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Method of sociological survey and scope of its application

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 SURVEY METHODS IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

1.1 Sociological survey

1.2 Typology of survey methods

CHAPTER 2 THE ROLE OF SURVEY METHODS IN THE STUDY OF SOCIAL REALITIES

2.1 Areas of application

2.2 Studying the degree of importance of the maintenance of security in an educational institution and the quality of its work through studying the opinions of parents using a questionnaire survey

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

At the first stages of the development of sociology, its techniques and methods of understanding reality differed little from those used by already existing sciences - philosophy, law, history. However, even at this stage, sociology was focused on the study of specific data, “tangible” information, which, as in the exact sciences, could receive both qualitative and quantitative interpretation.

Sociology gradually accumulated its methods of knowledge, especially when it came to empirical research. The processes taking place in the modern world, deep and radical changes in all areas public life require more adequate scientific support. In this regard, the growth and importance applied sociology, and the current use of one of its main methods - surveys - are becoming particularly relevant.

The relevance of studying the problem of using the survey method is also due to the need to improve the very theory and practice of sociological research, based on existing experience, regional specifics and other circumstances.

The object of the study is the survey method as a sociological method.

The subject of the study is the content, typology and scope of application.

The purpose of the study is to determine the specifics and factors of effectiveness of using the survey method as a tool for sociological research.

To achieve the research goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

· reveal the theoretical and methodological basis of the survey method in sociological research;

· typologize survey methods;

· consider the scope of application of survey methods.

The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the provisions contained in the works of domestic scientists: Moreva V.A. Morev V.A. Questioning and interviewing in sociological research.//Sociology: methodology, methods, mathematical models - 2006.- No. 7; Osipov G.V. A sociologist’s workbook. - 4th ed., - M.: KomKniga - 2006; Zborovsky G.E. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Moscow: Gardariki - 2004; Babosov E.M. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Minsk: TetraSystems - 2000; Tavokin E.P. Fundamentals of sociological research methodology: textbook. allowance. - M.: INFRA-M - 2009; Puzanova Zh.V., Trotsuk I.V., Vitkovskaya M.I. Workshop on the course “Methodology and methodology of sociological research” - M.: Publishing House“Higher Education and Science” - 2007. , Osipova G.V., Zborovsky G.E., Babosova E.M., according to this issue and the dialectical method of cognition, which involves considering the phenomenon being studied in a comprehensive manner. Tavokin E.P. was involved in the development of the survey and its main stages of implementation. Puzanova Zh.V., Trotsuk I.V., Vitkovskaya M.I. made a great contribution to the development of methods. The study also found application of axiological, system-activity methods, and other methods scientific knowledge social reality.

  • This course work consists of two chapters, each of which includes two paragraphs. The work begins with an introduction, then a description of the work itself, and at the end a conclusion, and a list of references consisting of twenty-three sources.

CHAPTER 1Survey methodsin sociologicalAndinvestigatedII

1.1 Sociologicalsurvey

One of the main and most popular in sociology is the survey method. Surveys are conducted by sociologists so often that they are beginning to be regarded as the main and almost the only method of empirical sociology. For many people in everyday life, the idea of ​​sociology is associated precisely with this method.

The survey method is a psychological verbal-communicative method that involves interaction between the interviewer and the respondents by obtaining answers from the subject to pre-formulated questions. In other words, a survey is a communication between the interviewer and the respondent, in which the main instrument is a pre-formulated question V. V. Nikandrov. Verbal communicative methods in psychology. - St. Petersburg: Rech - 2002. - P. 89 - 91. .

A sociological survey is a method of obtaining primary sociological information, based on a direct or indirect connection between the researcher and the respondent in order to obtain from the latter the necessary data in the form of answers to the questions asked Zborovsky G.E. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Moscow: Gardariki - 2004.- P.121 -122. .

A survey can be considered as one of the most common methods of obtaining information about subjects - survey respondents. A survey involves asking people special issues, the answers to which allow the researcher to obtain the necessary information depending on the objectives of the study. One of the peculiarities of the survey is its widespread nature, which is caused by the specifics of the tasks that it solves. The mass character is due to the fact that a psychologist, as a rule, needs to obtain information about a group of individuals, and not study an individual representative.

The subjects of the sociological survey are social institutions (government, management, science) and various population groups (socio-demographic, regional, professional, etc.) Babosov E.M. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Minsk: TetraSystems - 2000.- P.231 -241. .

Surveys are divided into standardized and non-standardized. Standardized surveys can be thought of as rigorous surveys that primarily provide general idea about the problem under study. Non-standardized surveys are less strict than standardized ones; they do not have strict boundaries. They allow the researcher's behavior to vary depending on the respondents' reactions to the questions.

When creating surveys, first, program questions are formulated that correspond to the solution of the problem, but which are understandable only to specialists. Then these questions are translated into questionnaires, which are formulated in a language accessible to a non-specialist O.M. Maslova. Cognitive capabilities of the survey method/Methods of collecting information in sociological research. Sociological survey / Sub. ed. V.G.Andreenkova and O.M.Maslova. M.: Science - 2004.- P.49-64. .

In most cases, the predominance of the survey method is due to the characteristics of the subjects being studied. social phenomena and processes, In particular, in such areas of research as the study of public opinion, demand conditions for certain types of goods, professional guidance for young people, audiences mass media, electoral preferences of certain groups of the population, it is the survey that has traditionally been the leading method of collecting empirical sociological data 55 Babosov E.M. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Minsk: TetraSystems - 2000.- P.362 -363. .

The main purpose of sociological surveys is to obtain information about people’s opinions, their motives and assessments of social phenomena, about phenomena and states of social, group and individual consciousness. Since these opinions, motives and phenomena are properties of objects studied by sociology, surveys provide the necessary information about them. The significance of surveys increases if there is not sufficient documentary information about the phenomenon being studied, if it is not accessible to direct observation or is not amenable to experiment. In such situations, a survey can become the main method of collecting information, but must be supplemented by other research techniques.

Do not think that the research possibilities of surveys are limitless. Data obtained by survey methods express the subjective opinions of those surveyed (respondents). They need to be compared with information of an objective nature, which must be produced in other ways.

Surveys provide the greatest research effect only in combination with either content analysis, observation, experiment, or other methods.

Survey methods are very diverse. Along with the well-known questioning, they are expressed in the form of interviews, postal, telephone, press, fax, expert and other surveys.

Any sociological survey cannot be conducted until it becomes extremely clear why and how it should be done. In other words, the survey should be preceded by the development research program, clear definition goals, objectives, concepts (categories of analysis), hypotheses, object and subject, as well as sampling and research tools.

Each survey involves an ordered set of questions (questionnaire) that serves to achieve the purpose of the study, solve its problems, prove and refute its hypotheses. The wording of questions must be carefully thought out in many ways, but primarily as a way of capturing the categories of analysis.

A sociological survey loses much of its meaning if respondents' responses are not analyzed in terms of their social and demographic characteristics. Therefore, it involves necessarily filling out a “passport”, where the data about each respondent is entered, the need for which is again dictated by the research program.

The specificity of the method is that when it is used, the source of primary sociological information is a person (respondent) - a direct participant in the research social processes and phenomena 66 Maslova O.M. Cognitive capabilities of the survey method/Methods of collecting information in sociological research. Sociological survey / Sub. ed. V.G.Andreenkova and O.M.Maslova. M.: Nauka- 2004.- P.67. .

Peculiarity sociological method, the research consists of two fundamental points: first, it allows you to formalize the method of collecting social information. What others are like humanities spend many years of labor and money, a sociologist can do in a few days, and at the same time obtain relatively cheap and objective information. Secondly, the sociological research method allows, by conceptually recording a phenomenon in the process of its development, to verify the resulting conceptual constructs, albeit relative to its previous stage, i.e., recording as an after fact. But this allows us to quite successfully predict and, accordingly, plan our activities and even design some social processes.

