because the success of the research largely depends on it.

The questionnaire ends with a passport - this is a set of demographic, economic and professional information found at the end of the questionnaire (gender, income, age, etc.). They outline, as it were, a portrait of the respondent. It contains those indicators whose statistical distributions in the general population interest you. It is these questions - gender, age, profession - that are control questions for deciding how well the sample population corresponds to the general population. Along with gender, age and income, indicators such as nationality, education, profession, marital status, place of residence or work are also included here.

A well-formatted questionnaire should end with an expression of gratitude to the respondent for participating in the survey (for example, “thank you for your participation” or “thank you for your cooperation”).

The questionnaire survey conducted must meet the following requirements: the duration should not exceed 30-40 minutes, since the fatigue of the respondent will not allow receiving complete answers; interest in the subject of the survey should not decrease, but gradually increase. Therefore, questions that are more complex in content (and understanding) should follow the simpler ones; the first question should be neither controversial nor alarming, but best of all - neutral; It is advisable to place difficult questions in the middle of the questionnaire in order to “bring” the respondent to the topic; questions must be clear, precise, understandable to the respondents (all without exception); they should not exceed the memory capacity and competence of the interviewee (respondent); there should not be an overload of answer options proposed in the questionnaire; questions should not cause negative emotions or hurt the respondent’s self-esteem. For example, a survey question: “What is your monthly income?” - unclear. What are we talking about here? Only about earnings or about income? About earnings taking into account tax deductions or about the accrued amount of wages containing the amount of income tax? Does the salary in question include bonuses?

Questions must meet the requirements of logic: first, we must talk about establishing a particular fact (event), and then about its assessment - this is the most important requirement of sociological research. For example, the first question: “Do you experience any difficulties at work?” Answers: “Yes”, “No”. The second question: “If yes, then what are these difficulties expressed in?” The answer cites a number of factors that make work difficult. Third question: “Your suggestions for overcoming difficulties.” If a new section appears in the questionnaire, it is necessary to “bring” the respondent to a new topic. This is usually done by addressing the respondent in a certain form, for example: “This concludes the conversation about work. Now a few questions about your leisure time.”

The function of unique traffic rules according to the questionnaire, indicating “intersections”, dangerous areas, etc., is performed by instructions on the technique of filling out the questionnaire, addressed to respondents and located directly in the text of the questions or in the fields of the questionnaire: how many answer options can be noted - one or more ; How to fill out a table question - line by line or column by column.

All questions must be numbered in order, and answer options must also be numbered in order. It is strictly forbidden to tear the text of the question and move it to another page. It is good to use a different font when printing questions and answers, use color printing

Serious attention is paid to the graphic design of the questionnaire: clear font, sufficient space for writing free answers, arrows indicating transitions from a filter question to other questions, etc. Illustrative materials play a significant role in graphic design. You can use pictures to enliven the text of the questionnaire and illustration questions. Illustrative questions, in addition to their main cognitive function, also solve a methodological problem: they diversify the technique of filling out the questionnaire, reduce its monotony, and reduce the psychological burden.

Questions should not contain terms and concepts that are unclear to the respondent. The number of questions in the questionnaire usually does not exceed 30-40 (after 45 minutes of the survey, the respondent’s attention decreases). A questionnaire is considered “good” if two basic rules are met: the wording of the questions must correspond to the research problem, and the questionnaire itself must correspond to the capabilities of the respondent as a source of information (imposing excessive demands on the respondent’s memory, analytical abilities, or humiliating self-esteem).

Once the questionnaire has been compiled, it is subjected to logical controls to ensure that it meets scientific quality criteria. Two main parameters of the sociological questionnaire are controlled - the correctness of the wording of the questions and the correctness of the layout of the entire questionnaire, its composition.

In the first case, each question is checked according to the following criteria:

Are such answer options forgotten (if they are needed) as: “I don’t know”, “I don’t know”, “I don’t remember”, “I didn’t think about it” and the like, giving the respondent the opportunity to evade answering when he thinks so necessary;

Shouldn't it be possible to add to some closed-ended questions the position “other answers” ​​with free lines for additional statements from respondents;

Does the question apply to the entire population of respondents or only to some part of this population? (In the latter case, a filter question is added);

Is the technique of filling out the question sufficiently explained to the respondent;

Is there a logical inconsistency between the meaning of the wording of the question and the measurement scale;

Does the question exceed the competence of the interviewee? (If there is such a suspicion, you need a control question-filter to check your competence);

Are there too many possible answers to the question? If this is so, then you need to divide the list into thematic blocks and make a block of questions instead of one question;

In the second case, the composition of the questionnaire is checked for compliance with the following criteria:

Is the principle of arranging questions from the simplest at the beginning of the questionnaire to the most difficult in the middle and simple at the end followed?

Is there any influence of previous questions on subsequent ones?

Are the semantic blocks of questions separated by “attention switches”, addresses to the respondent, informing about the beginning of the next block;

Are filter questions equipped with transition indicators for different groups of respondents;

Are there clusters of similar questions that cause a feeling of monotony and fatigue in the respondent;

The final verdict on the quality of the entire questionnaire comes from a pilot study. It reveals all the shortcomings of the questionnaire and especially in the composition of questions. One of the true indicators of the unsuitability of a question is a large proportion of those who did not answer or found it difficult to answer it.

The logic of constructing questions in the questionnaire corresponds to the goals of the study and serves to obtain only such information that tests the hypotheses.

The questions in the questionnaire are formulated as specifically and accurately as possible. Ambiguity and ambiguity must not be allowed.

3. Survey questionss, their varieties and meaning

The art of asking questions is perhaps the most ancient and still the most difficult. In everyday life, we see how a tactlessly asked question puts the answerer in an awkward position. They say about stupid questions that they are easier to ask than to answer. There are rhetorical questions that don’t need to be answered at all. There are also short and long questions, written and oral, closed and open, menu questions and filter questions, trap questions, contact questions, distracting questions, factual questions, buffer questions, provoking questions, closed questions, semi-closed questions, open questions, dead-end questions, etc. d.

It is difficult to even list all the types of questions. It's even harder to describe how they work. This problem is solved by professional methodologists who practice the technique of asking questions, collecting and analyzing data, mathematical processing and empirical interpretation of answers in experiments designed specifically for such purposes. They are called, in contrast to research experiments, designed to understand the patterns of behavior of real people, methodological experiments that show the peculiarities of the behavior of the instrument. For example, it is not always clear which question - closed or open - respondents respond better to and provide more reliable information.

The art of questioning lies in the correct formulation and placement of questions. It's not just sociologists who ask questions. The first to think about the scientific formulation of questions was the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, who on the streets of Athens baffled passers-by with ingenious paradoxes. Today, in addition to sociologists, the survey method is also used by journalists, doctors, investigators, and teachers.

In life, communication between a doctor and a patient, or an investigator with a defendant, or a conversation between two passers-by are interpersonal in nature. Their addressee is individual. When surveying, the situation is different. The author of a sociological questionnaire addresses a large population of unknown people. Consequently, the survey question should be equally understandable to different socio-demographic groups of respondents: young and old, people with higher and secondary education, city dwellers and villagers.

All questions in the questionnaire can be classified:

1) by content (questions about facts, knowledge, opinion, and the motives of the respondent). Questions from this group are aimed at identifying opinions, wishes, expectations, and plans for the future. They can relate to any objects: both related to the personality of the respondent or his environment, and not directly related to him. Any opinion expressed by a respondent represents a value judgment based on individual perceptions and is therefore subjective.

Questions about facts. The purpose of these questions is to obtain information about social phenomena and the state of affairs in production. They may also relate to the identity of the respondent himself when he fills out the data on the passport, and also carry information about his actions, deeds and their consequences.

Questions about motives. These questions are designed to reveal a person’s subjective understanding of the motives of his activities. One question about motives cannot give a true picture of the motivation of activity; this requires a whole range of similar questions.

Questions about opinion. They are aimed at recording facts, wishes, expectations, plans for the future and can relate to any problems and personality of the respondent.

2) by logical nature:

Main questions. Based on the answers to these questions, conclusions are drawn about the phenomenon being studied; they make up the majority of the questionnaire.

