The main methods of collecting primary sociological information. Open Library - open library of educational information

1. Sociological research, its features.

2. General and sample population.

3. Survey as a method of collecting information, its features and types.

4. Method of observation in sociology, its features and types.

5. Methods of analysis of documentary sources, their features and types.

6. Method of experiment in sociologists

Sociology cannot exist without obtaining empirical information of a very different plan - about the opinion of voters, the leisure of students, the rating of political figures, family budget, the number of unemployed, the birth rate, etc.

First of all, the researcher uses the official statistics published in journals, newsletters, reports. He collects the missing information in a sociological survey, where the subjective opinions of people are clarified (in the questionnaire they are called respondents). Answers are mathematically averaged, summarized data are presented in the form of statistical tables, displayed, explained patterns. The end result is construction scientific theory, which allows you to predict future phenomena and develop practical advice.

So, sociological research begins with working out the problem, setting goals and hypotheses, building a theoretical model. Then the sociologist proceeds to the development of tools, the collection of primary data, and their processing. And at the final stage - again a theoretical analysis, because the data must be correct, i.e. in accordance with the advanced theory, interpret and explain. After that, the sociologist formulates practical recommendations.

Scientific hypothesis- this is a preliminary "draft" of the solution to the problem, the truth of which is to be verified. A hypothesis is the core of a scientific theory. It is for their sake that it is created. The connection of phenomena is expressed in a hypothetical form. All other elements of sociological research: program, work plan, tools, sampling, data collection, processing and analysis - play a service role.

The emergence of a reliable theory is extremely rare. It takes many years and even decades to create and test it. There is much more empirical research, far from all of them end with the creation of a theory. Most are suitable only for solving particular issues - personnel management in one organization or another, helping retirees or single mothers, organizing party elections, etc.

Methods for collecting sociological information, its processing and analysis

The main feature of any sociological research is the use of specific methods of collecting information, allowing for a qualitative analysis of the studied social problems. There are four main methods of empirical sociological research: document analysis, observation, polling and social experiment. .

Polling method consists in the fact that the researcher receives primary sociological information through oral or written appeal to the studied population of people with questions, the analysis of the answers to which reveals the research problem.

Polling is almost a universal method. Provided the proper precautions are taken, it provides information that is as reliable as document examination or observation. Moreover, this information can be about anything, even about what cannot be seen or read. Polls are an irreplaceable technique for obtaining information about the subjective world of people, their inclinations, motives of activity, opinions.

For the first time, official polls appeared in England at the end of the 18th century, and in early XIX century in the United States. In France and Germany, the first polls were conducted in 1848, Belgium - 1868-1869. And then they began to be actively used by researchers all over the world.

The art of using this method is knowing what to ask about, how to ask, what questions to ask, and finally how to be sure you can trust the answers you get. For the researcher, first of all, it is necessary to understand that it is not the “average respondent” who participates in the survey, but a living, real person gifted with consciousness and self-awareness, who affects the sociologist, just as the sociologist does on him.

There are two large classes of survey methods: questionnaire survey (questionnaire) and interview method (interviewing).

Questionnaire- This is the most common research method in sociology. A questionnaire is a replicated questionnaire, which is a system of questions connected by a single research concept, addressed to a selected set of respondents.

Respondent- the person answering the questions, i.e. participating in the research.

According to the degree of coverage of the studied population, two types of questionnaire survey are distinguished - solid and selective.

A kind of continuous survey is the census, in which the entire population of the country is surveyed.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, population censuses have been periodically carried out in European countries, and today they are used everywhere. They provide invaluable information, but are insanely expensive. Even rich countries can only afford this luxury once every 10 years.

A continuous survey in terms of coverage exhausts the entire population of respondents belonging to any community or group.

The country's population is the largest of these communities. But there are also smaller ones, for example, the staff of the enterprise, all university students, all residents of a small town, etc. If the survey is conducted at such facilities, it is also called continuous. This type is used in practice more often than censuses. It is to her that the name solid is usually applied.

Sampling is a more economical and no less reliable method, although it requires a more sophisticated methodology and technique. Its basis is a sample population, which is a reduced copy of the general population.

The general population consider the entire population or that part of it that the sociologist intends to study.

Sample population they call the part of the general population that is the object of study, in accordance with the objectives of the study. In other words, this is the multitude of people whom the sociologist interviews.

In a continuous survey, they (the sample and the general population) coincide, in the sample they diverge. The Gallup Institute in the United States regularly polls 1.5-2 thousand people, and receives reliable information about the entire population. The error does not exceed a few percent.

The main requirement for the sample is representativeness, those. it should reflect the characteristics of the general population.

So, the sample population is a model of the general population. It is constructed from the same elements as the general one, but smaller in size. Who belongs to the general population is determined by the goals of the study, and who to include in the sample population is decided by mathematical methods.

If a sociologist intends to look at problems higher education through the eyes of students, the general population will include all representatives of the country's student youth, but he will have to interview a small part - the sample population. In order for the sample to accurately reflect the entire population, i.e. was representative, the sociologist adheres to the rule: any student, regardless of age, gender, health status, place of residence or study, and other circumstances that may make it difficult to find them, should have the same probability of being included in the sample.

According to the frequency of use, they are distinguished disposable and panel survey.

Panel survey it is used in cases when it is necessary to trace what changes are taking place in any spheres of society, in the consciousness of people, in their worldview, in their relation to certain social phenomena, etc. For example, a panel survey is used to study the formation of public opinion. At the same time, some questions remain constant, while others are updated as social phenomena change.

By the way of communication between the researcher and the respondent, the questionnaire can be press, post, distribution.

Pressov a questionnaire is called if the questionnaire is published on the pages of a newspaper or magazine with a request to the reader to give written answers and return it by mail to the editorial office of the publication.

In the case when the respondent receives the questionnaire by mail, such a questionnaire, respectively, is called postage. The respondent sends the completed questionnaire to the address of the research group.

Today, when the Internet is quite firmly entrenched in the life of a modern person, such a type of questionnaire as a survey via the Internet, through social networks, and e-mail has become widespread.

Handout Questioning consists in distributing questionnaires to a group of people concentrated in one place, with a request to fill them in immediately and return them to the researcher.

Interview method is a kind of survey, the main difference of which from the questionnaire is in the form of contact between the researcher and the respondent.

An interview is a conversation conducted according to a specific plan, which involves direct contact between the interviewer and the respondent.

It is based on an ordinary conversation, but at the same time the goals are set "from the outside" by the program of sociological research. The specificity of the interview lies in the fact that the completeness and quality of the information received depend on the degree of mutual understanding, the contact of the interviewer with the respondent.

There are many types of interviews.

According to the method of communication between the researcher and the respondent, one can distinguish personal and telephone interview.

According to the technique, they are divided into free, (non-standardized) and formalized (standardized), as well as semi-standardized interview.

When the wording of the questions and their order are strictly fixed, and the interviewer has no right to deviate from them, we are talking about standardized interviews. Standardized interviews imply a detailed development of the entire procedure, including the general plan of the conversation, the sequence and construction of questions, options for possible answers. It is not much different from a questionnaire and allows you to interview a lot of people.

When the topic, plan, and key questions are determined, and the interviewer comes up with everything else along the way, they talk about non-standardized interview... In it, almost all the questions are open-ended (those that do not have pre-formulated answer options) and resembles a journalistic survey. They use non-standardized interviews in cases where it is necessary to obtain information about an unfamiliar phenomenon, delve into a problem, and find out details that are not covered in a standardized interview. Such interviews are most often used at the exploration stage, in pilot studies.

Depending on the specifics of the interview procedure, there may be intensive, clinical, deep, sometimes lasting for hours and focused to identify a fairly narrow range of responses of the respondent.

The purpose of the clinical interview is to obtain information about the internal motives, motives, inclinations of the interviewee.

The purpose of a focused interview is to extract information about the subject's reactions to a given stimulus. With its help, they study, for example, to what extent a person reacts to individual components of information (from mass media, lectures, speeches of a politician, etc.). In a focused interview, they try to determine which semantic units of text analysis are in the focus of the respondents' attention, which ones are on the periphery, and what has not remained in memory at all.

Questioning, like interviewing, has its own characteristics, some of which are advantages, others are disadvantages. They are not universal methods of collecting sociological information. In some studies, they use them to collect basic information, in others - they act as additional methods.

The method is used much less frequently. observation. This method is borrowed from ethnography. The advantage of this method is the direct contact of the sociologist with the phenomenon under study.

In sociology, observation means direct registration of events by an eyewitness.

Observation can be of various kinds. Sometimes the sociologist independently observes the events taking place. Sometimes he can use the data of observations of others.

According to the degree of formalization, they distinguish non-standardized, (uncontrolled, structureless) and standardized (controlled, structured) observation.

In uncontrolled observation, only a basic plan is used, and in controlled observation, events are recorded according to a detailed procedure.

Depending on the position of the observer, a distinction is made between included and unencumbered observation.

If a sociologist studies the behavior of strikers, a street crowd, a teenage group or a brigade of workers from the outside (in a special form he registers all types of actions, reactions, forms of communication, etc.), then he conducts non-included observation.

If he joined the ranks of the strikers, joined the crowd, participates in a teenage gang, or got a job at an enterprise (and this participation may be anonymous or non-anonymous), then he conducts an included observation.

