Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

580 Pierre de Bie
Sectors in which problem-focused research is applicable
Examples of problem-focused research are plentiful; so much so indeed, that
at the outset it is better to give a descriptive list than a systematic account, which
is bound to be arbitrary.
Our thoughts will probably turn in the first place to whatever, in the here and
now, is an ‘issue’ for public opinion in contemporary societies, and whatever
might be combated, changed or improved as a result of scientific research: a
number of research projects relating to crime, mental health, poverty, under-
development, inter-group conflicts and war immediately come to mind. But, in
addition to such matters, which clearly come within the field of social pathol-
ogy, there are those concerning the present state of the population and its
future: problems of youth, old age, the status and role of women, problems of
standards of living and economic development; and, further, the present state
and development of institutions and their operation : education, science policy,
the family, religion.
This list is summary and incomplete; its purpose is purely illustrative. In
present-day societies, where scientific knowledge is increasingly regarded as
a necessary component of social progress, mention should be made of all the
research being carried out, with a view to diagnosis and planning, at a variety of
levels : industrialization, work and leisure, fertility, housing, town and country
planning. Or again, at a more abstract level: research on growth, development,
organization, decision-making, forecasting. These more abstract concepts all
imply a desire for guided action without, however, specifying its particular
sector.
A systematic survey of the sectors in which problem-focused research is
applicable can more readily be provided in the context of a specific scientific
discipline. In a recent work’ analysing the uses of sociology, the authors distin-
guished in the following way the sectors in which problem-focused research
can be applied:
I. The uses of sociology in the professions: law, medicine, social work and
social welfare;
11. The uses of sociology in establishments: the military establishment, public
administration, political parties, educational establishments, foreign policy,
etc.;
ILL Social problems and formal planning : poverty, delinquency, developing
social programmes, the school and the family, unemployment, manpower
and area development, public health and aging;
IV. Rapid social change: sociology in developing areas and rural sociology.
These various sectors correspond to spheres in which the sociologist can place
his knowledge, his methods of analysis and his techniques at the disposal of
‘clients’; the first two - the professional sphere and the sphere of establishments
and administrations - are intranational, while the remaining two are national
or international. These spheres, which may seem to be delimited and classified
in an arbitrary fashion, correspond to a series of sectors in which problem-
focused research is applicable.