Filter questions. They belong to the class of non-basic questions in a sociological questionnaire, since their task is not to clarify the content of the social phenomenon being studied, but to establish the main addressee of the question. The need for them arises when the researcher needs to obtain data that characterizes not the entire population of respondents, but only a certain part of it. In order to separate the part of respondents of interest to the researcher from all others, filter questions are asked. Thus, when studying the readership of a particular newspaper, say, “Evening Moscow,” before moving on to the actual substantive block of questions, the sociologist places filter questions where he asks whether the respondent is familiar with this newspaper.

Security questions are used to check the truthfulness and consistency of answers. In a group of questions on the same topic, it is not difficult to select main and control questions. The role of the main one can be played by the question that is asked in a wider semantic range, in a direct form. For example, a worker is asked the question: “Mark on the scale the judgment that corresponds to your opinion: 1) I am quite satisfied with the work; 2) rather satisfied than dissatisfied; 3) I am indifferent to work; 4) rather dissatisfied than satisfied; 5) completely dissatisfied; 6) I can’t say.” In order to control the answer, you should ask the following control questions: “Would you like to move to another job?” (yes, no, I don’t know) or “Let’s assume that for some reason you are temporarily not working. Would you return to your previous place of work? (yes, no, I don’t know). Control questions are usually located in the questionnaire at some distance both from the main one and from each other. A type of control can be a repeated survey.

Leading questions help the respondent to correctly understand the main question and help give a more accurate answer.

3) according to its psychological function:

Contact questions are used to establish contact with the respondent. Designed to interest the respondent and encourage him to take part in the survey. As a rule, these are the first questions of the questionnaire, which should be very simple in form and concern the respondent himself; they encourage interested participation in the survey.

Buffer questions. They serve to switch the respondent’s attention when moving from one topic to another. Questions of this type usually begin with the general formula: “What do you think?” - and then there is a description of the new problem.

Direct questions are aimed at expressing the respondent’s attitudes towards various aspects of the problem being analyzed. They assume that the respondent will express his or her own position. A direct question is a direct question, for example: “Does your work give you moral satisfaction or do you work for money?” Such questions are used only to obtain information about the presence or absence of a fact.

Indirect questions. When answering these questions, the respondent answers on behalf of the group, collective, in an impersonal form, which allows him, as it were, to hide his own position and strengthen the critical emphasis of his statements. In addition, they are asked when direct questions are not entirely convenient - these are situations concerning private, intimate aspects of a person’s life or their relationship to the authorities, to their immediate superiors, when it can be assumed that sincere answers will not be given to direct questions.

4) by the nature of the answers to the questions asked:

A closed question is a question that has a full range of possible answers. The respondent, having read it, must only highlight (or circle) the option (or several) that corresponds to his opinion. Closed question: “What do you like about your job? Please mark those of the options listed below that coincide with your opinion: 1) varied work; 2) work that requires ingenuity; 3) does not cause physical fatigue; 4) good earnings." This form of question significantly reduces the time for filling out the questionnaire and preparing it for processing on a computer.

Closed questions can be alternative or non-alternative. Alternative questions allow the respondent to choose only one answer option, as a result of which the sum of answers to all options presented in an alternative question always amounts to 100%. An example of an alternative question: “Do you have children?” Answer options: 1) yes, I have. 2) no, I don’t. Non-alternative questions allow the respondent to select several answer options, so their sum can exceed 100%. Example: “What TV shows did you watch last weekend?” Answers: 1 - feature films, 2 - political programs, 3 - sports programs, 4 - programs for business people.

Open questions do not contain hints in the form of answer options proposed by the sociologist, but allow the respondent to express his own opinion in its entirety. With their help, richer information is collected. This type of question requires a free-form answer: “Please tell me what could help increase your interest in work?” In open-ended questions, after the text of the question, the sociologist leaves a space and asks the respondent to formulate his or her opinion. The number of lines for recording the answer depends on the nature of the question and should be sufficient for the respondent to be able to freely express his thoughts. As experience shows, the average number of lines for entries in an open-ended question ranges from 3 to 7. The entire variety of answers will have to be coded by the researcher himself, ultimately reducing them to a certain limited number of the most frequently repeated answers. The closed form of the question avoids this, since by marking one of the answer options, the respondent simultaneously encodes it. The same question can be made open and closed. Closed ones are easier to process on a computer, but they require sociologists to have comprehensive knowledge of the subject. Open ones are used where this knowledge is limited and the research is carried out for exploratory purposes.

Experts believe that the psychological basis for answering a closed question is significantly different than when answering an open question. Accordingly, the content of the information received does not coincide. When formulating an answer to an open question, the respondent is guided only by his own ideas. Consequently, such a response will be more individualized and will provide more detailed and varied information about the structure of the respondents’ views. Therefore, an open question is an indispensable tool if the cognitive task is to obtain data on the structure of the respondents’ ideas on the problem being studied, on the characteristics of the vocabulary of their language, on the range of associations in connection with the subject of the survey, on verbal skills associated with the ability to formulate their opinion and argue for it .

It is preferable to formulate closed versions of questions to identify facts and relationships that presuppose a previously known and uniform list of possible answers. At the same time, it must be remembered that the pre-proposed set of answers belongs to the researcher and this frees respondents from independent work on possible answer options.

Respondents willingly answer open-ended questions when they have a developed system of ideas on the topic of the question and consider themselves competent in it. If the subject of the survey is little familiar to them or is unusual or difficult to analyze, then respondents avoid answering: they either give a vague answer or answer not to the point. In this case, using an open question, the researcher runs the risk of not receiving any meaningful information at all and will only be able to find out that the totality of respondents does not have a formed opinion on this issue. At the same time, using a closed form of a question, the researcher helps the respondent navigate the subject of conversation and express his attitude to the problem through a proposed set of possible judgments or assessments.

Semi-closed questions are a form of question when, after the proposed answer options, an empty column is left where the respondent can, if necessary, write down his answer option. A semi-closed type question is based on adding to the list of answers the phrase: “Others (moments, reasons, motives, etc.). Please indicate which ones." The question, as it were, is deciphered, making it possible not only to choose one of the answers given in the questionnaire, but also to express something of your own. Combines signs of openness and closedness.

Scale questions. The answer to these questions is given in the form of a scale in which one or another indicator must be noted. For example:

Questions-menu. The respondent is asked to choose any combination of the proposed answers.

To successfully conduct a survey, it is important to be able to use various forms of its organization (individual or group, full-time or correspondence), taking into account their advantages and disadvantages. Thus, with a group survey, as a rule, there is a 100% return of questionnaires, and with an individual survey, the return is much less. With a group survey, it is possible to interview a whole group of people at once, but the sincerity of the answers may be less than with an individual survey. When conducting an absentee survey (for example, a press survey), you should remember that, as a rule, only people who are very interested in the problem being studied will take part in it.

After completing the collection of sociological information, it must be processed. Processing of personal information begins with the rejection of the collected material. Questionnaires must be checked for accuracy and completeness. There is a rule: if there are no answers (or incorrect answers) to 30% of the questions or more, the questionnaire is rejected and cannot be processed. Otherwise, the results and conclusions of the study will be inaccurate, or even completely incorrect.

Conclusion

Each type of survey depends on many circumstances: the content of the questionnaire or interview (that is, the list of questions in which the subject of the study is implemented); the quality of work of the questionnairer or interviewer who organizes and directly ensures the completion of questionnaires; the interview situation, its conditions, which should be as favorable as possible for the respondent’s calm and concentrated work; psychological state of the respondent at the time of the survey.

Despite the importance of sociological information, one cannot help but notice a certain amount of its subjectivity, because one way or another it contains the opinion of people, which by its nature cannot but be subjective. The researcher’s task is to reduce this share, for which the opportunity can be used to supplement the information using other methods available in the arsenal of sociological research.

Listusedliterature

1. Toshchenko Zh.T. Sociology. General course. - 2nd ed., add. and processed - M.: Prometheus: Yurayt-M, 2001. - 511 p.

2. Sociology: Textbook for universities. Ed. prof. V.N. Lavrinenko. 2nd ed., revised. and additional - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2002. - 407 p.