The advantages of included observations are obvious: they provide the most vivid, direct impressions of the environment, help to better understand the actions of people and the actions of social communities. But this is also associated with the main disadvantages of this method. The researcher may lose the ability to objectively assess the situation, as if internally shifting to the positions of those whom he is studying, too “getting used” in his role as an accomplice in events. Therefore, as a rule, the outcome of included observation is a sociological essay, and not a strictly scientific treatise. There are also moral problems with participatory observation: how ethical is it at all, disguised as an ordinary participant in a community of people, to actually investigate them?

According to the terms of the organization, observations are divided into field(observations in natural conditions) and on laboratory(in an experimental situation).

Observation is mainly used as a complementary method to gather materials to get started, or to help validate the results of other information gathering methods.

Analysis of documents. In sociology, a document is a specially created object by a person, intended for the transmission and storage of information. According to the method of recording information, they distinguish between handwritten and printed documents, recordings on films and photographic film, magnetic tape. Depending on the status of the source, official and unofficial documents are distinguished.

Official documents: government materials, decisions, statements, communiqués, transcripts of official meetings, data from state and departmental statistics, archives and current documents of various institutions and organizations, business correspondence, protocols of judicial bodies and prosecutors, financial statements, and the like.

Unofficial documents - many personal materials, as well as impersonal messages left by individuals. Personal documents are: individual registration card files (library forms, questionnaires, forms); characteristics issued to this person; letters, diaries, memoirs. Impersonal documents - statistical or event archives, press data, meeting minutes, and so on.

Analysis of documents provides reliable social information, often acts as an additional method for collecting primary sociological information in order to clarify, enrich or compare the results of observation or survey, and check them.

All the variety of ways to analyze documents comes down to two main groups: traditional and formalized... Traditional analysis means all the variety of mental operations aimed at interpreting the information contained in a document. This method is used everywhere and consists in the fact that the researcher, as it were, extracts from the document the information he needs to solve a specific problem.

In applied sociology, a formalized method has been developed and is actively used: content analysis... Its essence lies in the translation of textual information (signs, traits, properties) into quantitative indicators that would necessarily reflect the essential aspects of their content. Such information lends itself to statistical processing, allows to generalize many indicators contained in various documents, that is, to "translate" the qualitative content of documents into quantitative ones.

Application of the method experiment in sociology is rather limited. The methodology and technique of the experiment came to sociology from psychology.

Experiment- this is a general scientific method of obtaining new knowledge under controlled and controlled conditions, first of all, about the cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena and processes. In other words, it is using the experimental method that the researcher can understand how the presence or absence of one of the factors affects other factors.

When the goal of the study is set (for example, to study the effect of the new wage system on the productivity of workers) and a program is prepared, two groups are created - a control group and an experimental one. In the experimental group they work in a new way, and in the control group - in the old way. What is it for?

The new wage system may not have an effect on the increase in labor productivity: although the latter has grown, scientists doubt whether this is caused by the action of the new form of payment for work or some other factors.

The control group serves as a reference for comparison. Comparison of the results of the work of the two groups reveals the difference and allows you to judge whether the desired changes have occurred or not.

So, to summarize: the most important feature of empirical sociological research is that it uses specific methods of collecting information that allow you to analyze complex social problems. There are four main methods of empirical sociological research: document analysis, observation, survey and experiment. The application of the considered methods of obtaining sociological information depends on the tasks, goals, specific conditions and circumstances of the study.

Questions and tasks

What is sociological research and for what purpose does science use it?

What methods does sociology use to study society? Describe the most common methods of sociological research.

The most common method of collecting primary information is survey, which consists in an oral or written appeal to the studied set of individuals (respondents) with questions on the problem under study.

There are two main types of survey: written (questionnaire) and oral (interviewing).

Questionnaire survey(questioning) consists in a written appeal to the respondents with a questionnaire (questionnaire) containing a set of questions ordered in a certain way.

The questionnaire can be: face-to-face, when the questionnaire is filled out in the presence of a sociologist; correspondence (postal and telephone survey, through the publication of questionnaires in the press, etc.); individual and group (when the sociologist works with a whole group of respondents at once).

The compilation of the questionnaire is attached great importance, since the objectivity and completeness of the information received largely depends on this. The interviewee must fill it out on his own according to the rules specified in the instructions. The logic of the arrangement of questions is determined by the objectives of the research, the conceptual model of the subject of research and a set of scientific hypotheses.

The questionnaire consists of four parts:

1) The introduction introduces the respondent to the content of the questionnaire, provides information about the purpose of the study and the rules for filling out the questionnaire;

2) The informational part includes substantive questions.

Questions can be closed, offering a choice of one of the presented list of questions [for example, to the question “How do you assess P.'s activities as prime minister?” given three options of answer (positive; negative; I find it difficult to answer), of which the respondent chooses the appropriate], and open, to which the respondent forms the answer himself (for example, “Where are you going to relax this summer?” Answers: “At the dacha”, “B sanatoriums ”,“ Abroad at a resort ”, etc.).

There are also filter questions designed to highlight the persons to whom special questions are addressed, and control questions asked in order to check the completeness and accuracy of answers to other questions.

Questions should be arranged with increasing difficulty.

This part of the questionnaire, as a rule, consists of content blocks dedicated to any one topic. Filter questions and control questions are put at the beginning of each block.

3) The classification part contains socio-demographic and vocational qualification information about the respondents (for example, gender, age, profession, etc. - "report").

4) The final part contains an expression of gratitude to the interviewee for participating in the study.

The second type of survey is interviewing(from English inter-view - conversation, meeting, exchange of views). Interview is a method of collecting sociological information, which consists in the fact that a specially trained interviewer, as a rule, in direct contact with the respondent verbally asks the questions stipulated by the research program.

There are several types of interviews: standardized (formalized), in which a questionnaire is used with a clearly defined order and wording of questions in order to obtain the most comparable data collected by different interviewers; undirected (free) interview, not regulated by the topic and form of the conversation; personal and group interviews; semi-formalized; mediated, etc.

Another type of survey is an expert survey, in which experts-specialists in some activity act as respondents.

The next important method of collecting information is observation. This is a method of collecting primary information by direct registration by the researcher of events, phenomena and processes taking place in certain conditions. During the observation, various forms and methods of registration are used: a form or diary of observations, photographic, film, video equipment, etc. In this case, the sociologist registers the number of manifestations of behavioral reactions (for example, exclamations of approval and disapproval, questions to the speaker, etc.). Distinguish between included observation, in which the researcher receives information, being a real member of the studied group in the course of a certain activity, and non-included, in which the researcher receives information while outside the group and group activity; field and laboratory observation (experimental); standardized (formalized) and non-standardized (non-formalized); systematic and random.

Primary sociological information can also be obtained by analyzing documents. Document analysis- a method of collecting primary data, in which documents are used as the main source of information. The documents are official and unofficial documents, personal documents, diaries, letters, press, literature, etc., acting in the form of written, printed records, records on film and photographic film, on magnetic tape, etc. Methods for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of documents have been developed. Among them, the biographical method, or the method of analyzing personal documents, should be noted, and content analysis, which is a formalized method for studying the content of stably repeating semantic units of the text (titles, concepts, names, judgments, etc.).

A huge number of sociological tasks are associated with the study of processes occurring in small groups (teams, families, departments of firms, etc.). When studying small groups, various studies small groups by describing the system of interpersonal relations between their members. The technique of such a study (a survey about the presence, intensity and desirability of various kinds of contacts and joint activities) makes it possible to record how objective relationships are reproduced and evaluated by people who remember the different position of individuals in a given group. Based on the data obtained, sociograms are constructed, which reflect the “subjective dimension” of relations in the group. This method was proposed by the American social psychologist J. Moreno and is called sociometry.

And finally, another method of data collection - experiment- a method of studying social phenomena and processes, carried out by observing the change in a social object under the influence of factors that affect its development in accordance with the program and practical objectives of the study. A natural (or field) experiment can be carried out, involving the intervention of the experimenter in the natural course of events, and a thought experiment - manipulating information about real objects without interfering with the actual course of events.

The development of the research program is completed by drawing up research work plan, constituting the organizational section of the programs. The work plan contains the calendar terms of the study (network schedule), the provision of material and human resources, the procedure for ensuring the pilot study, methods for collecting primary data, the order and provision of field observation and the provision of preparations for the processing and processing of primary data, as well as their analysis, interpretation and presentation results.

Drawing up a work plan ends the first (preparatory) stage of the study and begins the second - the main (field), the content of which is the collection of primary social information.

