HI, Floretina,

You have raised a very interesting question. As a social work professor, I look to sociology to provide theoretical foundations for the applied work that social workers are engaged in. I find the sociological analyses of social problems very helpful in understanding the problems, but rarely reach for sociological findings to offer solutions. I also have great appreciation and admiration for the ethnographic works conducted by sociologists - a recent example being Desmond's Evicted.

But solutions to social problems requires relational and contextual sensitivity that is best developed and assessed by workers on the street. Social work is the applied science of doing so, or at least that is my perspective.

 Dear Florentina,

I'm not an expert in sociology. However, I believe when you study the structure of human society, that's a pure science. And when you study the developing and functioning of a human society, that's an applied science. Thus, I believe the questions you have asked can be answered through research. How? I bet sociologists should know better. However, unlike most of mathematicians, I believe problems in human society can be mathematically modeled and you may have predictions based on these constructed models.

Hello Florentina,

Largely, it depends. I'll try to answer more specifically starting from your example. What if you find "relational problems" into an organization? Well, your ability to detect "problems" depends on the sociological theory that you're using to analize that particular organization. Furthermore, "problems" may not be perceived as such by members of that organization, so, in a simplicistic way, just by looking at something with a non-usual point of view, you're doing applied science.

Hi Florentina,

I agree with previous comments and think that sociology in principal aims to offer knowledge that improves our understanding of society, but researchers do different things within sociology and some of them might be oriented to gain knowledge that aims for better solutions.But I would also say that offering solutions and addressing problems can also be different things. For example, engineers are oriented on creating solutions that often include a tool that enables new behaviour.

Definitely, sociology is pure rather than applied. But it has plenty of applications, e.g. in the study, academic development and teaching of education. Or in science and technology studies.

Habermas has positioned Social Sciences between hermeneutics and natural sciences. On the one hand they are seen from the perspective of participants, on the other hand from the perspective of observers. In the latter sense they provide utilizable data and information, in the former sense they provide orientational knowledge for self-enlightenment. See Habermas: On the Logic of the Social Sciences (1967).

Hi Florentina

I am currently working on a project to develop practical or applied sociology in the UK.  It is well establsihed in the US and elsewhere, where it is known (for hstorical reasons) as 'clinical sociology'.  In the US 'applied sociology' means research conducted outside academic institutions.  Our project is more concerned with practical interventions to solve organisational situations or problems rather than research.

For more on this see my article in 'Discover Society'

http://discoversociety.org/2016/10/04/is-the-sociological-clinic-open-for-business/

You can also find out about the project at:

https://www.britsoc.co.uk/groups/special-interest-groups/sociologists-outside-academia/projects/applied-sociology/

Does this help?

Nick

So there is a variant of applied sociology. Best of luck!

Thank hou all very much for your valuable answers.

I think that we have applied research in sociology (when we produce knowledge for finding solutions) and that there are many applications of sociology. But I think that all these do not make sociology an applied science.

My study group colleagues think otherwise. We will use your opinions and references in our discussions next meeting. Thank you again!

Dear Florentina, dear colleagues,

I am not sure that my answer will really help, as the publication I am refering to are in French, but I was 30 years ago in charge of a state of the art about experiences of research-actions in social policy and the main question was : how can we reach in the understanding of a problem (here a social problem) a way to help actors, decision makers, groups of interest, etc, to elaborate new solutions (organisational, institutionnal, new instruments, new policy, etc.). This reflexion was based on a very long tradition of social science in Kurt Lewin's tradition and refering to this oxymore: combining "reseach -and- action". If you read French, I have one published report on RG ready to be downloaded and a few articles. Sorry for the language. 

Best

Dear Claude Martin,

Thank you too for your answer.

French is just fine. Please indicate the publications you are refering to.

Merci beaucoup!

 here are some of them. You could also fin in my publication a book : Les recherches actions sociales. Miroir aux alouetters ou stratégie de qualification. La documentation française. 1986.

Best regards

Pienso que hay que considerar las dos perspectivas como ciencia pura desde el enfoque hermenutico ya indicado por un colega o fenomenologico por Alfred Schutz, nos lleva s una posicion de permitir que las realidades sociales, bien sean problemas o exitos, emergan generando nuevos concimientos y liberarandose de la camisa de fuerza o dominio de la episteme prexistente que si bien puede ofrecer soluciones o explicaciones a situaciones determinadas no permite ver lo nuevo, asi estariamos ante una ciencia pura que genera nuevos concimientos. Por otra parte con la aplicacion del cuerpo categorial que comprenden las diefrentes teorias sociales se estaria ante una ciencia aplicada para solucionar a o explicar derminada sitauciones. El asunto es no olvidar ninguna de las dos postura, porque ambas son necesarias. Por otra parte me permito hacer una reflexion la ciencia pareciera centrarse en las situaciones problematicas y poco en la exitosas, quizas perdiendo valiosas oportunidades de obtener datos para solucionar problemas u optimizar. es tan importante ver de donde surgen los problemas tanto como saber el porque las cosas funcionan bien, en incluso como mejorar lo que esta funcionando bien.

I agree with Ernesto Jose Lopez. Sociology is both a pure science as it creates new knowledge on theoretical and epistemologically critical levels, and an applied science as well as it makes use of its theoretical (and methodological) resources to resolve concrete social problems.

Did I get right?