The survey method is the most famous and widespread in sociological research. He is very popular. To understand it in more detail, consider its typology.

1.2 Typologysurveynew methods

Let's consider several points of view on the typology of survey methods.

Famous English politician and the scientist John Selden (1584-1654) developed "straw polls". Now, when speaking about straw polls, we usually mean surveys conducted using simplified schemes, non-representative samples, which do not take into account the influence of many factors. But it would be a mistake to be only critical of those early polls. They not only performed important social and cultural functions, but became the starting point for the development of “scientific” methods for studying public opinion 77 Doctors B.Z. Towards an attempt to define the space of American methodological research survey technologies // Sociology: methodology, methods, mathematical models. 2005. No. 20.-P.10-31. .

In the second half of the 1930s, the civic and research positions were most clearly articulated by Archibald Crossley (1896-1985).

Archibald Crossley considered postal and telephone surveys to be the main survey methods. Since with the help of them he studied radio audiences, and thereby fulfilled certain orders. Crossley's telephone surveys were both radio audience measurements and public opinion polls of 88 Doctors B.Z. Enriched public opinion: a concept social practice, learning experience // Monitoring of public opinion. 2004. No. 3. -P.58-70. .

At the end of the twentieth century, Butenko I.A. considered a questionnaire survey as direct communication between a sociologist and respondents.

A questionnaire survey is a method of collecting information about the object being studied during indirect (questioning) communication between the interviewer and the person being interviewed (respondent) by recording the respondent’s answers to questions arising from the goals and objectives of the study 99 Sikevich Z. V. Sociological research: a practical guide. - St. Petersburg: Peter - 2005.- P.120. .

The questionnaire survey takes place in three stages:

· preparatory stage (including the development of a survey program, drawing up a plan and network schedule of work, designing tools, pilot testing them, reproducing tools, drawing up instructions for the questionnaire, respondent and other persons participating in the survey, selecting and training interviewers, questionnaires, solving organizational problems) .

· operational stage - the survey process itself, which has its own stages of phased implementation;

· the resulting stage is the processing of the received information. Based on the structure of the method, its characteristics are determined, which includes a number of requirements for the initial documents of the questionnaire survey, for the questionnaire, for the respondent and for the tools themselves (for the questionnaire, questionnaire) 110 Andreenkov V.G. Methods of collecting information in sociological research: textbook. allowance. - M.: Science - 2002.- P.47-48. 0 .

The main means of communication when conducting a survey is a questionnaire.

Both the compilation of the questionnaire and the methods of working with it have their own methodological techniques and characteristics, the observance of which is a necessary condition for the successful implementation of this method, aimed at obtaining reliable information.

Each specific sociological study requires the creation of a special questionnaire, but they all have a common structure. Any questionnaire includes three main parts:

· introductory;

· final part (passport);

Practice shows that a questionnaire that requires more than 45 minutes to fill out contains more random or insufficient information. Therefore, the optimal time for filling out the questionnaire is 35-45 minutes (which corresponds to 25-30 questions on the research topic).

Drawing up a questionnaire involves checking, testing, and clarifying it 115 Andreenkov V.G. Methods of collecting information in sociological research: textbook. allowance. - M.: Science - 2002.- P.55-57. 5 .

A pilot study is conducted to assess the quality of the questionnaire. During it, the content of the questionnaire, the wording and sequence of questions, answer options, etc. are checked. All this allows us to identify shortcomings in the tools, correct them and adapt the questionnaire to mass work.

After collecting the questionnaires, their processing and data analysis begin.

Thus, questionnaire is the most important method of collecting primary information in social research. The main criterion characterizing research conducted using the survey method is reliability, i.e. reproducibility of the results obtained. When a survey is conducted correctly using formalized questionnaires, a high degree of reliability of the primary information is automatically achieved. In sociological research there are quantitative and qualitative methods; the quantitative method includes questioning, and the qualitative method includes such a method of sociological research as interviews

Sociological interviews have a wide range of applications; they are used at the preparatory stage of research; when conducting a pilot study for the purpose of adjusting and testing social tools; as an independent research method (today one of the main ones) and as a way to control the reliability of information obtained by other methods of social research 116 Morev V.A. Questioning and interviewing in sociological research.//Sociology: methodology, methods, mathematical models - 2006.- No. 7.- P.20-21. 6.

An interview is the most flexible method of collecting social information, involving a conversation based on direct, personal contact between the sociologist and the respondent.

Interviewing has its own specifics compared to questioning.

The main difference lies in the way the sociologist and the respondent communicate. When conducting a survey, it is completely mediated by the questionnaire: the surveyor is passive, the content and meaning of the questions are interpreted by the respondent himself in accordance with the ideas and beliefs that he has formed regarding the essence of the problem being discussed. The respondent independently formulates his answer and records it in the questionnaire. When conducting a sociological interview, contact between the sociologist-interviewer and the interviewee is carried out directly; the interviewer organizes the interview, asks questions, conducts the conversation, directs it, and records the answers received. The interviewer can clarify the wording of the questions asked if the respondent does not understand them, and also clarify the respondent’s point of view, ask him for additional information in order to adequately, accurately present it in the questionnaire (which is impossible during a questionnaire) 117 Morev V.A. Questioning and interviewing in sociological research.//Sociology: methodology, methods, mathematical models - 2006.- No. 7.- P.22. 7.

At the same time, it is obvious that to obtain the same amount of information in the case of the interview method, much more time will be spent than in the questionnaire method.

Ensuring the anonymity of the conversation becomes problematic.

Based on the degree of formalization, the following types of interviews can be distinguished:

· not a standardized interview. It assumes the absence of strict detail in the behavior of the sociologist and the respondent during the interview. The sociologist develops a questionnaire for the interview and its plan, which provides for a certain sequence and wording of questions in open form. The interviewer asks questions strictly in accordance with the reference sheet, and the respondent gives an answer in free form, which is precisely recorded by the interviewer. This type of interview is difficult for both the respondent and the interviewer. Subsequent processing and coding of materials is also difficult. This determines the infrequent use of this type of interview in practice.

· a standardized interview involves a conversation based on a rigidly fixed questionnaire, where the options for answers to the question posed are also clearly presented. In a standard interview, closed questions usually predominate. IN in this case The interviewer, from memory, asks questions to the respondent in a strictly defined sequence, and identifies the answers received from the respondent with one of the proposed answers to the question in the questionnaire. The difficulty lies in the impossibility of asking the respondent a large number of questions.

· A semi-standardized interview involves a combination of the features of a standardized and non-standardized interview.

For other reasons, the types of interviews mostly coincide with those discussed in the analysis of the questionnaire 118 Zagvyazinsky V.I., Atakhanov R. Methodology and methods of psychological and pedagogical research: Textbook. aid for students higher ped. textbook establishments. - M.: “Academy” - 2005. - P.112-114. 8 .

Preparation for interviews is usually divided into general and specific. General preparation means preparation for interviewing in general, and specific preparation means preparatory work for conducting interviews during a specific sociological study. The professional qualities of interviewers specializing in informal interviews differ from the professional qualities of interviewers conducting formal interviews.

The main difference is that in formal interviews the interviewers do not have to be qualified sociologists. But this does not mean in any way that anyone can conduct an interview. Certain qualities must necessarily be present 119 Gottlieb A. S. Introduction to sociological research: qualitative and quantitative approaches: methodology, research practices: textbook allowance. - M.: Flinta: MPSI - 2005. - P.254 -255. 9 .

The qualities of a good interviewer consist of:

· his individual abilities,

· mastery of the methodology.

General sociological training is required only if an informal interview or an interview with a low degree of formalization is conducted. These qualities are in a certain relationship with each other, mutually complementing and reinforcing each other.

