Method of Observation in Sociology

The term "sociology" is heard by many people. In the media, it is often possible to hear information that a sociological survey of people on various issues is being conducted, or that sociological services are studying public opinion concerning economic or political issues.

As a science, sociology has emerged from philosophy not so long ago, and is engaged in the study of society, the laws of its development, various social institutions and relations. And like any science, it has an object, an object and methods of study. The object is either a society as a whole, or some part of it, or a group, or a social institution. The subject of sociology is a set of properties and characteristics of the object to which research is directed. And methods are methods or techniques by which the goal of research is achieved. The method of observation in sociology and the study of documents are basic, however, the most common method of sociology is a survey used since the mid-19th century. This method serves to obtain primary information and requires confirmation by other research methods. The object of the subject and the method of sociology are well described in the works of domestic and foreign sociological scientists.

Each person, without noticing it, uses the method of observation every day, for example, watching children or other people. But the method of observation in sociology differs significantly from simple observation.
Scientific observation has clearly defined goals, objectives and action plan and is characterized by systematic, planned and mandatory verification of the result obtained during the research.

The method of observation in sociology requires the compulsory implementation of certain rules: observing the object being studied is necessary in different situations, observing it is necessary to use clear indicators, in no case should the description of the event be combined with its representation. To achieve reliable results, several people can independently observe each other.
The method of observation in sociology has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of this method is that the researcher is directly connected with the object of study, and this makes it possible to obtain information promptly and makes it possible to catch some important details of the phenomenon under study.

Another important advantage that observation has is its flexibility. The poll, the most common method in sociology, is also a pretense of interesting results.

All these advantages, plus the cheapness of the method, do not exclude its shortcomings, one of which is a certain subjectivity of perception, expressed in that the observer directly or indirectly influences the results of the research. This leads to the fact that all results must necessarily be cross-checked by other methods.

There are several different types of observations. They are formalized, informal, included - in this case, the observer becomes a direct participant in the events (the journalist changes his profession) or unincorporated, when the observation is carried out from the side with complete non-interference of the observer into what is happening.

In natural conditions, so-called field studies and observations are conducted, and laboratory tests are conducted in specially created conditions and are usually performed within the framework of ongoing experiments.

There are many different kinds of observations, and in some cases, for example, when studying rapidly occurring processes, catastrophes or military conflicts, they can become the only method for studying objective reality.