In this article we ask what it means for sociologists to practice intersectionality as a theoretical and methodological approach to inequality. What are the implications for choices of subject matter and style of work? We distinguish three styles of understanding intersectionality in practice: group-centered, process-centered, and system-centered. The first, emphasizes placing multiply-marginalized groups and their perspectives at the center of the research. The second, intersectionality as a process, highlights power as relational, seeing the interactions among variables as multiplying oppressions at (...) various points of intersection, and drawing attention to unmarked groups. Finally, seeing intersectionality as shaping the entire social system pushes analysis away from associating specific inequalities with unique institutions, instead looking for processes that are fully interactive, historically co-determining, and complex. Using several examples of recent, highly regarded qualitative studies, we draw attention to the comparative, contextual, and complex dimensions of sociological analysis that can be missing even when race, class, and gender are explicitly brought together. (shrink)

John Evans’s new book Morals Not Knowledge pushes scholars to rethink contemporary debates about religion and science by moving past the rhetoric of societal elites to examine the perspectives of everyday Americans, identifying the moral conflicts at the heart of debates. We review Evans’s key contributions while also extending and challenging his arguments, urging consideration of how renewed moral debates might be informed by a broader set of U.S. “publics.” Drawing on empirical research, we highlight four sets of voices that (...) are missing from Evans’s analysis. Specifically, we highlight the voices of racial and ethnic minorities, religious communities (as opposed to individuals), members of minority religious traditions, and everyday religious scientists. Through doing so we offer avenues for future research on these diverse publics that will help facilitate a broader set of better and more informed debates about moral conflict between religious and scientific communities. (shrink)

Emotions have been the subject of social science research for many decades. Predominantly, this research has been orientated around research on emotion. While this genre of research focuses on emotion as a topic of inquiry, I propose that research with emotion can contribute to different ways of understanding social experience. Due to a different epistemological foundation, different methodological approaches are required with different ethical implications. This article will define research with and on emotion, before providing examples of the former. Based (...) on these examples, this article explores ethical implications. The article concludes with a brief reflection on the benefits of sociological research with emotion, against which the many challenges should be assessed. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the role of sociology in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It presents a case study conducted by a research group consisting of two University partners in association with a Swiss SME. This project attempted to draw conclusions from a specific sociological consultancy research project on the general possibilities and opportunities of sociology in applied research and operational sustainability consulting. On the basis of the project findings, the article reflects (...) on the extent to which sociology could profitably intervene, on the limitations for sociological research and consultations in this field and on the conclusions that can be drawn for future analyses. (shrink)

Modernity as historical process, and as source of an ensemble of conceptual tools, took an exceptional (and problematic) normative character as long as it was constituted as a reference to comparison, an ideal measure for value judgments and a hegemonic analytical model in social sciences. This has been accompanied at the same time by the establishment of a labor division in the social sciences. Europe and North America are meant to be theory producers while other regions are expected to receive (...) these theories and apply them. The awareness of these facts has led to a salient contemporary debate on which are the priority tasks for social theory and sociological research today in order to achieve its goals of accuracy, pertinence and coherence when faced with a diverse, global, world. Taking in account the former, the aim of this article is twofold. Firstly, it intends to make a brief review of approaches that have considered the scrutiny and renewal of the notion of Modernity as one of the basic priority tasks for social theory and sociological research today. Thus, they have linked analytically both problems. Secondly, by discussing the limits of such an approach the article proposes that to undertake the construction of “difference sensitive” theories and conceptual tools entails, at least partially and from a methodological point of view, to strategically forget Modernity. (shrink)

The vision of the new generation of office systems is based on the hypothesis that an automatic support system is all the more useful and acceptable, the more systems behaviour and performance are in accordance with features ofhuman behaviour. Consequently recent development activities are influenced by the paradigm of the computer as man's “cooperative assistant”. The metaphors ofassistance andcooperation illustrate some major requirements to be met by new office systems. Cooperative office systems will raise a set of new questions about (...) the future of human work, human-machine interaction, the forms of individual control of work, the scope of action and the development of competence in the frame of AI-supported cooperative work, the relative benefits of different types of organizations, etc. With increasing autonomy of the computer in task accomplishment, research should also be concerned with the question of the limits of such a development. In AI-research and development there is much discussion of the intended performance of that new technology. Perhaps this will provide insights into, how these new machines should support numerous aspects of individual or cooperative work. But we find fewer ideas about the future ofhuman work. What will the role of thehuman actor be in future AI-supported cooperative work? What kind of work do we want to support with AI-machines? In the following article I will try to identify some questions for further sociological research activities. I will base my considerations on some theoretical aspects ofunderstanding andmeaning. Regarding identical and non-identical aspects in communication behaviour of human and machines, I will focus on some questions to be investigated. Finally some methodological problems of sociological research in the field of Artificial Intelligence will be discussed, especially the so-called “Time-Dilemma” of sociological research in technology. (shrink)