The process of practical interview training is apparently a process of recording and recognizing errors. Of course, the number of mistakes interviewers make can be very large, but most of them come down to the following three types:

· errors that violate the psychological contact between the interviewer and the respondent, as a result of which the respondent “closes in on himself”;

· errors that entail distortion of the information reported by the respondent (when the respondent reports something other than what he thinks, hides something, etc.;

· errors leading to the provision of irrelevant (not related to the purpose of the interview) messages; (although this aspect is most typical for non-standardized types of interviews) 220 Zagvyazinsky V.I., Atakhanov R. Methodology and methods of psychological and pedagogical research: Textbook. aid for students higher ped. textbook establishments. - M.: “Academy” - 2005. - P.116 -119. 0 .

Conducting an interview requires organizational preparation, which involves choosing the place and time of the interview. The location of the interview is determined by the specifics of the subject of study. In any case, the environment in which the interview is conducted should be calm and confidential, i.e. without the presence of unauthorized persons at a time convenient for the respondent. The work of the interviewer himself involves the following tasks:

· establishing contact with respondents;

· correct formulation of interview questions;

· Correct recording of answers.

After completing work at the site to collect social information, the interviewer must submit the following documents to the research center: completed forms, interviews, route sheets, work reports.

After checking all these documents, a special analysis of the interview forms begins in order to obtain generalized information about the phenomenon being studied 221 Gottlieb A. S. Introduction to sociological research: qualitative and quantitative approaches: methodology, research practices: textbook. allowance. - M.: Flinta: MPSI - 2005. - P.260. 1 .

A telephone survey is one of the most efficient and inexpensive survey methods, which allows you to find out the opinions of various groups of the population on almost any issue 222 Novikova S.S., Solovyov A.V. Sociological and psychological research methods in social work. - M., 2005.- P.78. 2.

Telephone surveys vary according to the type of respondents:

· interviews with individuals;

· interviews with legal entities.

Conducting a telephone interview includes several stages:

· development of questionnaires - sampling. The sample can be representative (completely corresponding in its characteristics to the general population, but smaller in size) or targeted (when only people meeting certain criteria are interviewed);

· the search for respondents required for the survey is carried out using a list of telephone numbers. A list of telephone numbers of different automatic telephone exchanges is compiled, as a rule, by a special computer program in advance, with a certain step, depending on the sample size;

· training of interviewers;

· field research and quality control.

A telephone survey is conducted by specially trained interviewers who enter the respondent’s answers into a questionnaire (printed or electronic, on a monitor screen). Processing of questionnaires, construction of charts, tables and distributions: data received from respondents are subjected to statistical processing and analysis 223 Novikova S.S., Solovyov A.V. Sociological and psychological research methods in social work. - M., 2005.- P.80 -81. 3.

Based on the survey results, the customer is provided with a report containing graphs and tables with the distribution of responses of various consumer groups to the questions of the research questionnaire, as well as the main conclusions.

The following restrictions apply to telephone surveys. Conducting telephone interviews with a representative sample is possible only in those settlements where the telephone penetration level is more than 75%. Otherwise, the information received will be unreliable.

In the case of a telephone survey legal entities there is an opportunity to receive operational information on questions that can be answered by low-ranking employees in organizations (secretary, assistant, operator, etc.) 224 Novikova S.S., Solovyov A.V. Sociological and psychological research methods in social work. - M., 2005.- P.84 -86. 4 .

Telephone surveys have both advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantages of a telephone survey:

· short duration: the average duration of an interview should not be more than 15 minutes. Therefore, it is impossible to collect in-depth information or opinions of respondents on a wide range of issues using the telephone;

· restrictions on the number and complexity of questions in the interview;

· impossibility of presenting visual information to respondents;

· when conducting a telephone survey of legal entities, it is almost impossible to obtain reliable information on some issues, especially if they relate to the income of the company, its suppliers and clients;

· Telephone surveys are generally not suitable for interviewing senior executives.

The main advantages of a telephone survey:

· relative cheapness (compared to other methods);

· efficiency of data acquisition;

· ability to control the work of interviewers.

An expert survey is a type of survey in which the respondents are experts in a certain field of activity. A distinctive feature of this method is that it assumes the competent participation of experts in the analysis and solution of research problems. In the survey of experts, procedures of other methods are quite widely used, in particular methods of information analysis and decision-making 225 Kuznetsov I. N. Technologies of sociological research: educational and methodological. allowance. - M.: ICC “MarT”; Rostov n/a: Publishing center "MarT" - 2005. - P.44-48. 5 .

The main purpose of the method is to identify the most significant, complex aspects of the problem under study, increase reliability, substantiate information, conclusions and practical recommendations through the use of expert knowledge and experience.

The scope of application of an expert survey is in the study of all areas of activity, in diagnostics, forecasting, programming and standardization, in design, in assessing the condition of a social object, in decision making.

Varieties of expert surveys are also quite effectively used at all stages of applied sociological research in determining goals and objectives, problems, in constructing hypotheses, in collecting and analyzing information, and in developing practical recommendations.

Limitations in the use of this survey method - expert survey data need to be compared with objective information obtained by other methods.

The method of expert assessments is one of the types of expert surveys that involves the use of expert assessments. The main content of the method is the rational organization by experts of the analysis of problems with the subsequent assessment of the judgments identified by the researcher and the processing of the data obtained 226 Kuznetsov I. N. Technologies of sociological research: educational and methodological. allowance. - M.: ICC “MarT”; Rostov n/d: Publishing center “MarT” - 2005. - P.48-50. 6.

Basic regulatory requirements in application this method survey - careful selection of experts (assessment of the reliability and accuracy of the information they provide), creation of conditions for the most productive use of experts during the study, preservation of expert information without distortion at all stages of the study, taking into account factors influencing the judgments of experts.

Let us note a number of other features of the expert survey. Some methodological and technical techniques that are widely used in mass surveys lose their significance when surveying such a specific audience as experts. As a rule, mass surveys are anonymous. In expert surveys, this loses its meaning, because experts must be fully aware of the problems that are solved in the course of research with their help. Therefore, there is no need to use indirect or control questions, tests or any other techniques in an expert questionnaire aimed at identifying the “hidden” positions of the respondent. Moreover, the use of such techniques can cause significant damage to the quality of expert assessment. Expert in in every sense of this word - an active participant in scientific research. And an attempt to hide the purpose of the research from him, thus turning it into passive source information is fraught with the loss of his trust in the organizers of the study. Unlike a mass survey, the expert survey program is not as detailed and is predominantly conceptual in nature. In it, first of all, the phenomenon to be predicted is unambiguously formulated, possible variants of its outcome are provided in the form of hypotheses 227 Kuznetsov I. N. Technologies of sociological research: educational and methodological. allowance. - M.: ICC “MarT”; Rostov n/a: Publishing center “MarT” - 2005. - P.50-51. 7.

In accordance with the degree of development of hypotheses, certain types of questions are included in the research tools. If the researcher has information only about possible options for the outcome of the predicted phenomenon and finds it difficult to unambiguously formulate their causes, then it is preferable to use open-ended questions in the expert’s questionnaire with complete freedom to choose the form of the answer.

sociological survey research questionnaire

chapter 2.THE ROLE OF SURVEY METHODS IN THE STUDY OF SOCIAL REALITIES

2.1 WITHpheresapplications

Sociological methods occupy a special place in the tools for studying social systems and processes.

The developed system of theoretical, methodological and practical recommendations for the effective use of the survey method can be used by practicing sociologists when studying various economic, social, political and cultural problems of modern society.

The theoretical materials of this study can also find their application in the educational process when developing special theoretical courses.

In all branches of science, where a researcher turns to a person with questions to obtain information, he deals with various modifications of this method. For example, doctors, finding out the course of the disease and the previous state of health of the patient, conduct anamnestic surveys. Lawyers, when ascertaining the circumstances of a case from witnesses, also use the survey method and specifically study it psychological aspects and the ability to assess the reliability of responses.

Journalists, teachers, social security workers and many other areas of social practice use this method to obtain the information they are interested in 44 Zborovsky G.E. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Moscow: Gardariki - 2004.- P.120. .

Sociological methods make it possible to more fully present the picture of the reality under study, which includes, along with the objective characteristics of the external object, value orientations, interests and established stereotypes.