2. Processing and analysis of the results of sociological research

The final stage of sociological research includes the processing, interpretation and analysis of data, the construction of empirically verified and substantiated generalizations, conclusions, recommendations and projects. The processing stage is subdivided into several stages:
- information editing - verification, unification and formalization of information obtained in the course of research. At the stage of preliminary preparation for processing, the methodological tools are checked for accuracy, completeness and quality of filling, poorly filled questionnaires are rejected;
- coding - translation of data into the language of formalized processing and analysis by creating variables. Coding is a connecting link between qualitative and quantitative information, characterized by numerical operations with information entered into the computer memory. If during encoding there was a failure, replacement or loss of the code, then the information will be incorrect;
- statistical analysis - the identification of some statistical patterns and dependencies that give the sociologist the opportunity to draw certain generalizations and conclusions;
- interpretation - the transformation of sociological data into indicators that are not just numerical values, but certain sociological data correlated with the goals and objectives of the researcher, his knowledge, experience.
The analysis of information material differs depending on what kind of research is being carried out - qualitative or quantitative. In qualitative research, analysis usually begins as early as the data collection phase, as the scientist makes comments on his field notes, notes ideas being discussed, and so on. During the period of analysis, the researcher sometimes has to return to collecting data again if they were not enough or to check the correctness of the hypotheses put forward. In a qualitative analysis, the researcher is faced with the problems of maintaining a balance between description and interpretation (it is important to give as complete as possible, as close as possible to reality, an idea of ​​the observed phenomenon, but avoid unnecessary comments), the correct relationship between his interpretations and how the situation is perceived and understood participants (it is important to maximally facilitate the transmission of the perception of reality by the actors themselves and to avoid making excuses or diagnosing their behavior, to purely reproduce the opinions of the actors, but it is equally important to preserve those aspects of the phenomenon being studied that are subject only to an analytical structure). Quantitative analysis operates in terms of variables that influence each other. When collecting, processing, analyzing, modeling and comparing the results of different studies, a set of methods and models of applied mathematical statistics is used. The first group includes the sampling method, descriptive statistics, analysis of relationships and dependencies, the theory of statistical inferences, assessments and criteria, experimental planning, the second group includes a number of methods of multivariable statistics, various scaling methods, taxonomic procedures, correlation, factorial, causal analysis, as well as a large group of statistical models.
Basic procedures for sociological measurement.
Measurement is the procedure for imposing measurement objects (with respect to properties and relationships between them) on a certain numerical system with the corresponding relationships between numbers, which in sociological research are called scales.
A scale is a display of an arbitrary empirical system with relations in a numerical system consisting of a set of all real numbers... The nominal scale is a scale of names, which includes a list of qualitative objective characteristics of the respondent (gender, nationality, education, social status) or opinions, attitudes, assessments. The ordered nominal scale (or the Guttmann scale) is designed to measure the subjective attitude towards the object, the attitudes of the subject. This scale has such important advantages as cumulativeness and reproductiveness. The ranking scale includes a ranked distribution of responses in decreasing or increasing order of intensity of the studied feature. An interval scale is a type of scale determined by the difference (intervals) between ordered manifestations of the studied social object, expressed in points or numerical values. Each scale allows only certain operations between symbols (feature indicators) and the calculation of only a specific set of statistical characteristics.
The working off of the scalegram has its own procedure: an experimental group (about 50 people) is selected, which is invited to express its opinion on the judgments that presumably form a continuum. The highest score on the scale is determined by summing the marks for each answer. The survey data of the experimental group are arranged in the form of a matrix so as to arrange the respondents according to the number of points scored from the highest to the lowest. The “+” sign means a benevolent attitude towards the object of assessment, “-” - an undesirable one.
Analysis and generalization.
There are qualitative and quantitative types of analysis of mass media. Qualitative types include:
- functional analysis aimed at identifying stable invariant relationships of the object;
- structural analysis associated with the identification internal elements objects and the way they are combined;
- system analysis, which is a holistic study of the object.
Quantitative (statistical) analysis of information includes a set of statistical methods of processing, comparison, classification, modeling and evaluation of data obtained as a result of sociological research. By the nature of the problems to be solved and the mathematical apparatus used, the methods of statistical analysis are divided into four main groups:
1) one-dimensional statistical analysis - makes it possible to analyze the empirical distribution of the characteristics measured in a sociological study. In this case, the variances and arithmetic mean values ​​of features are isolated, the frequencies of occurrence of various gradations of features are determined;
2) analysis of contingency and correlation of features - involves the use of a set of statistical methods associated with the calculation of pairwise correlations between features, measured in quantitative scales, and analysis of contingency tables for qualitative features;
3) testing statistical hypotheses - allows you to confirm or refute a certain statistical hypothesis, usually associated with a meaningful conclusion of the study;
4) multivariate statistical analysis - allows you to analyze the quantitative dependencies of individual content aspects of the object under study on the set of its features.
The contingency table of features is a form of presenting data on the objects of sociological research based on the grouping of two or more features according to the principle of their compatibility. It can only be visualized as a set of two-dimensional slices. The contingency table allows you to carry out a gradational analysis of the influence of any feature on others and a visual express analysis of the mutual influence of the two features. Crosstabs formed by two features are called two-dimensional. Most of the communication measures have been developed for them, they are more convenient for analysis and give correct and meaningful results. The analysis of multidimensional contingency tables mainly consists of the analysis of its constituent marginal two-dimensional tables. The contingency tables of features are filled with data on the frequencies of the joint occurrence of features, expressed in absolute or percentage terms.
There are two main classes of statistical inferences that are made when analyzing conjugation tables: testing the hypothesis about the independence of features and testing the hypothesis about the relationship between features.
Statistical analysis methods include:
- analysis of average values;
- variational (variance) analysis;
- study of fluctuations of a feature relative to its average value;
- cluster (taxonomic) analysis - the classification of features and objects in the absence of preliminary or expert data on the grouping of information;
- loglinear analysis - search and evaluation of relationships in the table, a concise description of the tabular data;
- correlation analysis - establishing the relationship between the signs;
- factor analysis - multivariate statistical analysis of features, the establishment of internal relationships of features;
- regression analysis - the study of changes in the values ​​of the resulting attribute, depending on changes in the attribute-factors;
- latent analysis - identification hidden signs object;
- discriminant analysis - an assessment of the quality of the expert classification of the objects of sociological research.
The study is considered complete when the results are presented. In accordance with the purpose of the study, they have a different form: oral, written, using photographs and sound; can be short and concise or long and detailed; compiled for a narrow circle of specialists or for the general public.
The final stage of the sociological research is the preparation of the final report and its subsequent submission to the customer. The structure of the report is determined by the type of research carried out (theoretical or applied) and corresponds to the logic of operationalization of the basic concepts. If the research is of a theoretical nature, then the report focuses on the scientific formulation of the problem, substantiation of the methodological principles of research, and the theoretical interpretation of concepts. Then the rationale for the construction of the sample used is given and - certainly in the form of an independent section - a conceptual analysis of the results obtained is carried out, and at the end of the report specific conclusions, possible practical results and ways of their implementation are presented. The applied research report focuses on solving the problems put forward by practice and proposed by the customer. In the structure of such a report, a description of the object and subject of research, research objectives, and justification of the sample are required. The main focus is on the formulation of practical conclusions and recommendations and the real possibilities for their implementation.
The number of sections in the report, as a rule, corresponds to the number of hypotheses formulated in the research program. Initially, an answer is given to the main hypothesis. The first section of the report contains a brief substantiation of the relevance of the sociological problem under study, a description of the research parameters. The second section describes the socio-demographic characteristics of the research object. The following sections include answers to the hypotheses put forward in the program. The Conclusion provides practical recommendations based on general findings. An appendix must be made to the report, containing all the methodological and methodological documents of the study: statistical tables, diagrams, graphs, tools. They can be used when preparing a new research program.

4. interpretation.

In order to use the sociological data obtained in the course of the study, they must be correctly interpreted. In sociology, the term "interpretation" (from Lat. Interpretatio) is used in the meaning of interpretation, explanation, translation into a more understandable form of expression. Interpreting the data obtained requires a deep knowledge of the object of research, high professionalism and experience, the ability to analyze and generalize extensive empirical information, often mosaic in nature, to give an objective interpretation of the identified phenomena and process.

At the stage of interpretation, along with the justification of representativeness, the sociologist needs to “translate” the data obtained into indicators (percentages, coefficients, indices, etc.). The quantitative values ​​obtained as a result of this acquire a semantic meaning, sociological significance only by correlating them with the intentions of the researcher, the goal and objectives of the study, that is, they are transformed into indicators of social processes.

At the stage of interpretation, the degree of confirmation of the hypotheses of the study is assessed. It should be remembered that any numbers and sociological quantitative indicators have the ability to interpret them differently, sometimes diametrically opposite. Hence - the possibility of their different interpretation. Depending on the position of the researcher, his official position and departmental affiliation, the same indicators can be interpreted as positive, as negative or not expressing any tendency.

When interpreting the results of a sociological study, it is important to correctly choose the assessment criteria, that is, the signs by which the level of development of the studied social phenomenon or process is judged. An error in the choice of a criterion may lead to an erroneous interpretation of the results obtained.

For example, K. Marx regarded the class struggle as a general criterion for the evolution of society.

D. Moreno argued that the true structure of society cannot be discovered without trying to modify it at the interpersonal level. But it is obvious that not everything that “works” in a small group can be extended to the whole society.

From the point of view of modern sociology, such criteria can be: social, economic interests and legal guarantees for their protection.

Interpretation also includes understanding and clarification of terminology, interpretation of additionally involved information, i.e. is a kind of qualitative analysis of the data obtained. It includes such forms of analysis as typology, ranking, modeling.

One of the main ways of interpretation is data correlation.

Topic 5. Society as a social system.

1.sociological analysis

2. modern approaches to understanding society. Typology of societies.

3. social-historical determinism. Social action. Social communications.

1. sociological analysis of society assumes a multilevel nature. The model of social reality can be represented at least at two levels: macro- and microsociological.

Macrosociology focuses on patterns of behavior that help to understand the essence of any society. These models, which can be called structures, include such social institutions as family, education, religion, as well as political and economic order. On the macrosociological level society is understood as being determined in the process historical development mankind is a relatively stable system of social ties and relations of both large and small groups of people, supported by the force of custom, tradition, law, social institutions etc. (civil society), based on a certain method of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material and spiritual benefits.