3. Textbook A manual for university students. Ed. A.N. Elsukova. 2nd ed., corrected. - Mn.: TetraSystems, 2000. -544 p.

4. Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: General course: Textbook for universities. - M.: PERSE; Logos, 2002. - 640 pp.: ill. (electronic manual).

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from lat. responsum - answer) - English. respondent; German Proband/Befrager. Participant of a specific sociol. research that is a source of oral or written information.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

RESPONDENT

from lat. responsare - respond, react) - participant sociologist. survey, answering the questions of the questionnaire, i.e., acting as a source of primary empiric. information about the phenomena and processes being studied. R. occupies a sociological position in the process. research one of the key positions that determine the reliability of its final result. R.'s role position, on the one hand, is determined and quite strictly regulated by a number of objective factors related to the nature of the survey as a means of social media. communications. On the other hand, R.’s participation in the survey and the reliability of the information he communicates depend on a number of his social, social-psychological. and psychological characteristics and are associated with the relative freedom of expression of his will, with the degree of internalization of the role position offered to him by the researcher in the interview situation. Factors external to R. include the following. Firstly, the processes of democratization of the existing society, leading to an increase in the role of societies. opinions in the planning and implementation of social goals. politicians. Sociological data. surveys are becoming a necessary component of information support for management. various solutions level. In this regard, the opportunity to participate in a sociological survey for each member of the society is one of the means of participation in management, a manifestation of its social. activity and civic consciousness. Secondly, the inclusion of R. in a survey situation is determined by the principles of sampling. a procedure that provides an equal chance for each member of the general population to be included in a sample representing the social group being studied. community. Thus, the initiative to participate in the survey belongs not to R., but to the researcher. Thirdly, the content of the questionnaire, the form of questions, their sequence, as well as the survey situation are determined by the researcher before the survey begins and are offered to R. in the form of completed standardized procedures (selection method, establishing contact, type of survey, form of questions, etc.). The course of the survey and the form of R.’s contacts with the questionnaire are regulated by the questioner or interviewer in accordance with standard instructions, the same for all R. T. arr., in a survey situation, R.’s role position is a priori given, requiring submission to a number of very strictly regulated requirements. At the same time, this does not mean that R. is a passive object of influence on the part of the researcher. The nature of communicative interaction between a sociologist and R. in sociology. The survey is subjective in nature. In this regard, there is a need to take into account, when developing a survey methodology, a set of requirements determined by the properties of R. as a carrier and potential source of information. Firstly, R. mass sociological. surveys are carriers of everyday consciousness, which differs significantly from scientific ones. consciousness, in the sphere of which the research goals and objectives of the survey are formed. Associated with this feature is the requirement to “translate” programmatic, research questions to the level of R.’s everyday, everyday ideas, his everyday experience. Without taking into account the specifics of R.'s consciousness, survey results may contain systematic errors. Secondly, an essential property of R. is his competence and awareness. The level of awareness is determined by the method and intensity of the respondent’s inclusion in the social sphere under study. reality. R. can be either a direct participant or observer of processes and phenomena, or a bearer of indirect experience and knowledge mediated by socialization processes (upbringing, training, media activities, etc.). The level of competence is taken into account when developing the questionnaire and when interpreting the survey results. Thirdly, R. is characterized by the presence of a more or less pronounced attitude to the survey and to the practice of sociology. surveys in general. The latter is related to the state of societies. opinions on the need and effectiveness of surveys in specific historical contexts. situations. For example, Polish sociologists record a significant increase in the total number of non-respondents in surveys conducted during periods of crisis in society. The attitude towards participation in a particular survey largely depends on the qualifications of the interviewer or questionnaire, on the degree of interest of R. in the topic of the survey, on the degree to which his mental health is taken into account. characteristics. This setting is dynamic and can change during the course of the survey in different ways. directions. Indicators of attitude towards the survey are the number of refusals to participate in the survey, the number of non-responders to individual questions, logical. consistency of answers, interest and attention during the survey. The use of these indicators is ensured by strict observance of R.’s right to refuse to participate in the survey, the mandatory inclusion of answer options such as “I don’t know,” “I don’t know,” “I don’t think about it,” “I have no opinion,” etc. Fourth , essential for the success of the survey is taking into account the sociocultural and national characteristics of the R. These features are associated with the normative, prestigious ideas of the R. about the methods of establishing contacts by interviewers and questionnaires, about the acceptable thematic boundaries of a conversation with a stranger, about the possible language and psychological. the style of the survey, the norms for forming and expressing markdowns are different. phenomena, etc. The importance of these features increases in cross-national hypochondriac studies and in surveys specific. social layers and groups (urban and rural population; children, youth and pensioners; individual professional groups; groups with deviant behavior, etc.). Fifthly, mental. R.'s features also have a significant impact on the survey results, since the answers to the questionnaire questions that form the primary empirical ones. data are formed in the situation of individual contact of respondents with the content of the questionnaires. This group includes such signs of R. as stability of attention, level of intellectual development, analytical. capabilities, sociability, self-confidence, memory, imagination, temperament, sincerity, conformism, etc. This group of characteristics of R. is taken into account using psychological. tests included in the structure of the questionnaire. The overwhelming majority of normative ideas and recommendations in sociology regarding the survey method are designed to take into account the above-mentioned features of R. Currently, methodological. Research into the characteristics of R. and their influence on the survey results is not systematic. character in both domestic and foreign sociology, although the number of such studies is gradually increasing. According to the recognition of most leading sociologists, R.’s behavior in a survey situation is the least studied link in the sociological process. research. Lit.: Process of social research. M., 1975; Noel E. Mass polls. M., 1978; A sociologist's workbook. M., 1983. O.M. Maslova.

Survey method in sociological research it occupies a special position and is the most authoritative and popular, since it has a number of very significant advantages compared to methods of observation and document analysis.

The survey method was not invented by sociologists. In all branches of knowledge where a researcher turns to a person with questions, he deals with various modifications of this method (anamnestic interviews with a doctor when seeing a patient, an interview with witnesses of a criminal incident by an investigator, an interview conducted by a journalist to obtain information of interest to him, etc. .).

The survey method was widely practiced in Russian sociology back in the 1920s. Currently, we can confidently state that it is the most widespread and informative, but not universal. Its proper use requires the researcher to find out how well it corresponds to the problems that are supposed to be solved. In other words, the burden on the survey to collect primary information in each specific study may be different.

A survey is a method of direct or indirect collection of primary verbal information through socio-psychological interaction between the researcher and the respondent. The specificity of the method is that when it is used, the source of sociological information is a person (respondent) - a direct participant in the social processes and phenomena being studied.

The main advantage of the survey method is the breadth of coverage of various areas of social practice. Using this method, you can obtain information about any problems in the life of modern society. Its cognitive possibilities are almost limitless, and the huge advantage lies in the effectiveness of interviewing a large number of people in the shortest possible time.

There are two main types of survey method: survey, when its implementation is mediated by the use of a questionnaire, and interviewing, when it is in the nature of direct communication between the sociologist and the respondent.

Questionnaire is a method of obtaining primary sociological information through written responses from respondents to a system of standardized questionnaire responses. Questioning is the most common type of survey in the practice of applied sociology. The types of surveys are diverse and are grouped in pairs according to several characteristics.

Depending on the number of respondents, two types of surveys are distinguished: solid And selective.

Solid Questioning involves surveying the entire population of people being studied, while sampling surveys only survey a part of the population - a sample. This type of survey is the most common.


Depending on the method of communication between the researcher and the respondent, there are different types of personal And correspondence survey.

Personal Questioning involves direct contact between the researcher and the respondent when the questionnaire is filled out in his presence. This method of questioning has two advantages - firstly, it guarantees a full return of the questionnaires and, secondly, it allows you to control the correctness of their completion. A personal survey can be group or individual. Correspondence Questioning is characterized by the fact that the respondent answers the questionnaire in the absence of the researcher.

Based on the method of delivering questionnaires to respondents, there are postal, press And handout survey.