Scope of questioning: survey is the leading method in studying the sphere of people's consciousness. The importance of this method especially increases in the study of socio-psychological phenomena and processes that are inaccessible to direct observation, as well as in cases where the area under study is poorly provided with documentary information. It is most effective when used in combination with other methods. Varieties of surveys can be used at all stages of applied psychological research.

The expert survey method is used in various areas of sociological research along with other traditional methods of collecting information.

Sociological methods provide accurate insights into the state and dynamics of social systems.

The main goal of sociology as a science is to explain and predict behavior social subjects in certain conditions, features of the artificial construction of these conditions and diagnostics of the nature of relationships within a social community 228 Radugin A.A., Radugin K.A. Sociology: a course of lectures. 2nd edition, revised and expanded. - M.: Center - 2002.- P.8-9. 8 .

Sociological research is designed to determine the adequacy of social conditions to the goals established within these communities.

The key areas of practical application of sociological methods in the study of socio-economic and political processes are:

1. Identification of factors influencing the manifestation and change

parameters of a social object. For example, the managerial task of strengthening work motivation should be accompanied by identifying factors that in a certain way influence motivational activity at a given moment, restraining or stimulating this activity.

2. Determination of factors that form the structure of consumer demand and are taken into account in the practice of marketing research.

3. Preparation and implementation of management decisions. In management practice, much depends on how decisions are made in social groups and how much the orientations of the social group contribute to the tasks assigned to it.

4. Determination of interpersonal relationships in social groups, designed to ensure effective interaction between members of work teams when performing production tasks.

5. Identification of value orientations of individuals and social groups involved in achieving socially significant goals - an activity that requires the presence of a single center of coordination and management control. The commonality of people’s value orientations ensures best conditions to organize them joint activities and strengthening the efficiency of management activities.

6. Testing public opinion for its political and social orientations.

7. Expert assessment of projects and programs, allowing to make the optimal choice of alternative methods of implementation.

8. Diagnostics of the state and functioning of social systems.

The solution to the assigned tasks should be ensured through three main sections: preparation sociological research programs; organizing and conducting surveys, interviews and developing a scheme for summarizing and processing data 229 Grechikhin V.G. Lectures on the methodology and technology of sociological research. - M.: Mysl - 2006. - P.25. 9 .

Survey data is increasingly replacing data from documentary and accounting sources (traditionally dominant in the statistics of government bodies, which, however, are increasingly using survey methods), are more actively used in journalism (reducing the share of personal impressions and ordinary communication with people), and are replacing traditional methods of assessing business processes for recording transactions, turn out to be a means of controlling silent individual expression of will (voting in elections and referendums), become a simplified form of manifestation of the debatability of problems (one of the elements of various “forums” on the Internet), etc. Surveys of the population and business entities (most often, business managers) have been used in recent decades as a fairly inexpensive source of data that complements documentary statistics, primarily in two areas: to identify phenomena unobserved by statistical authorities (including the so-called “shadow sphere”, ) and to assess the socio-economic situation in the context of social groups or groups of economic entities, the recording of membership to which is not provided for in the forms of statistical accounting.

Thus, the area of ​​application of sociological methods is the study of value orientations of members of social communities in relation to various phenomena, the study of which makes it possible to identify trends in the development of society and determine measures of effective influence on members of these communities.

2.2 Studying the degree of importance of the content of security in an educational institution and the quality of its work through studying the opinions of parents using the method questionnaire

Problem: the degree of importance of the content of security in an educational institution and the quality of its work. Hypothesis: parents experience a certain degree of distrust in the security service in an educational institution.

Object of study: parents with school-age children.

Purpose of the study: parents’ assessment of the quality of security service activities in an educational institution.

Objectives: 1) to study the degree of importance of security content in an educational institution.

2) study the effectiveness of security in an educational institution.

Sample:

1. The number of those interviewed was 10 people.

2. method of spontaneous selection.

3. The general population includes parents, age category from 20 to 40 years old, living in the V-9 microdistrict of the city of Volgodonsk.

4. 30% of men were interviewed, and 70% of women were interviewed.

Toolkit: questionnaire.

To the question, Is security needed in educational institutions?

Yes - 60%

More likely yes than no - 40%

To the question, can you completely trust security to protect your children?

no - 80%

don't know - 20%

To the questionWhat functions, in your opinion, should a security guard perform in an educational institution?

security - 70%

observational - 30%

To the questionwould you like to know the professional and personal qualities of a security guard?

yes - 60%

no - 40%

To the questionWhat age should a security guard be?

31 - 40 years old - 70%

20 - 30 years - 30%

To the questionShould a security guard have special physical training?

yes, definitely - 100%

To the questionAre you ready to take part in organizing safety for your child in an educational institution?

yes - 70%

don't know - 20%

if time permits, then absolutely yes - 10%

EIf yes, then in what forms will this be expressed?

alarm installation - 11%

installation of a fire safety system - 11%

installation of surveillance cameras - 28%

hiring security - 39%

act as security themselves - 11%

Half-inage characteristics of respondents:

men 20-30 years old - 20%

women 20-30 years old - 30%

men 31-40 years old - 10%

women 31-40 years old - 40%

Thus, we found out that parents do not fully trust the security to protect their children, and are ready to take part in organizing the safety of their child.

Thus, the hypothesis was confirmed.

Conclusion

The specificity of the survey method is that when it is used, the source of primary sociological information is a person (respondent) - a direct participant in the social processes and phenomena being studied.

Questionnaire survey is the most important method of collecting primary information in social research. The main criterion characterizing research conducted using the survey method is reliability, i.e. reproducibility of the results obtained. When a survey is conducted correctly using formalized questionnaires, a high degree of reliability of the primary information is automatically achieved. In sociological research there are quantitative and qualitative methods; the quantitative method includes questioning, and the qualitative method includes such a method of sociological research as interviews

An interview is the most flexible method of collecting social information, involving a conversation based on direct, personal contact between the sociologist and the respondent. The in-depth interview method is characterized by a detailed study of a social phenomenon in its integrity and direct relationship with other phenomena. Unlike an interview, which requires direct contact between the interviewer and the respondent, there is a method that does not require the presence of the respondent. This is a telephone survey method.

Thus, a telephone survey is one of the most inexpensive and efficient survey methods that allows you to find out people's opinions on any issue. It is also good to use it when the respondent and interviewer are at a great distance from each other. Now let’s look at a survey conducted by highly qualified specialists.

A distinctive feature of the expert method is that it presupposes the competent participation of experts (expertise) in the analysis and solution of research problems.

Thus, survey methods are the most reliable, simple, accessible and common ways to obtain reliable information for conducting sociological research.

The area of ​​application of sociological methods is the study of value orientations of members of social communities in relation to various phenomena, the study of which makes it possible to identify trends in the development of society and determine measures of effective influence on members of these communities.

The main goal of sociology as a science is to explain and predict the behavior of social subjects under certain conditions, the peculiarities of the artificial construction of these conditions and the diagnosis of the nature of relationships within a social community.

Thus, the goal of this coursework has been achieved, the problems have been solved.

Bibliography

1. Anurin V.F. Empirical sociology: textbook. manual for universities. - M.: Academic. Project - 2003.-288p.

2. Zborovsky G.E. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Moscow: Gardariki - 2004.- 175 p.

3. Babosov E.M. Applied sociology: textbook. allowance. - Minsk: TetraSystems - 2000.- 370 p.

4. Gottlieb A.S. Introduction to sociological research: qualitative and quantitative approaches: methodology, research practices: textbook. allowance. - M.: Flinta: MPSI - 2005. - 384 p.

5. Zagvyazinsky V.I., Atakhanov R. Methodology and methods of psychological and pedagogical research: Textbook. A manual for students. higher ped. textbook establishments. - M.: “Academy” - 2005. - 208 p.