Microsocial level analysis is the study of microsystems (circles of interpersonal communication) that make up the immediate social environment of a person. These are systems of emotionally colored connections between the individual and other people. Various accumulations of such connections form small groups, the members of which are connected with each other by positive attitudes and are separated from others by hostility and indifference. Researchers working at this level believe that social phenomena can be understood only on the basis of an analysis of the meanings that people attach to these phenomena when interacting with each other. The main topic of their research is the behavior of individuals, their actions, motives, meanings that determine the interaction between people, which in turn affects the stability of society or the changes taking place in it.

2. The whole history of sociological thought is the history of the search for scientific approaches and methods of constructing a theory of society. This is the history of theoretical ups and downs. It was accompanied by the development of various conceptual approaches to the category of "society".

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle understood society as a set of groupings, the interaction of which is governed by certain norms and rules, the French scientist of the 18th century Saint-Simon believed that society is a huge workshop designed to exercise human domination over nature. For the thinker of the first half of the 19th century, Proudhon is a set of contradictory groups, classes, carrying out collective efforts to implement the problems of justice. The founder of sociology, Auguste Comte, defined society as a reality of two kinds: 1) as a result of the organic development of moral feelings that bind together the family, the people, the nation, and finally all of humanity; 2) as an automatically operating "mechanism" consisting of interconnected parts, elements, "atoms", etc.

Among modern concepts of society, stands out "atomistic" theory, according to which society is understood as a set of acting personalities and relations between them. Its author is J. Davis. He wrote:

"The whole society in the end can be imagined as a light web of interpersonal feelings and attitudes. Each given person can be imagined sitting in the center of the web woven by him, connected directly with a few others, and indirectly with the whole world."

The extreme expression of this concept was the theory of G. Simmel. He believed that society is the interaction of individuals. Social interaction is any behavior of an individual, a group of individuals, society as a whole, as in this moment and in a certain period of time. This category expresses the nature and content of relations between people and social groups as permanent carriers of qualitatively different types of activity.The consequence of such interaction is social ties. Social connections- these are connections, interactions of individuals pursuing certain goals in specific conditions of place and time. At the same time, such an idea of ​​society as a bunch of social ties and interactions only to a certain extent corresponds to the sociological approach.

The main provisions of this concept were further developed in "network" theory of society The main emphasis of this theory is on acting individuals who make socially significant decisions in isolation from each other This theory and its varieties in the center of attention when explaining the essence of society put the personal attributes of acting individuals

In the theories of "social groups" society is interpreted as a set of various overlapping groups of people, which are varieties of one dominant group. In this sense, we can talk about a popular society, which means all kinds of groups and aggregates that exist within the same people or Catholic community. If in the "atomistic" or "network" "concepts the type of relations is an essential component in the definition of society, then in the" group "theories - groups of people. Considering society as the most general set of people, the authors of this concept identify the concept of" society "with the concept of" humanity ".

In sociology, there are two main competing approaches to the study of society: functionalist and conflictological. The theoretical framework of modern functionalism consists of five main theoretical positions.

1) society is a system of parts united into a single whole;

2) public systems remain stable, since they have such internal control mechanisms as law enforcement agencies and the court;

3) dysfunctions (deviations in development), of course, exist, but they are overcome by themselves;

4) changes are usually gradual, but not revolutionary:

5) social integration, or the feeling that society is a strong fabric woven from various threads, is formed on the basis of the consent of the majority of the country's citizens to follow a single value system.

The conflictological approach was formed on the basis of the works of Karl Marx, who believed that the class conflict is at the very foundation of society. Thus, society is an arena of constant struggle between hostile classes, thanks to which its development takes place.

Typology of societies.

Several types of society, united by similar features, criteria, form a typology.

T. Parsons, based on the methodology of systemic functionalism, proposed the following typology of societies:

1) primitive societies - social differentiation is weak.

2) intermediate societies - the emergence of writing, stratification, the separation of culture into an independent area of ​​life.

3) modern societies - the separation of the legal system from the religious one, the presence of an administrative bureaucracy, a market economy, a democratic electoral system.

In sociological science, the typologization of societies is widespread into preliterate (able to speak, but not able to write) and written (possessing an alphabet and fixing sounds in material carriers).

By the level of management and degree social stratification(differentiation) societies are divided into simple and complex.

The next approach, called the formational one, belongs to Karl Marx (the criteria are the mode of production and the form of ownership). Here they distinguish between primitive society, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist.

Socio-political sciences distinguish between pre-civil and civil societies, the latter representing a highly developed community of people with a sovereign right to livelihoods, self-governing and exercising control over the state. The specific features of civil society, in comparison with pre-civil society, are the activities of free associations, social institutions, social movements, the possibility of realizing the rights and freedoms of the individual, its security, and the independence of business entities. The economic basis of civil society is formed by various forms of ownership.

Another typology belongs to D. Bell. In the history of mankind, he distinguishes:

1. Preindustrial (traditional) societies. For them, the characteristic factors are the agrarian way of life, low rates of development of production, strict regulation of people's behavior by customs and traditions. The main institutions in them are the army and the church.

2. Industrial societies, for which the main features are industry with a corporation and a firm at the head, social mobility(mobility) of individuals and groups, urbanization of the population, division and specialization of labor.

3. Post-industrial societies. Their emergence is associated with structural changes in the economy and culture of the most developed countries. In such a society, the value and role of knowledge, information, intellectual capital, as well as universities, as places of their production and concentration, increases dramatically. The superiority of the service sector over the production sector is observed, the class division is giving way to the professional one.

In the second half of the twentieth century, the transition from the economy of things to the economy of knowledge becomes a determining factor in the socio-economic development of Western society, which is due to the increasing role of social information and information and communication technologies in the management of all spheres of society. Information processes are becoming the most important component of all processes of economic, social and political activities society and state. Therefore, the term "information society" appears in the social sciences, its essential characteristics, social and spiritual consequences of development are being developed. The founders of the theory of the information society are Y. Haashi, T. Umesao, F. Mahlup. Among the researchers of the role of social information in modern society, there is no single approach to the term "information society". Some authors believe that recently there have been information societies with characteristic features that significantly distinguish them that existed in the past (D. Bell, M. Castells and others). Other researchers, recognizing that information in the modern world has acquired a key value, believe that the main feature of the present is its continuity relative to the past, consider informatization as one of the non-basic characteristics of the stability of social systems, as a continuation of previously established relations (G. Schiller, E. Giddens , Y. Habermas, etc.).

3. Allocation of functional subsystems raised the question of their deterministic (cause-and-effect) relationship. In other words, the question is. which of the subsystems determines the appearance of society as a whole. Determinism is the doctrine of the objective, natural relationship and interdependence of all phenomena in nature and society. The original principle of determinism sounds like this. all things and events of the surrounding world are in very different connections and relationships with each other.

However, there is no consensus among sociologists on the question of what determines the face of society as a whole. K. Marx, for example, gave preference to the economic subsystem (economic determinism). Supporters

technological determinism is seen as the determining factor public life in the development of technology and technology. Proponents of cultural determinism believe that the basis of society is formed by generally accepted systems of values ​​and norms, the observance of which ensures the stability and uniqueness of society. Proponents of biological determinism argue that all social phenomena must be explained on the basis of biological or genetic characteristics people.

If we approach society from the standpoint of studying the patterns of interaction between society and humans, economic and social factors, then the corresponding theory can be called the theory of socio-historical determinism. Socio-historical determinism is one of the basic principles of sociology, expressing the general interconnection and interdependence of social phenomena. As society produces man, so man produces society. In contrast to the lower animals, he is the product of his own spiritual and material activities. Man is not only an object, but also a subject of social action.

Social action is the simplest unit of social activity. This concept was developed and introduced into scientific circulation by M. Weber to denote the action of an individual who is consciously focused on the past, present or future behavior of other people.

The essence of social life lies in the practical human activity. Man carries out his activities through the historically established types and forms of interaction and relations with other people. Therefore, in whatever sphere of social life his activity is carried out, it always has not an individual, but a social character. Social activity is a set of socially meaningful action... carried out by the subject (society, group, individual) in different areas and at various levels of the social organization of society, pursuing certain social goals and interests and using various means in the name of their achievement - economic, social, political and ideological.

History and social relations do not exist and cannot exist in isolation from activity. Social activity, on the one hand, is carried out according to objective laws, independent of the will and consciousness of people, and on the other hand, people participate in it who, in accordance with their social status, choose various ways and methods of its implementation.

The main feature of socio-historical determinism is that its object is the activity of people who, at the same time, are the subject of activity. Thus, social laws are the laws of the practical activities of people who form society, the laws of their own social action.

The concept of "social action (activity)" is characteristic only of man as a social being and occupies one of the most important places in the science of "sociology".

Every human action is a manifestation of his energy, prompted by a certain need (interest), which give rise to a goal for their satisfaction. Striving for a more effective achievement of the goal, a person analyzes the situation, looks for the most rational ways to ensure success. And what is especially important, he acts self-interested, that is, he looks at everything through the prism of his interest. Living in a society similar to themselves, respectively having their own interests, the subject of activity must take them into account, coordinate, comprehend, focus on them: who, what, how, when, how much, etc. In this case action takes on character social actions, that is, the characteristic features of social action (activity) are comprehension and orientation towards the interests of others, their capabilities, options and consequences of disagreements. Otherwise, life in this society will become uncoordinated, the struggle of all against all will begin. In view of the enormous importance of the issue of social activity for the life of society, it was considered by such famous sociologists as K. Marx, M. Weber, T. Parsons and others.