Postal Questioning boils down to the fact that questionnaires are sent to respondents and returned to the researcher by mail. Its advantages lie in the ease of distributing questionnaires, the possibility of obtaining a large sample, and the ability to simultaneously attract a large number of people living in different regions and hard-to-reach areas to the survey. Disadvantages of postal surveys include low return rates, distortion of the intended sample, and lack of confidence that the questionnaires were self-administered. There is a method for increasing the return rate of questionnaires, which consists of psychologically competent contacting respondents, enclosing an envelope with a written return address, sending out reminders about the need to return the completed questionnaire, etc.

Press Questioning is a type of questioning in which questionnaires are published in print. This type of questioning is also characterized by a low percentage of questionnaires being returned and practically eliminates the researcher’s ability to influence the formation of the sample population.

Handout The survey involves personally delivering the questionnaire to the respondent. Its advantages consist in personal contact between the researcher and the respondent, which increases the latter’s interest in the study, makes it possible to advise the respondent on the rules for filling out the questionnaire, and to assess the respondent’s compliance with the intended sample. The disadvantages of handout questionnaires are the relatively low percentage of questionnaires returned (albeit higher than with a postal survey), and the lack of confidence that the questionnaires were filled out by the respondent independently.

The effectiveness of a questionnaire largely depends on the proper construction and content of the questionnaire.

Construction of the questionnaire. The questionnaire must have three parts: introductory, main and demographic (“passport”).

Introductory part is an appeal to respondents indicating the name of the institution conducting the research, the objectives of the research, the role of the respondent in solving the tasks, assurance of complete anonymity of the respondent’s answers, the method of returning completed questionnaires and the rules for filling out the questionnaire.

The main part consists of a set of questions, the answers to which are used to solve the problems posed in the study. Its development is the most complex and responsible and always begins with simple questions designed to interest respondents and help them get involved in the work. This is followed by questions aimed at solving the main objectives of the study and, as a rule, relating to motives, opinions and assessments. At the end, questions are used that detail the answers to the previous ones, as well as control and most intimate questions that require the individual opinion of respondents.

The demographic part of the questionnaire consists of questions that determine the social characteristics of the respondent, gender, age, education, occupation, sports qualifications, etc. This part of the questionnaire is the most concise and easy to fill out. Its purpose is to facilitate, firstly, a qualitative analysis of the collected information and, secondly, to determine the representativeness of the obtained material.

When constructing a questionnaire, the following types of questions are used, differing in form: open, closed, semi-closed And scale.

Open Questions are questions the wording of which requires a free-form response from the respondent.

For example: “Name the sport you would like to play”

(write please)_______________

The formulation in this case does not limit the person answering the question to any framework, and he can express everything he thinks, in any form, in its entirety and to the smallest detail. That is why, with the help of open questions, you can collect information that is very rich in content. At the end of the question (in parentheses) there is a reminder to the respondent that he must give his answer in writing.

The disadvantages of open-ended questions include: firstly, the possibility of answers that are not directly related to the topic; secondly, the likelihood of lengthy answers; thirdly, the complexity of subsequent processing of such free responses. In this regard, it is not recommended to use a large number of open-ended questions in the questionnaire.

Closed Questions are multiple-choice and give respondents the opportunity to select one or more possible answers.

The simplest type of closed question is a “yes-no” question. Its specificity lies in its unbalanced formulation, i.e. in a wording where one of the possible options is present, which contributes to the respondent’s choice. The use of this question is often methodologically questionable, especially when studying knowledge, skills and stops. So, for example, the questions “do you like...?”, “would you like...?”, “do you like...?” cause an undoubted shift in responses in a positive direction. For this reason, it is recommended to use them only in cases where there is no doubt about the unambiguous choice of answer. For example: “Have you been to the stadium this year?”, “Do you subscribe to sports newspapers and magazines?”

Alternative The question differs from the “yes-no” question by such an important characteristic as the balance of the wording. The balance of alternatives in the wording of the question makes response bias much smaller, and the proposed answer options are mutually exclusive. You can only choose one answer to this question.

For example: “How often do you visit the stadium?”

Very often (every day)

Often (2 – 3 times a week)

Not very often (3 – 4 times a month)

Rarely (1 – 2 times a month)

Very rare (even rarer)

Another type of closed questions is a menu question, in which the respondent is offered the right to choose several answers (the number of selected answers must be specified).

For example: “What attracts you to coaching?” (check no more than three answers):

communication with people;

knowledge transfer process;

variety of activities;

lack of a regulated working day;

emotionality, creativity;

the opportunity to prepare a highly qualified athlete;

opportunity for professional growth;

good income;

frequent trips to competitions and training camps;

long vacation, etc.

Ignoring the differences between alternative questions and menu questions leads to their incorrect use. The researcher considers the question to be an alternative one, and the possible answers are not mutually exclusive. As a result, a menu question is asked, and respondents give not one, but several answers. The information collected does not correspond to the issue at hand. The necessary data, as it turns out, was not received.

A scale question requires the respondent to indicate the intensity of some phenomenon or opinion, and most often requires the expression of the answer in points or percentages. For example: “How important is it to you to have variety in your work?” 12345678910

very very

no matter important important

The wording of closed questions requires special care and should include a complete list of possible answers. Since there is a possibility that not all possible answer options will be taken into account when composing a closed question, it is recommended to use semi-closed questions more often when the list of answers contains the positions “other” or “what else”.

For example: “Do you have sports equipment? (underline)"

bike;

expander;

tourist equipment;

rackets (tennis, badminton);

The answers to the above questions have a linear form of arrangement. Along with it, questionnaires often use a tabular form of answers to closed and semi-closed questions.

For example: “Do you think a person can change himself through physical education and sports?”

Sometimes survey questions require the respondent to have a critical attitude towards himself, the people around him, an assessment of the negative phenomena of reality, etc. Such direct questions often remain unanswered or contain inaccurate information. In such cases, it is recommended to use indirect questions. The respondent is offered an imaginary situation that does not require an assessment of his personal qualities or the circumstances of his activities. For example: “Some athletes believe that the amount of physical training should be kept to a minimum. What do you think?” or “Do you agree with the statement that...?”

No. Characteristics of changes Answer options
figure yes, no, I don't know
disease resistance yes, no, I don't know
pain sensitivity yes, no, I don't know
feeling tired yes, no, I don't know
character traits yes, no, I don't know
temperament yes, no, I don't know
personal hygiene habits yes, no, I don't know
leisure habits yes, no, I don't know
what else? yes, no, I don't know

Open and closed questions have their positive and negative sides. When choosing a question type, researchers typically consider the following categories: parsimony, reliability, and validity.

In the methodological literature, the prevailing point of view is that the use of closed questions is more economical, since it requires less processing costs. But sometimes, in order to compile a list of possible answers, it is necessary to carry out a lot of preliminary work, without which sociological research will have a low methodological level.

The higher reliability of closed-ended questions also cannot be accepted unconditionally, since in the presence of well-trained coders, the reliability of information obtained in response to open-ended questions is quite high.

The main criterion for applying a particular question is reliability. Respondents willingly answer open-ended questions when they have a developed system of ideas on the topic of the question and consider themselves competent in it. If the subject of the survey is little familiar to them or is unusual or difficult to analyze, then respondents avoid answering or give a vague answer or answer not to the point. In this case, using an open question, the researcher runs the risk of not obtaining meaningful information and can only find out that the respondents do not have a formed opinion on this issue. At the same time, using a closed form of a question, the researcher helps the respondent navigate the subject of conversation and express his attitude to the problem through a proposed set of possible judgments or assessments.

In addition to differences in form, questions also differ in function. There are substantive, control, functional-psychological and filter questions (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Classification of survey questions

The researcher resorts to control questions when there is a need to verify the sincerity of respondents’ answers. Their purpose is to check the reliability of the data. They can be placed before or after the main questions and usually consist of using the same question in different wording or using an indirect form of the question. For example, you might first ask the respondent how satisfied he is with his job. After a few questions, the first control question is asked: “Would you like to move to another job?”, then the second: “Let’s assume that for some reason you are temporarily not working. Would you return to your previous place of work? A comparison of answers to these questions provides information about the sincerity of the respondent. In case of contradiction in answers, such results are rejected or subject to additional study in order to obtain adequate information.