6. Kuznetsov I N. Technologies of sociological research: educational and methodological. allowance. - M.: ICC “MarT”; Rostov n/d: Publishing center "MarT" - 2005. - 144 p.

7. Methods of collecting information in sociological research. Book 1. Sociological survey / Answer. ed. Andreenkov V.G., Maslova O.M. - M.: Science - 2003. - 220 p.

8. Methods of collecting information in sociological research. / Ed. V.G. Andreenkova. - M.: Science - 2002.-147 p.

9. Novikova S.S., Soloviev A.V. Sociological and psychological research methods in social work. - M., 2005.- 496 p.

10. Radugin A.A., Radugin K.A. Sociology: a course of lectures. 2nd edition, revised and expanded. - M.: Center - 2002. - 305 p.

11. Sikevich Z.V. Sociological research: a practical guide. - St. Petersburg: Peter - 2005. - 320 p.

12. Doctorov B.Z. Towards an attempt to define the space of American methodological research of survey technologies // Sociology: methodology, methods, mathematical models - 2005. No. 20.-143p.

13. Doctorov B.Z. Enriched public opinion: concept, social practice, study experience // Monitoring of public opinion - 2004. No. 3. -154 p.

14. Morev V.A. Questioning and interviewing in sociological research.//Sociology: methodology, methods, mathematical models - 2006.- No. 7.- 173p.

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16. Puzanova Zh.V., Trotsuk I.V., Vitkovskaya M.I. Workshop on the course “Methodology and methodology of sociological research” - M.: Publishing House “Higher Education and Science” - 2007. - 272 p.

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A survey involves, firstly, an oral or written appeal by the researcher to a certain population of people - respondents with questions, the content of which represents the problem being studied at the level of empirical indicators. Secondly, registration and statistical processing of the responses received, as well as their theoretical interpretation.

Any sociological survey cannot be conducted until it becomes extremely clear why and how it should be done. In other words, the survey should be preceded by the development of a research program, a clear definition of goals, objectives, concepts (categories of analysis), hypotheses, object and subject, as well as sampling and research tools. Each survey involves an ordered set of questions (questionnaire) that serves to achieve the purpose of the study, solve its problems, prove and refute its hypotheses.

The wording of questions must be carefully thought out in many ways, but primarily as a way of capturing the categories of analysis. A sociological survey loses much of its meaning if respondents' responses are not analyzed in terms of their social and demographic characteristics. Therefore, it involves necessarily filling out a “passport”, where the data about each respondent is entered, the need for which is again dictated by the research program.

Any survey is a specific act of communication between the interviewer (the person conducting it) and the respondent (the person being interviewed). Therefore, it must be carried out in compliance with the following, at a minimum, rules:

1. The respondent knows who is interviewing him and why.

2. The respondent is interested in the survey.

3. The respondent is not interested in giving out false information (he says what he really thinks).

4. The respondent clearly understands the content of each question.

5. The question has one meaning and does not contain several questions.

6. All questions are posed in such a way that they can be answered in a reasonable and accurate manner.

7. The questions are formulated without violating lexical and grammatical standards.

8. The wording of the question corresponds to the level of culture of the respondent.

9. None of the questions has an offensive meaning for the respondent or humiliates his dignity.

10. The interviewer behaves neutrally and does not demonstrate his attitude towards anyone. to the question asked, nor to answer it.

11. The interviewer offers the respondent such answer options, each of which is equally acceptable.

12. The number of questions is consistent with common sense, does not lead to excessive intellectual and psychological overload of the respondent, does not overtire him.

13. The entire system of questions and answers is sufficient to obtain the amount of information necessary to solve research problems.

General rules sociological surveys are modified differently in their specific varieties.

The survey method is used in a number of cases:

· When the problem being studied is insufficiently provided with documentary sources of information, or when such sources are absent altogether.

· When the subject of the study or its individual characteristics are not available for observation.

· When the subject of study is elements of social or individual consciousness: needs, interests, motivations, moods, values, beliefs of people, etc.

· As a control (additional) method to expand the possibilities of describing and analyzing the characteristics being studied and to double-check data obtained by other methods.

The survey method involves obtaining sociological information in a situation of socio-psychological communication. And this leaves its mark on the content and quality of the data received. Sociology has produced a significant amount methodological requirements and procedures in order to overcome subjectivity, increase the reliability and efficiency of this form of collecting sociological information.


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Types of sociological documents and methods of their analysis
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(survey method in sociology)
P L A N

Introduction……………………………………………………..

1. Survey methods

1. Questionnaire

2. Interviewing

3. Press survey

4. Postal survey

5. Telephone survey

6. Fax (teletype, telegraph)

7. Television express poll

Conclusion

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

Sociology /from Latin - society + Greek - word, concept, doctrine/ - the science of the laws of formation, functioning, development of society, social relations and social communities. The term was introduced by the French positivist Auguste Comte /1798-1857/ in the mid-19th century. The world famous Pitirim Aleksandrovich Sorokin /1889-1968/ to his question: what kind of science is sociology? What is the subject of its study? - answered like this: “Sociology is the science of society and patterns manifested in social phenomena.” In an attempt to highlight the social in in the narrow sense words, i.e. within society itself, to distinguish social relations from economic, political, etc., is associated with the formation of various subject areas of sociology. This is how a whole family of sociologies arose: labor, education, politics, family, etc. social institutions and processes. Sociological theories of the so-called appeared. middle level, based on material collected in empirical studies. The methodology, technology and organization of sociological research have emerged as a special layer of sociological knowledge. Like other sciences, sociology has an object, subject and subject of research. The object and subject of sociological research is social reality and its different sides and relationships.

It is quite obvious that the reliability of the facts and conclusions obtained by the researcher depends on how the latter came to these facts and conclusions, i.e., on the method he used. In everyday life, we also describe facts, evaluate their plausibility, infer hypothetical patterns, or refute other people's conclusions. However, in science, all these everyday methods of obtaining new knowledge are subject to much more careful development. Scientific methodology is a discipline that studies both technical, “procedural” issues of organizing research, and more general issues of the validity of the methods used, the reliability of observations, criteria for confirming or refuting scientific theories.
Grade existing theories and hypotheses in social sciences, as in the natural sciences, involves the introduction of certain criteria for empirical verifiability and the truth of theoretical statements, as well as the development and application of research methods that meet these criteria.

Quantitative methods for collecting sociological information include methods of obtaining information about the object under study, which allow us to identify it quantitative characteristics. It's about, first of all, about content analysis, observation, sociometry, a set of survey methods, as well as a sociological experiment. In my work I will focus specifically on survey research methods.

Survey methods

Surveys are conducted by sociologists so often that some people rate them as the main and almost the only method. empirical sociology.
This assessment is wrong in at least two respects. Firstly, in the arsenal of sociology there are many non-survey methods, which were mentioned above and we'll talk below. Secondly, this method is not only sociological. Recently, it has been widely used in political science, journalism, economics, demographics, cultural studies, psychological, legal and other social studies.

The main purpose of sociological surveys is to obtain information about people’s opinions, their motives and assessments of social phenomena, about phenomena and states of social, group and individual consciousness. Since these opinions, motives and phenomena are properties of objects studied by sociology, surveys provide the necessary information about them. The significance of surveys increases if there is not sufficient documentary information about the phenomenon being studied, if it is not accessible to direct observation or is not amenable to experiment. In such situations, a survey can become the main method of collecting information, but must be supplemented by other research techniques.

Do not think that the research possibilities of surveys are limitless. Data obtained by survey methods express the subjective opinions of those surveyed (respondents). They need to be compared with information of an objective nature, which must be produced in other ways.
Surveys provide the greatest research effect only in combination with either content analysis, observation, experiment, or other methods.

Survey methods are very diverse. Along with the well-known questioning, they are expressed in the form of interviews, postal, telephone, press, fax, expert and other surveys. Each type of survey has its own specifics, which will be discussed below.
Let us now characterize their general principles.

