Sociological research is the main tool in order to develop sociological knowledge, it is the concentration of research efforts on the fulfillment of certain tasks, it is a system of sequential procedures that provide reliable information about the phenomenon being studied. The term “sociological research” itself first appeared in 1897 in the work “Suicide” by the French sociologist E. Durkheim.
Since then, various types of sociological research have become a special way of cognition and the main foundation of sociological knowledge. There are different types of sociological research.
First of all, this is a reconnaissance study , which is the simplest small study, which has concise tools and a small number of respondents. This study is performed for tasks that are limited in content. As a rule, it is carried out according to a simplified program and covers small surveyed populations.
Such types of applied sociological research are used to carry out a preliminary examination of a particular phenomenon or process. The need for them arises if the problem has not been studied at all or has been studied very little. With the help of such studies, you can get additional information, identify the boundaries of the examined population in a further study, determine the necessary tools and difficulties that may arise in the process of a large-scale study.
The following types of case studies are descriptive studies . Such a study is already a deeper view, which requires a larger number of respondents. In the processing of materials from such studies, computer processing of data is already required. This study allows you to get an idea of the phenomenon being studied, which is already relatively holistic.
Accounting and comprehension of the information obtained as a result of help to understand the situation well and on this basis to justify the choice of the necessary tools, methods and forms of managing public processes. Such types of sociological research should be carried out according to a detailed program and on the basis of reliable methodological tools.
Such equipment makes it possible to group and classify research elements according to those essential characteristics that affect the problem being studied. This study is used in cases where the object is a relatively large community of respondents with differences in different characteristics.
Closes the types of sociological research analytical research . It is the most complex research and the deepest. It covers the largest number of respondents and is not only descriptive. Typically, such a study not only describes the phenomenon, but also considers its dynamics.
An analytical study is used for the most in-depth study of the phenomenon when only a description of the structure is not enough, and you also need to know what its main quantitative and qualitative parameters are, and what affects and determines them. These types of sociological studies, by virtue of their mission, have the greatest scientific and practical value. Their preparation requires a well-developed program, quality tools and considerable time. It can be applied, supplementing each other, various forms - a survey, analysis of documents, observation. Such sociological studies are usually complex.