Functional-psychological questions are used to relieve tension, to move from one topic to another, as well as to remove attitudes that arise in respondents. If, after a series of questions related to work activities, the respondent is asked questions about family relationships without any visible connection, this causes bewilderment in the respondent. To avoid such a situation, you can use the following functional-psychological question: “After work, you return home. Your wife and children are waiting for you at home. Do you like to be at home? After such a question, the researcher’s interest in the family is quite justified, the questions do not cause displeasure and the interviewee willingly answers them.

Before asking a respondent a meaningful question, it is advisable to find out whether he belongs to the group of people for whom this question is intended. For this purpose, the questionnaire uses filter questions. So, for example, before asking a respondent how he evaluates the work of a stadium, you need to clarify whether he goes to the stadium, how often and to what events. If you do not use filter questions in this example, the number of incompetent answers will affect the reliability of the information received.

The characteristics of the questionnaire will be incomplete if we do not talk about the time required to fill out the questionnaire. The time it takes to fill out the questionnaire depends on the complexity of the questions and their number. Whenever possible, it is necessary to ensure that questions are formulated simply and clearly. The number of questions should also be within reason. Practice shows that the time to fill out the questionnaire should be within 45+10 minutes.

It should also be noted that the appearance of the questionnaire should be neat. The application form must be printed on good paper, in a clear, fairly large font. The texts of questions and answers must be in different fonts. If necessary, the question should contain explanations when using terms or words that have a double meaning, as well as explanations on the filling technique.

When printing or typing the text of the questionnaire, you should not allow the question to break (i.e., move it from page to page). This makes it difficult for the respondent to perceive its integrity, which leads to response bias. It must be remembered that semantic and control questions cannot be placed side by side in the questionnaire and they must be formulated in such a way that the opinion of the sociologist is not imposed on the respondent. The wording of questions should not offend respondents’ pride or evoke negative emotions in them.

Interview is a less common survey method, the use of which has its advantages and disadvantages.

The main difference between questionnaires and interviews is the form of contact between the researcher and the interviewee. If during a survey their communication is mediated by a questionnaire, then during an interview the contact between the researcher and the respondent is carried out with the help of an interviewer who asks questions provided by the researcher, organizes and directs the conversation with each individual person and records the answers received according to the instructions.

The participation of the interviewer allows you to maximally adapt the questions of the interview form to the capabilities of the respondent, and in case of misunderstanding of the meaning of the question or other difficulties, tactfully come to his aid, which significantly reduces the number of non-respondents and errors when filling out questionnaires.

The significant disadvantages of this method are the large time costs (compared to questionnaires) for conducting interviews and the possibility of the interviewer’s subjective influence on the survey results (interviewer effect).

In applied sociology, there are three types of interviews: formalized, focused And free.

Formalized (standardized) Interview is the most common type of interviewing. In this case, communication between the interviewer and the respondent is strictly regulated by a detailed questionnaire and instructions intended for the interviewer. When using this type of survey, the interviewer must strictly adhere to the wording of the questions and their sequence. Typically, the conversation is dominated by closed questions, which minimizes the interviewer's influence on the survey results. The method of recording answers is also standard and provided for in the instructions.

Focused interviews are used, as a rule, to collect opinions and assessments about a specific situation, phenomenon, its consequences and causes. In this case, the respondent already becomes familiar with the subject of the conversation in advance (reads a book or article, participates in a seminar on this issue, etc.). Questions are prepared in advance, their list is mandatory, but the sequence and wording can be adjusted.

Free The interview is characterized by minimal standardization of the interviewer's behavior. This type of survey is used, as a rule, to define a research problem, clarify its specific content, etc. A free interview is conducted without a pre-prepared questionnaire or a developed conversation plan. The direction of the conversation, its structure, the sequence of questions, and their formulation depend only on the interviewer, his ideas about the subject of discussion and professional training.

To control the quality of the interviewer’s work, they use selective re-visit respondents, in which they are asked about the content of the interview and the impression made by the interviewer. Based on the results of the inspection, culling unreliable interview forms. Another way of control could be postal form, which is sent to respondents who participated in the survey. This questionnaire contains questions similar to those asked by supervisory interviewers.

Recently, in large cities with a high level of telephone penetration, telephone interviews have been used. Its main advantage is efficiency and low cost. A telephone interview has the highest potential for eliminating the “third party” effect. The influence of the interviewer on the respondent's answers in a telephone interview is lower than in indirect communication. The optimal duration of a telephone interview is 10–15 minutes. Questions, if possible, should not be long and contain a large number of alternative answers.

Introduction to sociological research

2.Methodology of sociological research:

2.1. Sociological research program

2.2.Goals and objectives of sociological research

2.3.Object and subject of sociological research

2.4. System analysis of the research object

2.5. Proposing and testing hypotheses

2.6.Sampling methods

2.7 Data interpretation

3. Methods of sociological research:

3.1.Analysis of existing data. Content analysis

3.2.Observation

3.3.Mass survey. Questionnaire and interview

3.4.Experiment

4.An example of a sociological study

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

In our time, humanity has turned into a fairly highly developed community with a developed structure of power and various social institutions. But, as before, he faces various difficult and important problems. This could be, for example, an assessment of public opinion on a particular problem, etc. The question arises: how and in what way can they be resolved? But to rationally solve the problems, you need to have an idea of ​​the problem and its cause. This is where sociological research comes to the fore.

Sociological research, like any other research in any discipline or science, is very important. It allows the researcher to move forward in his research, confirming or refuting his conjectures and guesses, to collect and evaluate information about the phenomenon being studied.

Sociological research serves as a link between theoretical knowledge and reality. It helps to establish new patterns of development of society as a whole or any of its structural elements in particular.

With its help, you can solve a very wide range of issues and problems, analyzing the data obtained and giving specific recommendations to resolve the problem.

Sociological research is one of the ways to develop and accumulate sociological knowledge, which consists in the conscious concentration of the efforts of an individual researcher on limited, more or less predetermined tasks.

At the moment, as an example of the use of sociological research, we can cite a public opinion poll on the distribution of citizens’ preferences for candidates for the city council. In principle, the voting process itself is a large state sociological study.

Thus, the role of sociological research in the process of studying society can hardly be overestimated, which is why it will be discussed in this essay.

1. The concept of sociological research.

Sociological research- a system of logical consistent methodological, organizational and technological procedures interconnected by a single goal: to obtain reliable objective data about the phenomenon being studied.

Sociological research includes the following stages:

1. Preparatory: At this stage, the research program is developed.

2. Basic: includes conducting the research itself.

3. Final: data processing, analysis, and drawing conclusions are underway.

Types of research:

1. Intelligence research: a small, simple study with a small number of respondents and a condensed instrument.

2. Descriptive research: A deeper type of research with a larger community of people. Machine processing is used.

3. Analytical research: the most complex and in-depth study. It is not only descriptive, it covers a large number of respondents. Usually considers the dynamics of a phenomenon.

2. Methodology of sociological research.

2.1. Sociological research program.

The place and role of the program in sociological research. Sociological research begins with the development of its program. The results of the study largely depend on the scientific validity of this document. The program represents a theoretical and methodological basis for research procedures carried out by a sociologist (collection, processing and analysis of information) and includes:

Definition of the problem, object and subject of research;

Preliminary system analysis of the research object;

Characteristics of the purpose and objectives of the study;

Interpretation and operationalization of basic concepts;

Formulation of working hypotheses;

Defining a strategic research plan;

Drawing up a sampling plan;

Description of data collection methods;

Description of the data analysis scheme.

Sometimes the program has theoretical (methodological) and methodological (procedural) sections. The first includes program components that begin with the formulation of the problem and end with the preparation of a sampling plan, the second includes a description of methods for collecting, processing and analyzing data.

The program must answer two main questions:

Firstly, 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 to rise again from the obtained facts, from the accumulated empirical material to theoretical generalizations, so that the research not only gives practical recommendations, but also serves as the basis for the further development of the theory itself.

2.2.Goals and objectives of sociological research

The goal is the general direction of sociological research, determining its nature and orientation (theoretical or applied). The research program should clearly answer the question: what problem and what result is this research aimed at solving?