Any sociological survey cannot be conducted until it becomes extremely clear why and how it should be done. In other words, the survey should be preceded by the development of a research program, a clear definition of goals, objectives, concepts (categories of analysis), hypotheses, object and subject, as well as sampling and research tools.

Each survey involves an ordered set of questions (questionnaire) that serves to achieve the purpose of the study, solve its problems, prove and refute its hypotheses. The wording of questions must be carefully thought out in many ways, but primarily as a way of capturing the categories of analysis.

A sociological survey loses much of its meaning if respondents' responses are not analyzed in terms of their social and demographic characteristics. Therefore, it requires mandatory filling
“passport cards” where those data about each respondent are entered, the need for which is again dictated by the research program.

Any survey is a specific act of communication between the interviewer
(the person conducting it) and the respondent (the person being interviewed). Therefore, it must be carried out in compliance with the following, at a minimum, rules:

1. The respondent knows who is interviewing him and why.

2. The respondent is interested in the survey.

3. The respondent is not interested in giving out false information (he says what he really thinks).

4. The respondent clearly understands the content of each question.

5. The question has one meaning and does not contain several questions.

6. All questions are posed in such a way that they can be answered in a reasonable and accurate manner.

7. The questions are formulated without violating lexical and grammatical standards.

8. The wording of the question corresponds to the level of culture of the respondent.

9. None of the questions has an offensive meaning for the respondent or humiliates his dignity.
10. The interviewer behaves neutrally, does not demonstrate his attitude either to the question asked or to the answer to it.
11. The interviewer offers the respondent such answer options, each of which is equally acceptable.
12. The number of questions is consistent with common sense, does not lead to excessive intellectual and psychological overload of the respondent, and does not overtire him.
13. The entire system of questions and answers is sufficient to obtain the amount of information necessary to solve research problems.

The general rules of sociological surveys are modified in different ways in their specific varieties.

1.1 Questionnaire

Questioning is a written form of survey, usually carried out in absentia, i.e. without direct and immediate contact between the interviewer and the respondent. It is advisable in two cases: a) when you need to ask a large number of respondents for a relatively a short time, b) Respondents should think carefully about their answers with the printed questionnaire in front of them. The use of questionnaires to survey a large group of respondents, especially on issues that do not require deep thought, is not justified. In such a situation, it is more appropriate to talk with the respondent face to face.

Questioning is rarely continuous (covering all members of the community being studied); much more often it is selective. Therefore, the reliability and reliability of the information obtained by questionnaire depends, first of all, on the representativeness of the sample.

The main (but not the only) tool of this method is a questionnaire, consisting not only of questionnaire and “passports”, but also from the preamble-instructional section. The significance of the latter cannot be underestimated, because 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 is conducting the survey and why, and provides the necessary comments and instructions for the respondent’s work with the questionnaire.

The main part of the questionnaire (questionnaire) is developed not only on the basis of the general requirements for the survey, but also taking into account a number of additional considerations. In the questionnaire you can and should put:

1. not only program-thematic, i.e. questions directly arising from the research program, but also procedural and functional ones, aimed at optimizing the course of the survey;

2. both direct questions, asking the respondent to express his own position, and indirect (agreement or disagreement with the positions of other people) questions;

3. questions - “hooks”, posed so that the respondent “pecks”, i.e. for the sake of maintaining his interest in filling out the questionnaire;

4. questions - “filters” that allow you to select a part of respondents on some basis, say, to filter out that part of them whose opinion on the question following the “filter” seems either particularly valuable, on the contrary, or not very important;

5. control questions checking the stability and consistency of respondents’ opinions;

6. questions - “trap”, which are a type of test, designed to determine the degree of sincerity of the answers;

7. leading questions that help to more accurately understand the meaning of the subsequent (more important) question;

8. dichotomous questions that require two mutually exclusive answer options (such as “yes-no”);

9. questions - “menu”, i.e. with multiple-choice answers, when the respondent can choose any combination of answer options;
10. questions - “dialogues”, the answers to which are made up of the answers of imaginary persons;
11. scale questions, i.e. those, the answer to which lies in scaling something;
12. tabular questions requiring an answer in the form of filling out a table;
13. closed questions, i.e. accompanied by all theoretically possible options answer, from which the respondent must choose the one that corresponds to his opinion;
14. open questions that do not contain a single answer option, suggesting that the respondent will write what he wants in a specially designated area of ​​the questionnaire;
15. semi-closed, or more precisely, partially closed (or partially open) questions, to which only part of the answer options is given in advance, which may not satisfy respondents who have the opportunity to add their own option.

When developing the text of the questionnaire, you should avoid the monotony of the types and forms of questions used, remember that each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. We should not forget about the subsequent processing of personal data. Open questions, say, are preferable to closed ones if it is important to identify all the nuances of respondents’ opinions, but the information obtained on their basis will be difficult to formalize and process. Closed questions, especially in the form of “menus”, scales, tables and dichotomies, are more convenient for processing, but do not guarantee that the completeness of respondent assessments is taken into account.

It is important to emphasize the need to comply with the rules of consistency of the questionnaire.
This is necessary in order to use for scientific purposes information not only on individual questions, but also that which is revealed when understanding all questions as interacting structures, and all answers to them as interacting elements.

Statement in the questionnaire test questions(including “traps”) does not exempt its compiler from the logical consistency of the sequence of questions, ensuring their mutual control. The logic of constructing questionnaires, traditional for sociological questioning, is based on the principle “from general to specific,” in which subsequent questions play the role of control questions in relation to the previous ones. But sometimes it is advisable to be guided by the opposite principle - “from particulars to generalities.”

1.2 Interviewing

Interviewing is a form of face-to-face surveying in which the researcher is in direct contact with the respondent. This method is preferable to questionnaires in the following respects:

A) there are practically no unanswered questions with him;

B) vague or contradictory answers can be clarified;

C) it is possible to observe the respondent and record not only his verbal responses, but also non-verbal reactions;

D) the information received is more complete, deeper and more reliable compared to the questionnaire.

The main disadvantage of the interviewing method is its low efficiency, significant time consumption, the need for a large number of interviewers, and the impossibility of using it in situations of short-term mass surveys.
For novice sociologists, it presents many difficulties, because requires special preparation and extensive training. In addition, different types of interviewing require the researcher to have ambiguous sets of knowledge and skills.

The most widespread in sociology is the standardized interview. distinctive feature and which is a strict sequence, pre-prepared clear formulations of questions and thoughtful models of answers to them. It can be carried out using a questionnaire questionnaire, which is often done to control and supplement survey data.

Semi-standardized interviews are used somewhat less frequently. It is carried out on the basis not of a formalized questionnaire, but of a memo
("guide") with a list mandatory questions, as a rule, semi-closed, not excluding discussion with the respondent of other problems, but related to the topic of research.

Even less common are focused interviews, in which only the initial question is standardized (albeit in several variations), and the main task is seen as focusing the respondents’ attention on discussing the version of the problem that seems most important to them.

Only experienced sociologists (and even then not always) use free and exploratory interviewing. An interview is called free when the interviewer is faced with the problem of collecting information relevant to research tasks without the presence of a pre-developed instrument.
Here the sociologist is free to choose questions, determine their order, quantity and methods of expression, as well as methods of recording information.

An exploratory interview (its other designation is in-depth) is used to determine and/or clarify the formulation of working hypotheses at the stage of developing a research program. Its purpose is not only and not so much to obtain information about the object, but rather to find out what information is to be produced in the upcoming study. At the same time, both the interviewer and the respondent are free to choose how to conduct the conversation.

Each of the five described types of interviews can be implemented:

A) once or in panels (repeatedly after a certain time interval);

B) in interpersonal (interviewer-respondent), personal-group

(a group of interviewers - a respondent or, conversely, an interviewer - a group of respondents) and group-group form (when a group of interviewers talks with a group of respondents).