Poverty is a complex phenomenon which has been the subject of research across the social sciences. There have been varying approaches to defining and measuring poverty, especially with regard to research focus. In economic and sociological research, the concept of subjective poverty, which is particularly interesting in terms of psychological research into poverty, represents an alternative to the predominant objective measures of poverty. This article reviews the approaches to poverty used in economic and sociological research, paying special regard to representative (...) approaches to subjective poverty, including subjective poverty lines and outlines the aspects relevant to psychological research into poverty. (shrink)

What are the critical issues of using autoethnography in social research? Is it really a research method that enables sociologically grounded research? And what might be the reasons for such a pronounced interest of a section of social researchers in this type of tool? This paper highlights some marked critical issues with this approach, identifying it predominantly in the field of storytelling and literature rather than in the field of sociology. In addition to this, it points out the absence (...) of the same basic assumptions for it to be considered a scientific research method. (shrink)

The research aims to understand why individuals break away from the majority religious tradition and adopt a different religion and what their new beliefs mean to them. This study is based on data obtained from semi-structured interviews and eight-month observation notes with 10 members of Başkent (Capital) Church, a Protestant church operating in Ankara. For the research, church services were attended every Sunday, and the individuals' context and interaction styles were also observed. Although the phenomenon of religious conversion is often (...) examined as the complete abandonment of religion under the influence of secularization theses, in fact, the replacement of faith with different religions should also be considered in religious change. Regarding the research field, some individuals move away from Islam but do not turn to a completely non-belief life, but instead adhere to another religion that they think is more suitable for their own world of meaning, expectations, and personality. Against the effect of modern life that pushes people to loneliness and unhappiness, individuals can replace the meaning they have lost with a new religious thought. The research reveals that social bonding, communication, and interaction processes are important social motivations in the process of religious conversion. (shrink)

Analysis of an interview conducted by a white researcher with an African American nutritionist points to the significance of racial-ethnic dynamics in the conduct of qualitative research. Interviewers who follow the standard methodological rule—to let findings “emerge” from their data—may fail to hear the significance of race-ethnicity in the accounts of informants. Close analysis suggests that talk will sometimes reveal racial-ethnic dynamics even when these are not explicit topics and that active attention to such structured inequalities produces a more robust (...) analysis. Institutional ethnography and narrative analysis are discussed as alternatives to the grounded-theory approach to qualitative analysis. (shrink)

This paper treats the problem of which type of units, individuals or whole societies, should be used when explaining societal phenomena. It is argued that factors operating at the individual level in principle form societies, and that societal phenomena therefore should ideally be explained at this level. However, it is also argued that many societal phenomena cannot in practice be analyzed at the individual level in a clear and strict way, but rather must be analyzed holistically, because it is not (...) known how they are related to individual factors due to the complexity of societies. For societies to be described and analyzed in a clear and strict way, they must as a rule be much simplified, and such simplification is often made easier by abandoning the individualistic perspective. If researchers still wish to describe a connection between individual factors and a societal phenomenon, they often must do so in vague terms. There are also other problems with the individualistic perspective that make it difficult to use. However, using the holistic perspective may be risky, as shown by two hypothetical examples. (shrink)

This book is intended for scholars and students of sociology, social science methodology, business, economics, and social researchers.

The focus on this volume is on logic and how the logic of foundational hierarchies may be applied to clarify the relationship between sociological theory and empirical research. The author articulates a logical calculus as a method for theory construction.