If the goals are not clear enough to scientists and representatives of organizations that approached them with a social order, then disagreements may arise based on the results of the study. In this regard, it is important that sociological research is comprehensive, for which the program develops a system of main and non-core tasks.

Objectives are a set of specific targets aimed at analyzing and solving a problem.

The main objectives correspond to the purpose of the study. In theoretically oriented research, priority is given to scientific tasks, in practically oriented research, applied ones.

Minor tasks are set to prepare future research, solve methodological issues, and test side hypotheses not directly related to this problem.

With a theoretical or applied orientation of sociological research, it is advisable to solve non-main problems on the basis of the material obtained to find an answer to the central question, to analyze the same data, but from a different angle. It is possible that minor problems will not receive a complete solution, but they can help in formulating a scientific problem when preparing a new study for a new program.

2.3.Object and subject of sociological research

The object of sociological research is a community of people, their activities organized through social institutions, and the conditions in which this activity is carried out, or another phenomenon or process.

The object must be characterized by:

1. Clearly defined phenomena according to such parameters as:

a) industry affiliation;

b) professional affiliation;

c) age;

d) nationality.

2. Spatial limitations.

3. Functional orientation:

a) political orientation;

b) ethnic orientation;

c) production orientation.

4. Time limitation.

5. The possibilities of its quantitative measurement.

If the object of sociological research is independent of the research and opposes it, then the subject of study, on the contrary, is formed by the research itself.

The subject of sociological research is the central issue of the problem.

This is a construction created by thinking, existing only insofar as there is knowledge about the object, determined, on the one hand, by the object of study, on the other, by the conditions of research: tasks, knowledge and means of sociology.

The subject of research is considered to be that side of the object that is directly subject to study, that is, the most significant side of the object from the point of view of sociological theory and social practice. One and the same social object may correspond to several different objects of research, each of which is determined in content by which aspect of the object it reflects, for what purpose, to solve what problem it was chosen.

For example, when studying migration processes, the object of study is the population of various territorial units: republic, region, district, settlement. The subject is migration - the movement of people from one place of residence to another. The purpose of the study is to optimize migration processes in a certain area. The task is to find the best ways of this optimization (for applied research) and to establish patterns of population migration (for theoretical research)

The same object can be described in different ways depending on the problem and purpose of sociological research. The choice of means of fixing them (methodology for collecting and analyzing data) depends, in turn, on what elements and connections will be identified in the object under study.

2.4. System analysis of the research object.

One of the tasks of the initial stage of sociological research is to give a hypothetical detailed description of a social object as a system, that is, to describe it from the position of system analysis. In this way, certain elements and connections characteristic of the object being studied are recorded.

A social object is considered from two sides: as a part of the whole and as a whole consisting of parts. In the first case, it is characterized by external connections, in the second - by internal ones.

The specificity of scientific research lies in the construction of a hypothetical model of an object as a set of its constituent elements and connections. This model becomes a “substitute” for the object under study.

The result of a preliminary systemic analysis of the social object being studied is the subject of research, which has the form of some hypothetical model, which can be presented in the form of a diagram describing the elements and connections of the object being studied.

A systemic analysis of an object allows you to clarify the subject of research, highlight basic concepts and give their interpretation, as well as put forward working hypotheses.

2.5. Proposing and testing hypotheses.

A hypothesis in sociological research is a scientifically based assumption about the structure of social objects, about the nature of the elements and connections that form these objects, about the mechanism of their functioning and development.

A scientific hypothesis can only be formulated as a result of a preliminary analysis of the object being studied.

Hypothesis requirements. A scientifically substantiated hypothesis in sociology must meet a number of requirements.

1. It must correspond to the original principles of the theory of scientific knowledge. This requirement plays the role of a criterion for selecting scientific hypotheses and eliminating unscientific ones, and excludes from science untenable hypotheses built on the basis of false theories.

2. A hypothesis that explains social facts in a certain area, as a rule, should not contradict theories whose truth has already been proven for this area. But a new hypothesis can sometimes contradict old theories and at the same time be completely acceptable.

3. It is necessary that the hypothesis does not contradict known and verified facts. If among the known facts there is at least one with which the hypothesis does not agree, then it must be discarded or reformulated so as to cover the entire set of facts for which it is proposed to explain. But a contradiction with known facts should not always be regarded as a sign of the inconsistency of the hypothesis.

4. the hypothesis must be testable in the process of sociological research. It is checked using a specially developed technique at the disposal of the researcher.

5. The hypothesis must be subjected to logical analysis to establish its consistency. This is done not only through logical rules, but also through operational definitions. The latter allow one to avoid arbitrary interpretation of the empirical terms of the hypothesis.

In order to increase the confirmability of a hypothesis, one should strive to put forward a larger number of interrelated hypotheses and indicate for each hypothesis the largest possible number of empirical indicators of the variables included in it.

The first are assumptions about the structural and functional connections of the object being studied. They may also relate to the classification characteristics of a social object.

The second are assumptions about cause-and-effect relationships in the object under study, requiring empirical experimental verification.

In the process of such testing, a distinction should be made between the main hypotheses and their consequences (inferential hypotheses).

2.6. Sampling methods.

Population- the totality of all possible social objects that are subject to study within the framework of a sociological research program.

Sample or sample population- part of the objects of the general population, selected using special techniques to obtain information about the entire population as a whole.

1. Quota sample population.

This method requires at least four characteristics by which respondents are identified.

Typically used for large populations.

2. Main Array Method.

It assumes a survey of 60-70% of the general population.

3. Cluster sampling method.

The respondent is not an individual, but a group.

This method will be representative if the composition of the groups is similar.

4. Serial sampling method.

With this method, the general population is divided into homogeneous parts, from which a unit of analysis is proportionally selected (elements of a sample or survey population: there can be both individuals and groups).

5. Mechanical sampling method.

The required number of respondents is selected from the general list of the general population at regular intervals.

6. Solid method.

Used with a small population.

2.7.Interpretation of data.

After the research results, observational and measurement data are obtained, a theoretical interpretation of the empirical data is carried out. The “language of observation” is, as it were, translated into the “language of theory” - an action opposite to that which was carried out before the study.

This interpretation is carried out in the process of theoretical generalization of empirical data and assessment of the truth of the hypotheses put forward.

3.Methods of sociological research.

3.1.Analysis of existing documents. Content analysis

A significant part of the information necessary for the researcher in his work is contained in documentary sources. In sociology, their study as a stage of sociological research is called analysis of existing data, or secondary data analysis.

A complete understanding of the content of documentary sources in many cases allows one to obtain information sufficient to solve the problem that has arisen or to deepen the analysis of the problem. Thus, when formulating the problem and hypotheses of the study, the sociologist turns to the analysis of such written documents as scientific publications, reports on previous research, various statistical and departmental publications.

In sociology, a document is a specially created human object for transmitting and storing information.

There are different classifications of documents:

1. From the point of view of intended purpose, there are:

a) target documents: chosen by the sociologist himself;

b) cash documents: available.

2. According to the degree of personification:

a) personal: statements, letters, testimonials, etc.;

b) impersonal: for example, statistical data.

3. Depending on the source status:

a) official;

b) unofficial.

4. According to the source of information:

a) primary: compiled on the basis of direct observation or survey;

b) secondary: processing, generalization, description made on the basis of primary sources.

It is the analysis of documents that provides initial information and allows the accurate and targeted use of other research methods.

Of particular interest to sociologists are the summary data of the results of specialized continuous and sample surveys conducted by central statistical organizations and departmental research organizations.

Recently, statistical reference books have begun to appear in Russia and abroad, which include indicators of satisfaction with various spheres of human activity, environmental conditions and other subjective indicators.

In sociology, there are two groups of methods for analyzing document information:

1. Traditional.

2. Formalized.

The first is understood as mental operations aimed at analyzing primary data in documents from the point of view of research of interest. It has the disadvantage of subjectivity.

The essence of the second is that the researcher translates quantitative indicators of text information.

Traditional Document Analysis Methods.

Documentary sources provide unique and diverse information about social phenomena and processes. It is important to find methods that would allow the required information to be retrieved with sufficient reliability. These methods include a whole variety of mental operations aimed at interpreting the content of documents in accordance with the purpose of the study.