From the point of view of K. Marx, the only social substance, creating a person and its essential forces, and thus society as a system of interaction of many individuals and their groups, is active human activity in all its spheres, primarily in production and labor. According to Marx, it is in social activity that the development and self-development of a person, his essential forces, abilities and spiritual world takes place.

M. Weber made a very significant contribution to the interpretation of activity with his theory of "social action". In accordance with it, an action becomes social when it:

§ is meaningful, that is, it is aimed at achieving goals clearly perceived by the individual himself;

§ deliberately motivated, and a certain semantic unity acts as a motive, which appears to the actor or observer as a worthy reason for a certain action;

§ socially meaningful and socially oriented towards interaction with other people.

M. Weber proposed a typology of social action. In the first case, a person acts according to the principle "those means are good that help to achieve the goal." According to M. Weber, this goal-rational type of action. In the second case, a person tries to determine how good the means that are at his disposal are, whether they can harm other people, etc. In this case, they talk about value-rational type of action (this term was also proposed by M. Weber). Such actions are determined by what the subject has to do.

In the third case, a person will be guided by the principle "everyone does this", and therefore, according to Weber, his action will be traditional, that is, its action will be determined by the social norm.

Finally, a person can perform an action and choose a means under the pressure of the senses. Weber called such actions affective.

Social connection it is not just a collection of various kinds of relationships and dependencies, it is an organized system of relations, institutions and means of social control that unite individuals, subgroups and other constituent elements into a functional whole capable of sustainability and development. The establishment of a social connection does not depend on the personal characteristics of the individual, it is objective. Their establishment is due to the social conditions in which individuals live and act, and the essence of these connections is manifested in the content and nature of people's actions.

Topic 5. The concept of a social institution. Institutionalization as a form of life organization.

1. institutionalization of public life.

2. The state as a basic socio-political institution. Civil society.

3. Family in the system of social institutions of society.

4. Religion as a social institution.

5. social organizations, associations. Bureaucracy as a model for organizing people.

1. Social institutions (from Lat. Institutum - establishment, establishment) -

these are historically established stable forms of organizing joint

activities of people. The term "social institution" is used in the most

varied meanings... They talk about the institute of the family, the institute of education,

health care, institute of state, etc. First, most often

the used meaning of the term "social institution" is associated with

characteristic of any kind of ordering, formalization and standardization

public relations and relations. And the process of ordering, formalization and

standardization is called institutionalization

Institutionalization is a substitute for spontaneous and experimental behavior predictable behavior that is expected, modeled, regulated.

Institutionalization is the replacement of spontaneous and experimental behavior with predictable behavior that is expected, modeled, regulated. Thus, the pre-institutional phase of the social movement is characterized by spontaneous protests and speeches, and erratic behavior. The leaders of the movement appear for a short time, and then the leaders of the movement are displaced; their appearance depends mainly on energetic appeals. Every day a new adventure is possible, each meeting is characterized by an unpredictable sequence of emotional events, in which a person cannot imagine what he will do next. With the appearance of institutional moments in a social movement, the formation of certain rules and norms of behavior begins, shared by the majority of its followers. A place of gathering or rally is appointed, a clear timetable for speeches is determined; each participant is given instructions on how to behave in a given situation. These rules and regulations are gradually being adopted and taken for granted. At the same time, a system of social statuses and roles begins to take shape. Resilient leaders appear who are formalized according to the accepted procedure (for example, they are elected or appointed). In addition, each member of the movement has a certain status and fulfills a corresponding role: he can be a member of an organizational asset, be part of a leader's support groups, be an agitator or ideologist, etc. Arousal is gradually weakened under the influence of certain norms, and the behavior of each participant becomes standardized and predictable. The prerequisites for organized joint actions appear. As a result, the social movement is institutionalized to a greater or lesser extent. The process of institutionalization, i.e. the formation of a social institution, consists of several successive stages: 1. the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized actions; 2. the formation of common goals; 3. the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction, carried out by trial and error; 4. the emergence of procedures related to the rules and regulations; 5.institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, i.e. their acceptance, practical application; 6. establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, differentiation of their application in individual cases; 7. creation of a system of statuses and roles, covering all members of the institute without exception. So, the final of the institutionalization process can be considered the creation, in accordance with the norms and rules, of a clear status-role structure, socially approved by the majority of participants in this social process. Without institutionalization, without social institutions, not a single modern society cannot exist. That is why indiscriminate quarrels and fights turn into highly formalized sports matches, curiosity, desire to know the truth - into orderly scientific research, promiscuous sex life - into a strong family. Institutions are thus symbols of order and organization in society.

2. The state acts as the main means of implementation political power in society, therefore it is it that is the central institution political system... The very concept of "state" is used in two main meanings: in a narrow sense, the term denotes the institution of domination of some social groups over others, opposed to the whole of society; broadly - a state-formed social community, a civil union.

Thus, the state acts as a system of organs of society that ensures the organized internal legal life of the people as a whole, protects the rights of its citizens, carries out the normal functioning of the institutions of power (legislative, executive and judicial), controls its territory, protects the population of the country against external threats, guarantees the fulfillment of obligations to other states, maintains natural environment and cultural values, contributing to the survival of society and its progress.

The historical significance of the state for the formation and development of civilization was determined by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, the author of the famous political and philosophical treatise "Leviathan, or Matter, the Form and Power of the Church and Civil State." He wrote: "Outside the state, the dominion of passions, war, fear, poverty, abomination, loneliness, savagery, ignorance, atrocity, in the state - the dominion of reason, peace, security, bliss, splendor, society, sophistication, knowledge, benevolence."

The following main features of the state are distinguished:

The separation of public authority from society, its discrepancy with the organization of the entire population, the emergence of a layer of professional managers;

The territory that delineates the boundaries of the state;

The prerogative to issue generally binding normative legal acts (laws, decrees, etc.);

Sovereignty, i.e. political independence and independence of the state in domestic and foreign political activities;

The right to collect taxes and fees from the population;

Monopoly on the legal use of force, physical coercion against the population.

In society, the state performs certain functions that characterize the main directions of its activities, expressing the essence and social purpose of public administration of society, namely:

Internal (protection of the existing method of production, regulation economic activity and social relationships; protection of public order and cultural and educational activities);

External (protecting the interests of the state in the international arena; ensuring the country's defense, or military and political expansion in relation to other states; developing normal relations with other countries, mutually beneficial cooperation; participation in solving global problems; development of various forms of integration and participation in the international division of labor).

Family - social group based on family ties (marriage, blood). Family members are bound by a common way of life, mutual assistance, moral and legal responsibility.

Polling method not an invention of sociologists. In all branches of knowledge, where a researcher turns to a person with questions to obtain information, he deals with various modifications this method. Polling as a method of cognition of social phenomena and processes has a long tradition in sociology. In the complex of methods for collecting sociological information, the poll is the most popular. But this does not mean that it acts as a universal method for obtaining sociological data.

The specificity of the survey method consists, first of all, in the fact that when it is used, the source of primary sociological information is a person (respondent) - a direct participant in the studied social processes and phenomena. There are two types of surveys associated with a written or oral form of communication with respondents - questioning and interviewing. They are based on a set of questions offered to the respondent, the answers to which form the primary sociological information. The survey method allows you to interview large populations of people in the shortest possible time and obtain a variety of information. Its no less valuable advantage is the breadth of coverage of various areas of social practice.

Questioning. The most common type of survey in the practice of applied sociology is a questionnaire. Sociological questionnaire is a system of questions united by a single research concept aimed at identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the object and the subject of analysis. In order for the questionnaire to successfully fulfill its purpose - to give the researcher reliable information, it is necessary to know and observe a number of rules and principles of its design and, above all, the peculiarities of the various questions of which it consists. The author of the sociological questionnaire addresses each question of a large group of people. Consequently, the question should be equally clear to different socio-demographic groups of respondents: young and old, people with higher and secondary education, townspeople and villagers, etc.

All questions used in the questionnaires can be classified by content (questions about the facts of behavior and about the personality of the respondent), by form (open and closed, direct and indirect) and by function (basic and non-basic).

Substantive questions are aimed at identifying opinions, wishes, expectations, etc. 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 the respondent is a value judgment based on individual perceptions, and therefore is subjective. Questions about the facts of behavior reveal the actions, actions, results of the activities of people. Questions about the respondent's personality are included in all sociological questionnaires, forming a socio-demographic block of questions that reveal gender, age, nationality, education, profession, marital status and other characteristics of the respondents. When drawing up questions about knowledge, one of the prerequisites is often violated - the correspondence of the wording of the question to the research task. The criteria for assessing knowledge of different people, as a rule, do not coincide with those that are implied by the researcher when he asks the question. A poorly informed person can be quite satisfied with the stock of knowledge he has and will assess his awareness as good. At the same time, a person with a higher level of knowledge, but experiencing a deficit of the information of interest to him, will choose an assessment of "medium" or "weak". Meanwhile, quite often the authors of such questions interpret the answers to them as data on the actual level of knowledge of the respondents, although in reality it comes only about self-assessments.

A closed question is called if a full set of answer options is given to it in the questionnaire. After reading them, the respondent only notes the option that coincides with his opinion. Closed questions can be alternative and non-alternative. Alternative questions suggest that the respondent can choose only one answer. Non-alternative questions allow the respondent to choose several answer options.