The range of requirements for interviewers working in such different situations is naturally very wide, both in sociological and psychological, pedagogical, conflictological, journalistic and other respects. To conduct one-time standardized interviews of an interpersonal nature, it is not necessary to involve qualified sociologists (sometimes this is even desirable in order to increase the impartiality of the data). But without them it is impossible to get reliable information in all other types of interviewing.

1.3. Press survey

Its main disadvantages are: low representativeness, low rates of return of completed questionnaires, aggravated by their large rejection, small number of questions, predominance of closed questions, limited possibilities for using scale, tabular, dialogue, menu-like, control and filtering questions, the likelihood of influence on the respondent by other persons.

1. preliminary testing (piloting) among all qualitatively various groups readers of this press;

2. extreme simplicity of the wording of questions and instructions for filling out;

3. use different fonts when publishing (to highlight semantic structure questionnaires);

4. reprinting the questionnaire in the same newspaper a week and a half after the first publication;

5. announcement of the survey results on the pages of the same publication.

Since each newspaper has its own regular readers, who differ from other people in a number of social characteristics (level of material wealth, place of residence, ideological, political and other preferences), based on the results of a press survey conducted by one newspaper, it is impossible to judge the state of public opinion inherent in all to the population. This explains the desirability and need for simultaneously conducting press polls using the same questionnaire in newspapers various directions. Violation of this principle (unfortunately, it is in modern Russian conditions occurs not as an unfortunate exception, but as a rule) leads not to knowledge of true public opinion, but to various kinds ideological and political speculation.

1.4. Postal survey

A postal survey is a form of questioning by mail that involves sending questionnaires (to specially selected addresses) to those individuals who collectively represent the object being studied.
The advantages of the method are the possibility:

A) get answers to questions of a delicate and intimate nature,

B) cover settlements where surveyors cannot reach,

B) have Additional information, correcting data produced by any other method,

D) save money (a postal survey costs at least two times less than regular interviewing).
Flaws:

A) low age questionnaires,

B) distortions in representativeness,

C) the inevitability of culling,

D) violation of the survey anonymity rule,

D) increasing response distortion.
Mandatory requirements of this method:

1. thorough, multifaceted and reusable piloting of the questionnaire design;

2. detailed instructions for filling it out;

3. encryption of envelopes;

4. enclosing a blank envelope in the mail to return the questionnaire;

5. Reminder to respondents about the need to return the completed questionnaire

(by telephone, mail and other means).

1.5 Telephone survey

A telephone survey is a specific synthesis of questioning and interviewing, used, as a rule, within one city or other locality. The popularity of using this method in modern Russian conditions is increasing, especially during election campaigns.
Main advantages: efficiency, short-termism and cost-effectiveness.
The main disadvantage: due to the impossibility of complying with the rule of representativeness of the sample. This circumstance is due to the lack of telephones among certain social groups of the population; a large number of subscribers refusing to survey for various reasons and reasons; many other factors.
Mandatory requirements for the method:

1. preliminary study of the city map, places of contact residence of representatives of different social groups, location of automatic telephone exchanges;

2. development special tool, including a cartogram of the survey, questionnaire forms and coding sheets, a diary and survey protocol, detailed instructions for interviewers;

3. availability of telephone directories;

4. compliance with a predetermined step (interval) when dialing telephone numbers of one PBX;

5. special training, including special training for telephone interviewers;

6. increased demands on their honesty;

7. mandatory control over their activities;

8. cross-checking of the received data through random control surveys of surveyed subscribers.

1.6. Fax (teletype, telegraph) survey

Fax (teletype, telegraph) survey is a form of questioning that is rarely used for scientific purposes, in which the units for selecting respondents are institutions and organizations that have a fax, teletype, telegraph or other electronic communication with a sociological center. It is found in two varieties, differing in the actual composition of respondents. In the first, the respondents are the heads of the designated enterprises and institutions; in the second, the circle of respondents is expanded by surveying by managers (or sociologists) those individuals identified by the organizers of the survey.

The main advantage of the method is the super-efficiency and expert significance of the information received. Disadvantages: extremely condensed questionnaire
(no more than five positions), closed questions and limited answer options (no more than seven).

1.7. Television express poll

Express television polling is a method of collecting not so much sociological as political science information, used by the presenters of political television programs. The technique of this method involves:

1. formulation by the TV presenter of one of the most pressing questions;

2. motivating TV viewers to express their answer to the question posed in the form of either “yes” or “no”;

3. a request to television viewers to immediately call the specified telephone number and declare their position before the end of this television program (i.e. within 20-30 minutes);

4. prompt counting of the survey code with demonstration of this count on an electronic display;

5. commenting on the results obtained.

This method of television journalism, attractive to many, can only give a superficial idea of ​​public opinion in general, on the issue at hand, in particular. It cannot reveal the state of mind of the entire people, because... Not everyone saw this TV show, and only a few had the opportunity to call the TV studio. Nevertheless, this method can be used in sociological research, naturally, without claiming to be the main and objective one.

Referendums, plebiscites and other popular votes are political events that are associated with a survey of the population, and therefore should be used for sociological analysis of public opinion and the degree of social tension. Unfortunately, when developing issues put to a popular vote, scientific standards are violated in favor of the political interests and ambitions of their representatives. This sharply reduces the sociological value of their results, but does not exclude the advisability of taking them into account in research work, for example, when constructing hypotheses.

Expert polls are a specific type of polls that are not of a mass nature, but play a role important role in empirical sociology and increasingly used by it.

CONCLUSION

Sociology in our country is a relatively young science. There was a time when, along with cybernetics and genetics, sociology was considered a bourgeois science. Sociological research was not encouraged, because it was believed that everything contained in party documents was true. Along the way, it can be noted that at present we have gone to the other extreme: every student and every non-specialist teacher considers himself a complete sociologist and considers knowledge of sociological theory, methodology and methods of conducting sociological research unnecessary, limiting himself to compiling primitive questionnaires.
Meanwhile, the study of sociology is of theoretical and practical interest for future specialists.

The peculiarity of the sociological method and research lies in two fundamental points: first, it allows you to formalize the method of collecting social information. What other humanities disciplines spend many years of work and money on, a sociologist can do in a few days, and at the same time obtain relatively cheap and objective information. Secondly, the sociological research method allows, by conceptually recording a phenomenon in the process of its development, to verify the resulting conceptual constructs, albeit relative to its previous stage, i.e., recording as an after fact. But this allows us to quite successfully predict and, accordingly, plan our activities and even design some social processes.

List of used literature

1. Kurbatov V.I. Sociology. – M.: March, 2000.

2. Radugin A.A., K.A. Radugin. Sociology. - M.: Center, 2001.

3. Rastov Yu.E., S.I. Grigoriev. The beginnings of modern sociology:

Tutorial. – M., 1999..

4. Sociological dictionary. - Minsk: Universitetskoe, 1991.

5. Yadov V.A. Sociology in Russia. – M.: Institute of Sociology. RAS, 1998.

One of the most common and popular methods of collecting primary sociological information is survey. Wide use Sociologists explain the survey method by its unique universality. Thus, during a survey you can obtain information about objective facts, events, motives for people’s activities, their value orientations and actions in the past and present, their future intentions. In some cases this information It turns out to be cheaper than that obtained by other methods, and when processing it, computer technology can be used.

Survey is a method of collecting social information about studied object during direct ( interview) or indirect ( survey) communication sociologist(interviewer) and interviewee (respondent) by recording the respondent's answers to the ensuing from the target and research objectives questions asked sociologist.

Question- this is a written or oral appeal from a researcher to a respondent in order to identify his opinion, which acts as data from a sociological study.

Questionnaire(questionnaire, questionnaire) is a systematically organized set of questions that are determined by the purpose and objectives of the study.

Respondent(respondent, interviewee) is a person participating in a survey as a source of social information (the one who answers the questionnaire and the one who is interviewed).

Interviewer(questionnaire) - a person who communicates with respondents using a questionnaire to collect information.

The main purpose of the survey is to obtain social information about the state of opinion (mass, group, individual) about the assessments, preferences, interests of the respondents, as well as information reflected in their minds about events, facts, assessments related to their livelihoods and social life.