Traditional analysis is an adaptation of the content of a document to a research problem, based on intuitive understanding, generalization of the content and logical justification of the conclusions drawn.

It is necessary to make an assessment of the quality of documents, which includes:

1. Clarification of the conditions, goals and reasons for creating the document.

In other words, the reliability factors of a documentary source are clarified in relation to the purposes of the study. Establishing the completeness and reliability of the source regarding the objectives of the study are the main parameters of its assessment before the start of the study.

Quantitative analysis (content analysis).

The most significant limitation associated with the use of traditional methods of analyzing documents such as newspapers and similar sources is the possibility of subjective influences on the results of the analysis, that is, the influence of the researcher’s attitudes, his interests, and existing stereotypical ideas about the subject of analysis. This drawback is overcome by methods of formalized analysis, which are based on statistical accounting of various objective characteristics of the text. For example, the frequency of publications in a newspaper of materials on a certain topic, the number of lines allocated by the editors to individual topics, headings, authors, the frequency of mentions of problems, terms, names, geographical names, etc.

Content analysis is a method of studying messages created in various areas of social communication and recorded in the form of written text on paper or recordings on any other physical media.

The analysis is based on uniform standardized rules for searching, recording and calculating quantitative indicators of the studied characteristics of the text.

Its essence is to find and use for calculation such features of a document that would reflect certain essential aspects of its content.

It is advisable to use content analysis in the presence of large text arrays with a clear structure determined by the communicative intentions of the authors of the text.

3.2.Observation.

Observation in sociology is a method of collecting information by directly studying a social phenomenon in its natural conditions.

There are a number of features of this method:

1. Communication between the observer and the object of observation.

2. The observer is not devoid of a human trait - emotionality of perception.

3. Difficulty in repeated observation.

Depending on the degree of standardization of observation techniques, two main types of this method can be distinguished.

A standardized observation technique presupposes the presence of a previously detailed list of events and signs to be observed; determination of observation conditions and situations; instructions for observers; uniform codifiers for recording observed phenomena.

Non-standardized (unstructured) observation. In this case, the researcher determines only the general directions of observation, according to which the results are recorded in free form directly during the observation process or later from memory.

Forms and methods of recording the results of the observer - forms and observation diaries, photo, film, video and radio equipment.

Depending on the role of the observer in the situation under study, 4 types of observation are distinguished:

1. Full participation of the observer in the situation: involves the inclusion of the observer in the group being studied as a full member. The role of the observer is unknown to the group members.

2. Participant in the situation as an observer: characterized by the observer’s inclusion in the group, but it is understood that his role as a researcher is clear to all participants.

3. Observer as a participant: means that the observer is primarily a researcher and, interacting with participants in the social process, does not pretend to be an actual participant.

4. Completely observer: the researcher performs only the function of an observer, without interacting with the participants in the situation, remaining out of their field of vision.

Observation procedure. The process of studying a social phenomenon using the observation method can be roughly represented as the following sequence of steps:

Formulation of the problem, description of the object of observation, definition of tasks;

Determination of units of observation and indicators of the studied aspects of behavior;

Development of a language and system of concepts in terms of which the results of observation will be described; defining sampling procedures for situations where it is possible to select from many observations;

Preparation of technical documents to record the observed phenomenon (cards, protocol forms, coding forms, etc.);

Recording the results of observations;

Data analysis and interpretation;

Preparation of a report and conclusions based on the results of the study.

Advantages and disadvantages of the observation method. The main advantage is that it makes it possible to capture the details of a given phenomenon, its versatility.

The flexibility of the method is another quality that is of no small importance when studying social phenomena.

And finally, cheapness is a common attribute inherent in this method.

Among the shortcomings, first of all, it should be noted the qualitative nature of the conclusions that can be obtained as a result of observation. The method can rarely be applied to the observation of large populations. However, the biggest drawback is associated with the possibility of introducing a certain amount of subjectivity into the essence of the method and less opportunities than in other cases for a broad generalization of research results.

3.3.Mass survey. Questionnaire and interview

The researcher turns to this method when, in order to solve a given problem, he needs to obtain information about the sphere of people’s consciousness: about their opinions, motives of behavior, assessments of the surrounding reality, life plans, goals, orientations, awareness, etc.

In all such cases, it is people, participants in the social processes being studied, who act as a unique source of information that cannot be replaced by any other. However, the survey method can also obtain information about people’s behavior and various factual information.

The essence of the survey method comes down to communication between the researcher, directly or indirectly through his representative, with a population of people (respondents) in the form of a question-and-answer dialogue. The peculiarity of this communication is that, on the one hand, it must meet the strict requirements of the scientific procedure, and on the other, it must proceed from the fact that the source of information is ordinary participants in the processes being studied, who are aware of these processes within the framework of everyday everyday experience.

Thus, the survey implements the cognitive interaction of two different levels of social consciousness: the scientific, the bearer of which is the researcher, and the everyday, practical, the bearer of which is the interviewee, the respondent.

Methodological principles for constructing a questionnaire. The content of the questions, their wording, sequence and relationship in the structure of the questionnaire must meet two requirements.

1. Questions must be necessary and sufficient to provide empirical testing of research hypotheses and to solve its cognitive problems. This requirement is met at the stage of empirical interpretation of concepts through the development of a set of indicators and a corresponding list of units of required information.

In other words, for each question in the questionnaire, its cognitive task, its required information, must be determined.

2. It is necessary to take into account the socio-psychological characteristics of the respondents who are the source of information. This means that the author of the questionnaire must take into account the respondents’ awareness of the subject of the survey, the specifics of their language, communication traditions, ideas about prestige and self-esteem, etc.

In practical work, when designing a questionnaire, both requirements are often suppressed and must be taken into account comprehensively and in conjunction.

When starting to develop a questionnaire, the sociologist solves a problem at a different level - how to formulate a question in order to obtain the required information?

Types of questions. Depending on the purposes for which questions are asked, they are divided into substantive and functional.

Functional questions solve various problems of managing the course of the survey, its psychological atmosphere, and logical rigor. The main types of such questions are: filter questions, control questions, contact questions.

The need for filter questions arises when the required information can be obtained not from the entire population of respondents, but only from some of it.

The purpose of control questions is to find out the stability or consistency of the respondent’s answers that he gives on the same topic or problem.

Contact questions serve to establish contact with the respondent and create positive motivation for the survey. They may not be directly related to the topic of the survey, but allow the respondent to speak on the topic that is most relevant and close to him.

Depending on what is being asked, there are:

1. Questions about facts. Their goal is to obtain information about social phenomena or characteristics that can be unambiguously determined. (This could be age, gender, etc.).

2. Questions about knowledge. The purpose of these questions is to obtain information indicating that the respondent is informed. The answers help to more accurately identify the structure of attitudes and interests and indicate the degree of inclusion of the individual in the team.

3. Questions about opinion. The answers to these questions most often contain estimates. Opinions are less stable than knowledge. They are more strongly conditioned by the situation and often depend on personal experiences and moods. The formulation of opinions is determined by the way an individual is included in the process of social development, by his political activity.

4. Questions about motives. The study of motives for social behavior places high demands on survey techniques and the construction of indicators. It is easier for respondents to talk about facts, behavior, situations than to judge the motives of behavior. This is due to the fact that assessing (or justifying) actions in the past is difficult.

According to the filling technique, they are distinguished:

1. Open questions. They give the respondent the opportunity to independently formulate an answer that reflects the uniqueness of individual consciousness, language, style, stock of information, and circle of associations.

2. Closed questions. It is assumed that there are ready-made answer options that the sociologist develops before the start of the survey, based on his initial ideas about the content of the question and on the data of the pilot study.

Questioning.

Questionnaire- a type of survey in which the respondent fills out the questionnaire independently.

Questionnaire- a questionnaire filled out independently by the respondent according to the rules.