Unlike closed-ended questions, open-ended questions do not contain prompts and do not "impose" the answer to the respondent. They provide an opportunity to express your opinion in its entirety. Therefore, using open-ended questions, you can collect information that is more extensive in content than using closed questions. It is characteristic that the psychological basis of the answer to a closed question is significantly different, in contrast to the case with an open question. Accordingly, the content of the information received does not match. When formulating an answer to an open-ended question, the respondent is guided only by his own ideas. Consequently, such an answer will be more individualized and will provide more detailed and varied information about the structure of the respondent's perceptions. Closed versions of questions are preferable to formulate to identify facts and relationships, in which a previously known and uniform list of possible answers is assumed. It should be remembered that the set of answers proposed in advance belongs to the researcher and this frees the respondents from independent work on possible answer options. Sometimes the questions of the questionnaire require the respondent to have a critical attitude to himself, to the people around him, to assess the negative phenomena of reality. Such direct questions are often either unanswered or inaccurate. In such cases, the researcher comes to the aid of questions formulated in an indirect form. The respondent is offered an imaginary situation that does not require an assessment of his personal qualities or the circumstances of his activities. The design of the questionnaire survey has a number of features. It should last no more than 30 - 40 minutes, otherwise the respondent gets tired and the last questions usually remain without full answers. More complex in content (and understanding) questions should follow the simpler ones. The first question should be neither controversial nor alarming. It is better to place difficult questions in the middle of the questionnaire, so that the respondent "gets involved" in the topic. Questions must meet the requirements of logic: first they must concern the establishment of a fact, and then - its assessment. This is the most important requirement of sociological research.

Interviewing. In modern practice of sociological surveys, the interview method is used less often than other forms of questioning. This is primarily due to the insufficient development of a network of permanent interviewers with specialized training.

Interviewing has its advantages and disadvantages compared to questionnaires. The main difference between them lies in the form of contact between the researcher and the interviewee. When questioning, their communication is mediated by a questionnaire. When interviewing, the researcher personally asks the respondent the provided questions, organizes and directs the conversation with him and records the answers received according to the instructions.

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, the communication between the interviewer and the respondent is strictly regulated by a detailed questionnaire and instructions intended for the interviewer. In this type of survey, the interviewer must strictly adhere to the wording of the questions and their sequence. In a standardized interview, closed-ended questions usually predominate.

A focused interview is aimed at collecting opinions, assessments about a specific situation, phenomenon, their consequences and causes. In this case, respondents are introduced to the subject of the conversation in advance: they read a book or article that will be discussed, participate in a seminar, the methodology and content of which will then be discussed, etc. Questions for such an interview are pre-prepared, and their list for The interviewer is obligatory: he can change their sequence and wording, but he must receive information on each question.

A free interview takes place in cases when the researcher is just beginning to define the research problem, clarifies its specific content in the conditions of the area or enterprise where the survey will take place. A free interview is conducted without a pre-prepared questionnaire or a developed conversation plan. Only the topic of the interview is indicated, which is proposed to the respondent for discussion.

Observation method. Sociological observation as a method of collecting scientific information is always directed, systematic, direct tracking and recording of significant social phenomena, processes, events. It serves certain cognitive purposes.

The most important advantage of the observation method is that it is carried out simultaneously with the development of the studied phenomena and processes. It allows you to directly perceive the behavior of people in specific conditions and in real time. A carefully prepared observation procedure ensures that all significant elements of the situation are recorded. This creates the prerequisites for its objective study.

Observation allows you to broadly and multidimensionally cover the event, describe the interaction of all its participants. It does not depend on the desire of the observed to speak out, comment on the situation. The disadvantages of the observation method are divided into two groups: objective (independent of the observer) and subjective (associated with the personal, professional characteristics of the observer). Objective shortcomings include the limited, fundamentally private nature of each observed situation. Another feature of the method is the complexity, and often simply the impossibility of repeating observations. Social processes are irreversible, they cannot be “replayed” so that the researcher can fix the features he needs, elements of an event that has already taken place. Finally, the method is labor intensive. Monitoring often involves participating in the collection of primary information. a large number people of fairly high qualifications.

Difficulties of a subjective nature are also manifold. The quality of the primary information can be influenced by the difference in social status observer and observed, the dissimilarity of their interests, value orientations, stereotypes of behavior, etc. The observation method is classified on several grounds: by the degree of formalized ™ (structured and unstructured), by the degree of participation of the observer in the studied situation (included and not included), by place implementation, the conditions of the organization of observation (field and laboratory), the regularity of the conduct (systematic and non-systematic).

Unstructured observation is weakly formalized. During it, there is no detailed action plan for the observer, only the most common features situations, the approximate composition of the observed group. Directly in the process of observation, the boundaries of the object of observation and its most important elements are specified, the research program is concretized. Unstructured observation is found primarily in intelligence sociological research.

If the researcher has sufficient information about the object of research and is able in advance to determine the significant elements of the situation under study, as well as draw up a detailed plan and instructions for recording the results of observations, the possibility of conducting structured observation. This type of observation is characterized by a high degree of standardization, special documents and forms are used to record the results, a certain proximity of the data obtained by various observers is achieved.

Included (participating) supervision is called its kind in which the sociologist is directly involved in the studied social process, contacts, acts in conjunction with the observed. The nature of involvement is different: in some cases, the researcher fully observes incognito, and the observed in no way distinguish him from other members of the group, collective; in others, the observer participates in the activities of the observed group, but at the same time does not hide his research goals. Observation allows you to fully consider the phenomenon under study as if from the inside. But there is also a fundamental limitation of the method. The logic of circumstances often prompts the observer to look at what is happening through the eyes of his eyewitnesses, as a result of which there is a danger of the observer losing an objective approach to the process under study. Some ethical issues are also difficult. For example, what are the boundaries beyond which it is unacceptable to remain incognito in the study of human relations?

Observations are called field, if they proceed in natural conditions for the observed conditions: at a construction site, in a workshop, in a classroom, etc. laboratory form of observation.

Systematic observations carried out regularly for a certain period. This can be a long-term, continuously ongoing observation or carried out in a cyclical mode. Among unsystematic observations stand out when the observer has to deal with a previously unplanned phenomenon, an unexpected situation.

Document analysis method. Document analysis is one of the most widely used and effective methods for collecting primary information. Documents with varying degrees of completeness reflect the spiritual and material life of society, not only convey the eventual, factual side of social reality, but also record the development of all expressive means of society, and above all the structure of language. They contain information about the processes and results of the activities of individual individuals, collectives, large groups population and society as a whole. As a result, documentary information is of great interest to sociologists.

Applied sociology documents include various printed and handwritten materials created for the storage and transmission of information. With a broader approach, documents also include television, film, photographic materials, sound recordings, etc.

There are a number of reasons for classifying documents. By status, documents are distinguished between official and unofficial; in the form of presentation - written and statistical; functional characteristics - informational, regulatory, communicative and cultural and educational. At the same time, the leading direction of the document is emphasized, but most often it performs several functions.

Official documents predominantly reflect public relations and express a collective point of view. All of these documents are drawn up and approved by state or public bodies, collective or private institutions and can act as legal evidence.

Unofficial documents include personal documents: diaries, memoirs, partly correspondence between people, etc. Special meaning have letters from the population to various authorities, in the editorial office of the media. The most important source of documentary information is press materials reflecting all aspects of society. Newspaper publications synthesize the features of various types of documents: “verbal”, digital and pictorial information, official communications, author's speeches and letters of citizens, historical documents and reporting materials about contemporary reality.

In all the variety of research techniques used in the study of documents, there are two main types: qualitative analysis, which is sometimes called traditional, and formalized, or content analysis. Although these two approaches to the study of documentary information differ in many respects, they can complement each other.

The essence of the traditional approach lies in an in-depth logical study of the content of the document, in the detection of possible "omissions", in the assessment of the originality of the language and the author's style of presentation.

The desire to avoid subjectivity to the maximum extent possible, the need for sociological study and generalization of a large amount of information, an orientation towards the use of modern computing technology when processing the content of texts led to the formation of a method of formalized, qualitative and quantitative study of documents (content analysis).

The procedure for the formalized analysis of documents begins with the allocation of two units of analysis: semantic (qualitative) and units of account. In this case, the main semantic unit should be a social idea, a socially significant topic, reflected in operational concepts. In the text, it is expressed in different ways: a word, a combination of words, a description. The purpose of the study is to find indicators that indicate the presence of a topic in a document that is significant for analysis and that reveal the content of textual information. For example, when studying the role of the newspaper in the dissemination of technical knowledge, publications on this topic may include articles, essays, notes, photographs, in which, directly or indirectly, with varying degrees of reliability, new advances in technology and technology are referred to.

Sociological experiment. Experiment is one of the most varied and difficult to learn methods of collecting sociological information. The implementation of the experiment allows one to obtain very unique information, which cannot be obtained by other methods.

The experiment is best carried out in relatively homogeneous conditions, at first in small (up to several dozen) groups of subjects. The object with the help of which it is carried out often acts only as a means for creating an experimental situation.

The general logic of the experiment is that with the help of some selected experimental group (or groups), placed in an unusual experimental situation (under the influence of a certain factor), to trace the direction, magnitude and stability of changes in the characteristics of interest to the researcher, which can be called control ones. In this sense, an experiment is something like a closed system, the elements of which begin to interact according to the "scenario" written by the researcher.

