Читать книгу Sociology - Anthony Giddens - Страница 75

All research starts from a problem or question. This is sometimes an area of factual ignorance: we may simply wish to improve our knowledge about certain institutions, social processes or cultures. A researcher might set out to answer questions such as ‘What proportion of the population today holds strong religious beliefs?’ or ‘How far does the economic position of women still lag behind that of men?’ Such questions are necessary and useful.

However, the best sociological research begins with problems that are also puzzles. A puzzle is not just a lack of information but a gap in our understanding. Much of the skill in producing worthwhile sociological research consists in correctly identifying puzzles. Rather than simply answering the question ‘What is going on here?’, puzzle-solving research tries to contribute to our understanding of why events happen as they do. Thus we might ask: ‘What accounts for the decline in the proportion of the population voting in elections in recent years?’ ‘Why are women poorly represented in high-status jobs?’ These questions are not simple factual questions but require us to go a stage further to provide explanations for the evidence we find.

It is important to remember that no piece of research stands alone. Research problems arise as part of ongoing work, and one research project may easily lead to another because it raises issues the researcher had not previously considered. A sociologist may also discover puzzles by reading the work of other researchers in books and professional journals or by being aware of trends in society.