In this article, following on from earlier debates in the journal regarding the ‘thorny issue’ of epochē and bracketing in sociological phenomenological research, we consider more generally the challenges of engaging in reflexivity and bracketing when undertaking ethnographic ‘insider’ research, or research in familiar settings. We ground our discussion and illustrate some of the key challenges by drawing on the experience of undertaking this research approach with a group of competitive swimmers, who were participating in a British university performance swimming (...) programme at the time of the doctoral study. The primary researcher was highly familiar with the phenomenon of competitive swimming, having been both a competitive swimmer and swimming coach. Some of the key elements of a sociological phenomenological approach to studying physical-cultural embodiment are first delineated, before addressing the considerable challenges of engaging in sustained reflexivity and bracketing, using the swimming research for illustrative purposes. We suggest some practical ways in which researchers in sport and physical cultures might approach epochē and bracketing in ethnographic ‘insider’ research. -/- KEYWORDS: Sociological phenomenology, competitive swimming, insider research, epochē/bracketing. (shrink)

The subject of this study is to examine the master's and doctoral theses in the field of Sociology of Religion, between 2005 and 2015 in Turkey and published in National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education, according to their subject, the main concept they deal with, their type, their advisor title, the year they were prepared and the university. This research can be described as a product of the search for a solution to the problem of looking (...) at the field holistically and quick and easy access to theses in the field of Sociology of Religion. Thanks to this research, the current status of the subject to be investigated in the field of Sociology of Religion will be seen more clearly; New and original works that are free from repetition will be enabled. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data. According to the results of this research, the majority of the studies conducted in the field of Sociology of Religion in Türkiye consist of master's theses. In the theses between 2005 and 2015, the concept of "religious life" (n=32) was mostly discussed. Later, research was conducted on the concepts of "woman" (n=23), "religious leaders" (n=21), "piety" (n=13) and "Alevism" (n=12).When the theoretical/empirical categorical distribution of theses is examined, 114 of the scientific studies at the master's level are theoretical sociology of religion research and 134 of them are empirical studies, whereas it was observed that there are more empirical studies in doctoral theses. When the distribution of theses was examined according to general subjects of Sociology of Religion, it was seen that more studies were conducted on "Social Structure and Institutions". (shrink)

The social aspects of modern science and technology; The cultural aspects of science; The sociology of the research process; The planning of science: bernal versus polanyi.

In recent years methodological debates in the social sciences have increasingly focused on issues relating to epistemology. Realism and Sociology makes an original contribution to the debate, charting a middle ground between postmodernism and positivism.

Toward a Sociology of Conflict of Interest in Medical Research Content Type Journal Article Category Case Studies Pages 389-391 DOI 10.1007/s11673-011-9332-0 Authors Sarah Winch, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia 4072 Michael Sinnott, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia 4072 Journal Journal of Bioethical Inquiry Online ISSN 1872-4353 Print ISSN 1176-7529 Journal Volume Volume 8 Journal Issue Volume 8, Number 4.

The problem of the shaping of the new human being is intimately associated with the question of the essence of the socialist way of life.

The purpose of the study is to consider the advantages and disadvantages of pollster and sociological approaches to electoral research.The article shows that conducting electoral research in modern election campaigns is carried out equally by pollster (for purely political purposes) and sociological (for scientific and sociological purposes) technologies. It has been proven that optimal results can be achieved by combining pollster and sociological approaches to electoral research. It was determined that today the organization of an effective election campaign requires (...) equally sociologists-pollsters and sociologists-analysts, the result of whose work is respectively collected empirical data and an analytical product, scientific expertise.It has been demonstrated that pollster and sociological approaches to conducting electoral research differ not only in the concepts of public opinion and the styles of its research, but also in the subject field. The electorate as a subject of electoral research acquires different content for different approaches. The pollster approach is more likely to understand the electorate as a circle of voters who vote for one or another party or candidate for an elected position and, in fact, are supporters of a certain political force or personality, while representatives of the sociological approach mostly consider the electorate as a collection of all citizens who vested with the right to vote and who exercise or do not exercise it under specially created conditions. It is argued that the integration of the subject fields of electoral polling and electoral sociological research will allow more effective and productive use of analytical potential in the election campaign, since such an organization of patronage work will help not only to record the results of electoral research, but also to predict the trends of electoral choice, the flow of votes, the reactions of electoral groups to specific political events. The availability of systematic ideas about the types of voters and their personal profiles will help to meaningfully approach the understanding of the electorate. (shrink)

The integration of theory and empirical research in analytical social science has always been a core topic of Analyse & Kritik. This paper focuses on how analytical theory and empirical research have moved closer to each other in sociology, using rational choice theory and game-theoretic models as well as empirical research on problematic social situations (social dilemmas, collective action problems, etc.) as an example. We try to highlight the use of complementary research designs (surveys, vignette studies, lab experiments) for (...) testing the same hypotheses. We also try to show that empirical research indicates the need for the development of more complex theoretical models. (shrink)