Field and laboratory experiments differ in the nature of the experimental situation. In a field experiment, the object is in the natural conditions of its functioning. For example, a production group. In this case, the members of the group may or may not be aware that they are participating in the experiment. The decision to inform them on a case-by-case basis depends on how much this awareness can influence the course of the experiment.

In a laboratory experiment, the experimental situation, and often the experimental groups themselves, are formed artificially. Therefore, team members are generally aware of the experiment.

The preparation and conduct of an experiment involves the sequential solution of a number of questions: 1) determination of the purpose of the experiment; 2) selection of an object (objects) used as an experimental, as well as a control group; 3) highlighting the subject of the experiment; 4) the choice of control, factorial and neutral signs; 5) determining the conditions of the experiment and creating an experimental situation; 6) formulation of hypotheses and definition of tasks; 7) the choice of indicators and a method for monitoring the course of the experiment; 8) determination of methods for fixing results; 9) checking the effectiveness of the experiment.

The logic of the experiment is always subordinated to the elucidation of the reasons, the nature of the change of the social phenomenon or process of interest to the researcher. An indispensable condition for solving these problems is the change in the experimental group under the influence of some factor.

Introduction
1. Methods of collecting sociological information
2. Quantitative methods of collecting sociological information
3. Qualitative methods of collecting sociological information
4. Comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative methods
Conclusion
List of used literature

Introduction

In its most general form, sociological research can be defined as a system of logically consistent methodological, methodological and organizational-technical procedures, interconnected by a single goal: to obtain reliable data about the studied phenomenon or process, about the trends and contradictions of their development, so that these data can be used in the practice of managing public life.

Sociological research includes four successive stages:

1. preparation of the study;

2. collection of primary sociological information;

3. preparation of the collected information for processing and its processing;

4. analysis of the information received, summing up the research results, formulating conclusions and recommendations.

Despite the fact that every sociological study claiming integrity and completeness includes the aforementioned stages, there is no single, unified form of sociological analysis suitable for studying problems of varying complexity.

The specific type of sociological research is determined by the nature of the goals and objectives set in it. The choice of methods for collecting information in a descriptive study is determined by its objectives and focus. The combination of various methods increases the representativeness, objectivity, completeness of sociological information, and, therefore, allows for more substantiated conclusions and recommendations.

1. Methods of collecting sociological information

Sociology as an independent branch scientific knowledge, uses a set of specific methods to study his subject. All methods of sociology can be divided into theoretical and empirical.

As a tool for theoretical research in sociology, as in philosophy, reflection is used - the process of comprehending something through study and comparison.

The initial material for the production of new scientific knowledge is already existing theories, ideas of various scientists, which are synthesized with the researcher's own scientific views using various logical schemes, based on one or another theoretical paradigm. In the process of research, sociologists, as a rule, use such theoretical methods as systemic, structural-functional, synergetic, methods of logical interpretation, modeling, and a number of others.

A special group of methods that are widely used in sociological research are the methods of mathematical statistics. They make it possible to analyze and interpret primary sociological information, as well as to verify the data already obtained.

Along with theoretical methods, sociology uses empirical methods. The source material for empirical research is various opinions, judgments, social facts, semantic indicators, phenomena or processes that a sociologist is trying to obtain and systematize using special methods for collecting and processing primary sociological information.

Empirical methods are divided into quantitative (classical) and qualitative. Some methods have their own variations in both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

2. Quantitative methods of collecting sociological information

The quantitative methods of collecting sociological information include, first of all:

Survey methods;

Analysis of documents;

Observation;

Sociological experiment.

The term "quantitative approach" in sociological research emphasizes the specificity of its form, first of all, the mathematical form of knowledge representation. The results of quantitative research are presented, as a rule, in the form of scales, tables, histograms, and their content is expressed in percentages and coefficients. The focus of quantitative research is - public structures as supra-individual objective formations that determine the life of people. Certain social communities (groups), selected by the sociologist in accordance with the goals and objectives of the research, are the object of sociological analysis.

A surge of interest in quantitative methodology was noted in the 1920s. XX century. It was associated with the conduct of the so-called "straw polls" - surveys of the audience of newspapers and magazines, which have gained immense popularity in the United States. During the 1928 presidential elections alone, 85 “straw polls” were conducted. Although the focus was on elections, information was collected on a wide variety of aspects of American life. Even during the First World War, the problem of US participation in hostilities was raised. Congressman E. Landin sent out 54 thousand ballots to his voters and, having received 8,800 replies, found that 90% were against the country's entry into the war. Subsequently, unprecedented questions arose: "Are you living better or worse than last year?", "Did you catch a cold in winter?", "What are the reasons that many spouses do not have children?"

One of the main tasks of quantitative sociological research - when combined with theoretical analysis - is to identify cause and effect. Scientists spend a lot of time trying to identify how one phenomenon is related and interrelated with another phenomenon. To do this, they use variables. Variable is a feature of the object under study, which can take on various values ​​(gender, age, income, profession, status, etc.). An independent variable is one that affects other variables; the affected variable is dependent. For example, if we are interested in the effect of income on lifestyle, then income becomes the independent variable.

The fact that two variables change together does not at all indicate a causal relationship between them. In the United States, for example, the number of marriages falls to a minimum in January, the month with the highest death rates among the population. It hardly follows from this that people die because they fail to get married (or don’t marry because they are dying). In reality, it all depends on the bad January weather in most of the country (and, perhaps, on the post-holiday blues) - this is the reason for both the low number of marriages and the high number of deaths. The opposite is also true: in warmer and sunnier summer months the highest frequency of marriages and the lowest mortality are noted. Therefore, researchers must look deeper to find the ends of cause and effect.

Quantitative sociological research is divided into fundamental and applied.

The purpose of fundamental research is the development and improvement of science itself, i.e. obtaining new scientific knowledge, and the purpose of applied research is to solve a specific social problem... Thus, if fundamental research allows one to discover the laws of a particular phenomenon, then applied research is to develop specific ways of transforming the social situation. Knowledge about society obtained in the course of fundamental research is of purely scientific, or academic, interest, and applied research is usually pragmatic in nature.

The results of fundamental research are addressed to the scientific community, and applied research results are addressed to a specific customer, who, with their help, intends to solve a specific problem. Applied research is conducted at the request of management and addresses issues requiring consistent, often long-term management interventions. It should be emphasized that fundamental research can be both theoretical and empirical. Applied sociological research is usually empirical.

3. Qualitative methods of collecting sociological information

The second group of methods for obtaining sociological information includes qualitative research methods. The object of sociological analysis here is individuals as performers of social roles. The main goal of qualitative methods is to study social phenomena and processes from the point of view of the acting individual as the beginning of any sociality. A sociologist-researcher here must certainly "plunge" into the world of personal meanings of the people under study, understand the motives and goals of their actions, their explanations of what is happening, in order to then construct a theory. The theoretical basis of these methods is the views of M. Weber and his "understanding" sociology. The qualitative methods (types, strategies) of sociological research include:

- "case study" (case study);

Ethnographic type research;

- "oral history" (oral history);

- "grounded theory" (grounded theory, or ascent to theory);

- "life story".

The most fundamental research in the history of the qualitative method is the classic study by W. Thomas and F. Znaniecki "The Polish Peasant in Europe and America." The central theoretical question of the research is: why a certain social value (life in America) produced just such an effect on some subjects and did not lead to the same result in its influence on other subjects? Over the years, scientists have collected personal documents from Poles (764 letters) and conducted a series of in-depth interviews. Only one interview with the main character, Vladek, was 300 pages long. They also analyzed newspaper materials about Polish peasants, Polish archives and many documents from American social migration agencies.

4. Comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative methods

Quantitative methods are methods used in sociological research with the aim of testing previously put forward hypotheses using formalized methods and measurement procedures.

Qualitative methods are methods used in sociology for a deep understanding and explanation of social phenomena, where the object of study is people in specific life situations in everyday interaction.

Comparison of quantitative and qualitative methods:

1. Purpose:

Quantitative: a macrosociological study.

Qualitative: microsociological research.

2. Purpose of application:

Quantitative: explanation of the causes of the phenomenon under study.

Qualitative: understanding of the phenomenon being studied.

3. Research tasks:

Quantitative:

Changing the parameters of the phenomenon;

Establishing a relationship between these parameters.

Qualitative:

Revealing the general picture of the phenomenon;

Interpretation of the phenomenon.

4. Position of the researcher:

Quantitative: bystander.

Qualitative: sympathetic participant.

5. Focus of research:

Quantitative: social structures and institutions, general social processes, objective factors.

Qualitative: the focus is on the person himself, on special private processes and subjective factors.

6. Hypotheses are formed:

Quantitative: there is in advance.

Qualitative: as you master the data.

7. Analysis logic:

Quantitative: deductive.

Qualitative: induction.

8. The research data are presented in the form:

Quantitative: statistical indicators and indices.

Qualitative: various statements, documents, discussions.

9. Research style:

Quantitative: hard cold.

Qualitative: soft warm.