Based on the number of respondents, there are:

1. Group survey.

2. Individual survey.

According to the venue, the following are distinguished:

1. Questionnaire at home.

2. Questionnaire at work.

3. Questioning of target audiences.

By method of distributing questionnaires:

1. Distribution questionnaire: distributed to respondents by the questionnaire itself.

2. Postal questionnaire: sent by mail.

3. Press questionnaire: published in the press.

The main advantage of group questioning is related to the organizational accessibility and efficiency of the survey. The questionnaires are filled out in the presence of the surveyor and returned to him immediately after completion. This survey form has a nearly 100% return rate and short data collection time.

When using an individual survey using a handout questionnaire, the surveyor either hands the questionnaire to the respondent, agreeing on the return date at the next meeting, or, having explained the rules for filling out and the purpose of the survey, waits for the questionnaire to be filled out.

A postal survey is a fairly popular method of surveying large populations of people.

Its weaknesses are the low return rate without the use of special techniques (about 30%), the uncontrollable situation of filling out questionnaires and the difficulties associated with these features in justifying the representativeness of the sample of the target population.

The publication of questionnaires in newspapers or magazines is actively used in journalistic practice, however, the cognitive capabilities of this type of survey are limited due to the problem of returning completed questionnaires.

Interview. As a method of collecting information, interviews are largely devoid of the disadvantages listed above, but the price for this is a relatively high cost.

Interview- a conversation conducted according to a specific plan, which involves direct contact between the interviewer and the respondent, and the answers are recorded either by the interviewer or on some storage medium (for example, a voice recorder).

There are several types of interviews, depending on how standardized the conversation situation is.

Standardized interview with closed questions used to survey a large population of people (several hundreds or thousands) when the substantive structure of the problem is determined.

Standardized An interview with open-ended questions gives the respondent more independence in formulating answers and requires the interviewer to record them as detailed and accurately as possible.

Directed (focused) interview. The plan for such an interview provides only a list of questions that must be considered during the conversation. But the sequence and wording of questions may vary depending on the specific situation.

A free interview involves the preliminary development of approximate main directions of conversation with the respondent. The wording of questions and their sequence are formed during the interview and are determined by the individual characteristics of the interviewee.

3.4.Experiment.

Sociological experiment- a method of obtaining information about quantitative and qualitative changes in the activity and behavior of a social object as a result of the influence of certain manageable and controllable factors on it.

In sociology, an economic experiment means the direct influence of specific economic conditions on people’s consciousness.

Classical experimental model. It can be boiled down to studying the impact of an independent variable (for example, the performance of a presidential candidate) on a dependent variable (a person’s vote in an election). The purpose of the experiment is to test the hypothesis about the presence or absence of influence of the independent variable on the dependent one.

Of fundamental importance in such a model is the question of selecting experimental and control groups. The main task of the researcher is to achieve maximum similarity (since complete identity cannot be achieved) of these two groups before the experiment. The term “similarity” is understood here in a statistical sense, i.e., the units of the general population from which the groups are selected must have equal chances of falling into both the first group and the second. This selection process is often called randomization. Randomization aims to eliminate systematic biases and errors that may arise during experimental exposure to non-equivalent groups.

Internal and external validity. The problem of internal validity means that there is a possibility that the conclusions a researcher draws from experimental results may not reflect what happened during the experiment itself.

The sources of this problem may be:

The influence of past events on the results of the experiment;

Changes in the experiment participants themselves during the experiment;

The impact of the testing and retesting process on people's behavior;

The influence of the instrument used during the experiment, including the experimenter himself;

Incomparability of experimental and control groups.

External validity refers to the ability to generalize, extend the conclusions of an experiment to real objects. Even if the results are internally valid, is it possible to transfer the conclusions obtained from experimental groups to real social objects and processes?

There are many examples when the results of experiments turn out to be unacceptable at all or not fully acceptable for the phenomenon being studied.

Laboratory experiment involves the researcher creating an artificial environment (for example, a laboratory) in which to conduct it, which allows him to more closely control the environment in which the groups being studied are placed. The artificiality of the environment lies in the fact that the object of observation is transferred from its usual environment to an environment that helps to achieve a high degree of accuracy in observing its behavior. In sociology, one of the most difficult problems associated with a laboratory experiment concerns the external validity of the experimental results.

Field experiment. It is characterized by the most natural situation possible - this could be a classroom, a work environment.

Natural experiment. It is understood as an experiment in which the researcher does not select and prepare an independent variable in advance and does not influence the experimental group with it. The researcher assigns himself the role of observer and recorder of processes independently occurring in the area of ​​life being studied.

The results of the social experiment are reflected in the report, which contains the following three sections:

4. An example of a sociological study.

In order to give an example of a sociological study, a hypothetical problem was taken: what determines the productivity of workers, i.e., what motivates them to work with interest.

The object of the study was a group of students (since studying is also a kind of work, and after it the majority will obviously go to work) of 20 people.

The subject of study was the learning process (labor productivity) of these people.

The goal of this study was to find ways to increase motivation and increase productivity (improving educational results).

The task was to find ways to achieve a specific goal, as well as to identify the dependence of motivation and labor productivity on various factors.

Questioning was chosen as a method of sociological research. Respondents were given questionnaires that looked like this:

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Good chances of promotion

2. Good earnings

3. Pay related to performance

4. Recognition and appreciation for a job well done

5. Work that allows you to realize your abilities

6. Complex and difficult work

7. Work that allows you to think and act independently

8. High degree of responsibility

9. Interesting job

10. Work that requires creativity

11. Work without much strain and stress

12. Convenient work location

13. Sufficient information about what is generally happening at the company

14. Significant additional benefits

15. Fair distribution of work volumes

What factors would you like to add to the proposed list?

Once completed, the questionnaires were collected to process the results, which are presented in the form of an average score for each factor in the following table (Table 1), with the factors arranged in descending order of average score.

Table 1

Average scores of factors contributing to increased productivity

1. Work without much strain and stress

2. Good earnings

3. Interesting work

4. Good chances of promotion

5. Recognition and appreciation for a job well done

6. Convenient work location

7. Sufficient information about what is generally happening at the company

8. Significant additional benefits

9. Pay related to performance

10. Fair distribution of work volumes

11. Work that requires creativity

12. Work that allows you to realize your abilities

13. High degree of responsibility

14. Work that allows you to think and act independently

15. Complex and difficult work

As a result of the survey, it is clear that the strongest motivator for highly productive work is work without great strain and stress, which is explained by the fact that all respondents have actually not yet worked and do not want to start their working career with work replete with stress and tension (a striking example is their attitude towards learning - all students want a test or exam automatically with a minimum of effort).

Second place in our hit parade was taken by a factor called good earnings, which is not surprising - what kind of person (especially a student) would refuse extra money.

In third place is such a factor as interesting work. Of course, who would like boring and monotonous work and what can we talk about here about increasing labor productivity?

Due to the obvious absence of workaholics in the group, the factor “complicated and difficult work” took only last place.

Among the added factors, we can highlight such as the possibility of parallel or additional work in another organization, the provision of official transport and the provision of a personal secretary (secretary).

This work does not pretend to be a full-fledged sociological study, as it has a number of significant shortcomings. Firstly, the survey was not carried out in a specific situation where a problem related to labor productivity arose (among students, such a problem does not arise at all from their point of view), i.e. there was no specific problem situation, and therefore it was It was decided not to draw specific conclusions for applying them in practice.

Ideally, such a study would be advisable to conduct at an enterprise where there is a problem with labor productivity.

Conclusion

So, the basic principles in preparing and conducting sociological research have been described above. Its main goals and objectives are outlined, the concepts of the object and subject of sociological research are given, and methods for sampling respondents from the general population are given.

Depending on the tasks and conditions of conducting sociological research, various methods were identified, where their positive and negative aspects, difficulties in implementing recommendations for conducting, etc. were also mentioned.

Sociological research is considered as an important and integral part of sociology, as one of the main ways of developing sociological knowledge, knowledge about society, its structural units and the processes occurring in it.

Sociological research also plays an important role in the study and resolution of problems arising in social, industrial and other spheres of human activity.

I think that the material presented above, despite its small volume, made it possible to learn what sociological research is, why it is necessary, and to become familiar with its fundamentals.

Bibliography

1. Baskov A., Benker G. Modern sociological theory. - M. - 1996



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