In Portugal, research productivity is nowadays essential for the positive assessment of academics, research units and study programmes. Academic inbreeding has been highlighted in the literature as one of the factors influencing research productivity. This paper tests the hypothesis that inbreeding is detrimental for research productivity, measured through the number of publications listed in Scopus. The study resorts to a database provided by the national Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education, which comprises all academics teaching in all Portuguese (...) institutions in the academic year 2015/2016. The sample selected for the analysis contains all academics with a PhD in Sociology. The study uses a special regression model for the analysis: the negative binomial logit hurdle. This was necessary given the large amount of academics with no publications or citations in Scopus, which were the dependent variables to assess research performance. The analysis provides separate results for the probability of inbred academics of having no papers/citations, and for the probability of producing more papers/citations than the non-inbred. Findings suggest that academic inbreeding, defined at the institutional level, has no negative effect on research productivity, contrary to what was expected. However, when defined at the national level, academic inbreeding is detrimental for the recognition and the impact of research: academics with a foreign PhD are more likely to have citations compared to academics who obtained their PhD in Portugal. A tendency was also noted that inbreeding might be more detrimental to research productivity in faculties of Economics than in Social Sciences and Humanities. (shrink)

Sociology of Science: A Critical Canadian Introduction provides an overview of how sociology approaches science and, to a lesser extent, technology. It examines how science developed as a set of theories about both what we know and how we know. The book provides a succinct critical examination of the current state of science studies with a particular emphasis on research conducted by Canadian scholars. Hird illustrates that science studies offers useful perspectives on current and ongoing sociological debates, such (...) as the strengths and limitations of social constructionism, as well as popular public debates, such as the ethics of stem-cell research. Using examples from throughout history and with a focus on the Canadian context, the book provides students with an examination of influential science studies concepts, theories, and debates and situates these theories and debates within contemporary field of sociology. (shrink)

Research confidentiality in Britain is under attack. Indeed, in some quarters the ‘Law of the Land’ doctrine that absolutely subjugates research ethics to law is already a fait accompli. To illustrate the academic freedom issues at stake, the article discusses: the Cambridge Psychology Research Ethics Committee’s ban of interview questions about a research participant’s involvement in criminal acts; the awarding of damages against Exeter University when it reneged on its agreement to uphold a doctoral student’s guarantee of ‘absolute confidentiality’ in (...) his research on assisted suicide; and the controversy around the UK government’s attempt to obtain confidential records from the Belfast Project − an oral history of paramilitaries involved in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The article urges British researchers to practice – or, at least, defend the academic freedom of their colleagues to practice – the ‘ethics-first’ doctrine of strict confidentiality that several North American disciplinary associations encourage. (shrink)

This article discusses how the results of infant research challenge the assumptions of the classical sciences of social behaviour. According to A.J. Bergesen, the findings of infant research invalidate Durkheim's theory of mental categories, thus requiring a re-theorizing of sociology. This article argues that Bergesen's reading of Emile Durkheim is incorrect, and his review of the infant research in fact invalidates his argument. Reviewing the assumptions of sociology in the light of the findings of infant research, it is (...) argued that the real challenge is to formulate a research strategy that combines the findings of the two sciences. (shrink)

Sociology emerged in the course of Western modernization; its major classical-era statements are preoccupied with modernity and its impact on national societies. After decolonization, ‘Third World’ modernization paved the way for the notion of globalization. The sociology of globalization is a current specialty within US and European sociological associations. The promise of global sociology has been on the agenda of the International Sociological Association since at least 1990. At a deeper level, global sociology requires un-thinking the (...) role of core concepts such as modernity or religion or society vis-à-vis their Western origins. Global Studies and post-colonial sociology, two of the most widely known research fields claiming global intent, are examined with respect to whether they provide adequate conceptual resources for global sociology. While the research agendas of both offer promising insights, inquiry suggests that both suffer from important drawbacks. The sociological tradition is now facing an impasse; fragmentation may persist, but other possibilities also exist. No grand solution is perhaps possible. A truly global sociology may eventually emerge from the original interpretations that develop from non-Western historical paths. (shrink)

This article provides a survey and analysis of recent research in the sociology of emotions. I address theoretical advances by discussing three theories that have been making some inroads into the study of emotions: identity theory, exchange theory, and justice theory. I also address substantive advances including an analysis of specific emotions and emotions as they relate to economic activity and labor. Finally, I discuss some innovative developments that show promise for future research in the area. Overall, the (...) class='Hi'>sociology of emotions remains an active area of research; however, there is still work that needs to be done. Throughout this article, I suggest avenues for further research. (shrink)