More detailed comparative analysis quantitative and qualitative methods are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

Methodological differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches

Quantitative approach	Qualitative approach
Theoretical and methodological base
Realism. Reliable, objective knowledge. Description of the logical connections between individual parameters.	Phenomenology. Relativism. Description of the general picture of the event or phenomenon.
Focus of analysis
General, general, macroanalysis. Classification by identifying events, cases. Focus on structure; external, objective.	Special, particular, microanalysis. Description of events, cases. The focus is on the person; internal, subjective.
Analysis units
Facts, events.	Subjective meanings, feelings.
Research goals, objectives
Give a causal explanation. Measure relationships.	Interpret, understand the observed, conceptualize.
Hard, cold. Systematization.	Soft, warm. Imagination, idea of ​​...
Validity (reliability)
Reliable repetition of established relationships.	Real saturation of information
Analysis logic
Deductive: from abstractions to facts through the operationalization of concepts.	Inductive: from facts from life stories, etc. to concepts.

There are no insurmountable boundaries between the two groups of methods. Several methods of empirical sociological research are used in both quantitative and qualitative approaches. These methods include:

Interview, which is formalized (quantitative) and free, or in-depth (qualitative);

Observation is subdivided into the non-included structured (quantitative) and the included structureless (qualitative);

Analysis of documents, the quantitative varieties of which are statistical, informative-target and content analysis; qualitative varieties - in-depth (stylistic) and method of studying human documents.

In some studies, scientists resort to parallel or sequential use of qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Conclusion

Thus, conducting a sociological research is a process saturated with different types of work, scientific procedures and operations. Every sociologist should take care of a reliable theoretical basis for research, think over its general logic, develop methodological documents for collecting information, form a research group of people capable of understanding social phenomena and processes, and analyzing sociological data.

It is necessary to provide for organizational and material and technical support, to be ready to promptly resolve emerging issues. In a word, a sociological study is carried out when there is confidence that the entire volume of necessary work has been completed in accordance with the scientific requirements imposed on them.

Summing up the results of this work, we can say that each of the considered methods of obtaining primary information has its own advantages and disadvantages. And the use of one method or another depends, first of all, on the specific characteristics of the object of research.

Thus, we can say that each sociologist, before starting the collection of primary information, must, firstly, determine the object of research, secondly, with its goals and objectives, and thirdly, know the features of human psychology (non-verbal behavior ).

List of used literature

1. Zborovsky, G.E. General Sociology: Textbook. - M .: Gardariki, 2004.
2. Kravchenko, A.I. Sociology. Textbook. - M., 2001.
3. Sociology: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. V.N. Lavrienko. - 3rd ed. revised and add. - M .: UNITY-DANA, 2006.

Introduction

Social processes and phenomena are complex, multivariate, have various forms manifestations. Every sociologist is faced with the problem of how to objectively study a particular social phenomenon, how to collect reliable information about it.

What is this information? It is customary to understand it as a set of knowledge, messages, information, data obtained by a sociologist from various sources both objective and subjective. In a concise, laconic form, the main requirements for primary sociological information can be reduced to its completeness, representativeness (representativeness), reliability, reliability, and validity. Obtaining such information is one of the reliable guarantees of the truthfulness, evidence, and validity of sociological conclusions. All this is important because a sociologist deals with people's opinions, their assessments, personal perception of phenomena and processes, i.e. that which is subjective in nature. Moreover, people's opinions are often based on rumors, prejudices, and stereotypes. In such conditions, it is especially important to use methods that lead to the receipt of truthful, undistorted, reliable primary information.

To do this, you need to study each of the methods for obtaining primary information, identify its main advantages and disadvantages in comparison with others, and determine the scope of their application. These aspects will be the main objectives of this work. The role of non-verbal behavior in conducting group focused interviews will also be determined, and what importance sociologists themselves attach to this behavior.

1. Basic methods of collecting sociological information

Each science that studies human behavior has developed its own scientific traditions and accumulated its own empirical experience. And each of them, being one of the branches social science, can be defined in terms of the method that she predominantly uses.

A method in sociology is called a system of principles and methods of constructing sociological (empirical and theoretical) knowledge, which provides knowledge about society and about social behavior individuals.

On the basis of this definition, one can clearly formulate what the methods of collecting primary sociological information are. Methods for collecting primary sociological information are special procedures and operations that are repeated when conducting sociological studies of various goals and objectives and aimed at establishing specific social facts.

In sociology, when collecting primary data, four main methods are used, and each of them has two main types:

Poll (questionnaires and interviews);

Document analysis (qualitative and quantitative (content analysis));

Surveillance (not included and included);

Experiment (controlled and uncontrolled).

1.1 Survey

One of the main in sociology is the survey method. For many people, the concept of sociology is based on the use of this particular method. However, it is not an invention of sociologists. Much earlier it was used by doctors, teachers, and lawyers. Until now, the "classic" division of the lesson into questioning and explanation of new material has been preserved. However, sociology has given the polling method a new breath, a second life. And she did it so convincingly that now no one has any doubts about the true "sociological character" of the described method.

A sociological survey is a method of obtaining primary sociological information based on direct or indirect communication between the researcher and the respondent in order to obtain the necessary data from the latter in the form of answers to the questions posed. Thanks to the survey, you can get information about social facts, events, and opinions and assessments of people. In other words, this is information about objective phenomena and processes, on the one hand, and about the subjective state of people, on the other.

A survey is a form of socio-psychological communication between a sociologist (researcher) and a subject (respondent), thanks to which it becomes possible to quickly obtain significant information from many people on a wide range of issues of interest to the researcher. This is the essential merit of the survey method. Moreover, it can be used in relation to almost any segment of the population. To use the survey as a research method to be effective, it is important to know what to ask about, how to ask, and at the same time to be sure that the answers received can be trusted. The observance of these three basic conditions distinguishes professional sociologists from amateurs, amateurs of conducting polls, the number of which has grown sharply in inverse proportion to the confidence in the results obtained by them.

The survey results depend on a number of circumstances:

The psychological state of the respondent at the time of the survey;

Survey situations (conditions that should be favorable for communication);

There are many types of surveys, among which the main ones are considered to be written (questionnaire) and oral (interviewing).

Let's start with a survey. Questioning is a written form of a survey, carried out, as a rule, in absentia, i.e. without direct and direct contact between the interviewer and the respondent. Filling out the questionnaires takes place either in the presence of the questioner, or without him. In terms of the form of its conduct, it can be group and individual. The group questionnaire is widely used at the place of study, work, that is, where a significant number of people need to be interviewed in a short time. Usually one interviewer works with a group of 15-20 people. This ensures complete (or almost complete) returnability of the questionnaires, which cannot be said about the individual questionnaires. This method of conducting the survey involves filling out the questionnaire by the respondent one-on-one with the questionnaire. A person has the opportunity to calmly reflect on the questions without feeling the "closeness" of his comrades and the questionnaire (the case when the questionnaires are distributed in advance and the respondent fills them in at home and after a while returns them back). The main disadvantage of individual questionnaires is that not all respondents return the questionnaires. The questionnaire is also full-time and part-time. The most common forms of the latter are postal poll, poll through the newspaper.

The written survey is carried out using questionnaires. A questionnaire is a system of questions, united by a single concept, and aimed at identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the object and the subject of analysis. It includes an ordered list of questions, which the respondent answers independently in accordance with the specified rules. The questionnaire has a certain structure, i.e. composition, structure. It consists of an introductory part, a main part and a conclusion, i.e. from the preamble-instructional section, questionnaire, "passport", respectively. In the conditions of correspondence communication with the respondent, the preamble is the only means of motivating the respondent to fill out the questionnaire, forming his attitude towards the sincerity of the answers. In addition, the preamble states who conducts the survey and why, provides the necessary comments and instructions for the respondent's work with the questionnaire.

A type of survey, which is a focused conversation between the researcher (interviewer) and the respondent (interviewee) in order to obtain the necessary information, is called an interview. The form of face-to-face interviewing, in which the researcher is in direct contact with the respondent, is interviewing.

Interviews are usually used, firstly, at an early stage of research to clarify the problem and develop a program; secondly, when interviewing experts, specialists who are deeply versed in a particular issue; thirdly, as the most flexible method to take into account the personality traits of the respondent.

An interview is, first of all, the interaction of two people bound by special norms of behavior: the interviewer should not express any judgments about the answers and is obliged to ensure their confidentiality; respondents, in turn, must answer the questions truthfully and thoughtfully. In ordinary conversation, we may ignore unpleasant questions or give ambiguous, irrelevant answers, or answer a question with a question. However, when interviewing, it is more difficult to get away from the question in these ways. An experienced interviewer will either repeat the question or try to lead the respondent to an unambiguous and appropriate answer.

The interview can be conducted at the place of work (study) or at home, depending on the nature of the problem and the goal. At the place of study or work, it is better to discuss issues of an educational or industrial nature. But such an environment is not conducive to frankness and trust. They are more successful in a home environment.

According to the technique of conducting interviews, they are divided into free, standardized and semi-standardized. A free interview is a rather lengthy conversation without strict detailing of questions, according to the general program. Here only the topic is indicated, it is proposed to the respondent for discussion. The direction of the conversation develops already in the course of the survey. The interviewer freely determines the form and method of conducting the conversation, what problems he will touch upon, what questions to ask, taking into account the capabilities of the respondent himself. The respondent is free to choose the form of the answer.

A standardized interview presupposes a detailed development of the entire survey procedure, i.e. includes a general plan of the conversation, a sequence of questions, options for possible answers. The interviewer cannot change either the form of the questions or their sequence. This type of interview is used in mass polls, the purpose of which is to obtain information of the same type, suitable for subsequent statistical processing. A standardized interview is often used when it is physically difficult for a person to fill out a questionnaire (he is standing at a machine or at a conveyor belt).