Survey is the leading method in studying the consciousness (attitudes, orientations, motives, interests, expectations) of people. Its significance is important in the study of social phenomena and processes that are inaccessible to direct observation, as well as in cases where the problem or phenomenon under study is poorly studied, there is no or extremely limited documentary information about them. It is most effective to use a survey in combination with other methods.

The main regulatory requirements for conducting a survey are a clear formulation of research tasks, adequacy of the question (and questionnaire) to the objectives of the study, accessibility of the wording of questions to respondents, compliance during the survey with the socio-psychological foundations of communication, ethical standards, taking into account the characteristics and competence of respondents and interviewers, awakening the interest of respondents during the survey, accuracy of recording respondents’ answers, standardization of survey conditions.

It should be noted that with insincere answers, the data obtained represent the opinions of respondents in a distorted form, and therefore the results of surveys, if possible, need to be compared with information obtained using other methods (observation, document analysis), which, unlike the subjective statements of respondents, characterize the objective state the phenomena being studied. It is necessary to take into account biases (distortions) associated with the peculiarities of reflection of certain events and phenomena in the minds of respondents.

Survey program usually includes all the basic structural elements of a sociological research program.

Survey object - social community, group, collective, individual. When holding a referendum, the object of the survey is the population (citizens) of the country.

The subject of the survey is subjective evaluative information, which is expressed in the opinion of respondents and characterizes their behavior, motives, value orientations, events and facts of their personal and public life.

In applied sociology, there are different types of surveys: questionnaires, interviews, expert and sociometric surveys. The main, most common survey methods are survey And interviewing. According to the degree of coverage of the general population, they distinguish solid And selective surveys.

During a continuous survey

the entire set of observation units is surveyed (the number of respondents is equal to the number of members of the population being studied).

In a sample survey, the number of respondents is a certain proportion of the number of members of the population being studied. In most cases, specific sociological studies use sampling methods.

In addition, surveys can be systematized on the following grounds:

> according to the procedure, a survey is distinguished individual, addressed to one person, or group, addressed to a group of people;

> the form of the survey can be verbal, when the respondent's statements are recorded by the researcher, and written, when answers to questions are written down by respondents themselves. Oral questioning is typical for interviews, written questioning is typical for questionnaires;

> according to the nature of the interaction between the interviewer and the respondent, they distinguish face-to-face surveys where there is direct contact between the researcher and the respondent, and correspondence, when there is no direct contact between them;

> according to the degree of standardization of procedures, they distinguish standardized surveys (conducted according to a pre-prepared plan) and non-standardized(free interview; only the topic and general direction of the conversation are planned).

When conducting a survey, you should keep in mind its cognitive boundaries and capabilities. The reliability of information depends on many reasons, including the scope of phenomena and events that the researcher is asking about. Polish sociologist 3. Gostkowski divides the entire set of phenomena studied by the survey method into five groups depending on the degree of reliability of the information received:

  • 1. The level of awareness of respondents on various issues examined in the survey. Tests or exam-type questions are used here. It is generally accepted that this kind of data is very reliable, provided that identifying awareness does not threaten respondents with troubles, does not violate their socio-psychological comfort (does not affect their professional reputation, personal prestige, self-esteem).
  • 2. Information about place and date of birth, number of children, place of work, use of various modes of transport, end time educational institutions etc. When answering the relevant questions, random errors are possible that do not violate the reliability of the data sample population generally. The systematic errors encountered depend on the respondents’ memory capabilities, understanding of the meaning of the questions, and on the influence of considerations of prestige.
  • 3. Assessments and preferences of respondents regarding various types of behavior and consumer goods. These kinds of preferences are studied in surveys devoted to demand conditions and preferences in the field of leisure. The purpose of this kind of survey is a consumer and market forecast of people's behavior.
  • 4. Life values, ideological beliefs, public policy priorities. Data obtained from relevant surveys are subject to the influence of many factors: the pressure of stereotypes, abstract terminology when formulating questions, low awareness of respondents about the essence of the problem, etc.
  • 5. Phenomena for which obtaining reliable information is particularly problematic(illegal income, tax evasion, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, industrial theft, bribery, corruption, etc.). Society condemns these phenomena and recognizes the need to combat them, therefore the information obtained during the survey requires monitoring and comparison with other data. In some cases, the use of mass surveys on these topics is impractical due to the impossibility of obtaining reliable information.

Sociological survey is a method of collecting primary sociological information about the object being studied by asking questions to a certain group of people called respondents. The basis of a sociological survey is mediated (questioning) or non-mediated (interview) socio-psychological communication between the sociologist and the respondent by recording answers to a system of questions arising from the purpose and objectives of the study. However, value systems, beliefs, views, ideas, motivations and feelings are not available for observation. In such cases, the leading method of sociological research becomes a survey. Surveys are usually conducted using interviewing and questionnaire methods. The interview is based on a conversation according to a previously developed detailed plan, but more often sociologists conduct interviews based on a pre-prepared questionnaire, which contains all the questions of interest, in a certain sequence and with given wording.

Sociological survey occupies a very important place in sociological research. Its main purpose is to obtain sociological information about the state of public, group, collective and individual opinion, as well as facts, events and assessments related to the life activities of respondents. According to some scientists, almost 90% of all empirical information is collected with its help. Questioning is the leading method in studying the sphere of people's consciousness. This method is especially important in the study of social processes and phenomena that are inaccessible to direct observation, as well as in cases where the area under study is poorly provided with documentary information.

A sociological survey, unlike other methods of collecting sociological information, allows you to “catch” through a system of formalized questions not only the accentuated opinions of respondents, but also the nuances, shades of their mood and structure of thinking, as well as to identify the role of intuitive aspects in their behavior. Therefore, many researchers consider a survey to be the simplest and most accessible method of collecting primary sociological information. In fact, the efficiency, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness of this method make it very popular and a priority compared to other methods of sociological research. However, this simplicity and accessibility is often apparent. The problem is not in conducting the survey as such, but in obtaining high-quality survey data. And this requires appropriate conditions and compliance with certain requirements.

The main conditions of the survey (which have been verified by the practice of sociological research) include: 1) the availability of reliable instruments, justified by the research program; 2) creating a favorable, psychologically comfortable environment for the survey, which does not always depend only on the training and experience of the persons conducting it; 3) careful training of sociologists, who must have high intellectual speed, tact, and the ability to objectively assess their shortcomings and habits, which directly affects the quality of the survey; know the typology of possible situations that hinder the survey or provoke respondents to give inaccurate or incorrect answers; have experience in compiling questionnaires using sociologically correct methods that allow you to double-check the accuracy of the answers, etc.


Compliance with these requirements and their significance are largely determined by the types of sociological survey. In sociology, it is customary to distinguish between written (questioning) and oral (interviewing), face-to-face and correspondence (postal, telephone, press), expert and mass, selective and continuous (for example, referendum), national, regional, local, local, etc. ( Table 7).

In the practice of sociological research, the most common type of survey is a survey, or questionnaire. Questionnaire– a survey method in which a sociologist-researcher communicates with a respondent (participant in a sociological survey) using a questionnaire. Both during interviews and questionnaires, researchers must pay special attention to sampling procedures: 1) determine the strata and groups of the population to which the survey results are expected to be extended (general population); 2) determine the number of respondents necessary and sufficient to represent the general population; 3) determine the rules for searching and selecting respondents at the last stage of selection. This is explained by both the variety and quality of the sociological information that can be obtained with its help. Questionnaire based on statements individuals and is carried out in order to identify the subtlest nuances in the opinions of those surveyed (respondents). The questionnaire survey method is the most important source of information about actually existing social facts and social activities. It begins, as a rule, with the formulation of program questions, the “translation” of the problems posed in the research program into questionnaire questions, with wording that excludes various interpretations and understandable respondents. In sociology, as analysis shows, two main types of questionnaires are used more often than others: continuous and selective.