Modern research problems of modern sociology

Abstract

The article deals with three research problems that the authors consider to be the key ones for modern sociology. This is due to the fact that the modern new world has given rise to new relationships between people and new techniques used by them – put forward new scientific problems for sociology. Once the classics of sociology of the 19th century showed the most important guidelines for the social sciences, which can be expressed by the idea - not only to study, but also to change, and before changing to understand. But these three – research problems, of course, are not the limit for sociology. First of all, and this is the first thing, the authors draw attention to the fact that the modern world, understood as a social system, needs a theoretical explanation based on modern facts and realities of the present time. And the modern sociological picture of the world is in need of revision and rethinking, relying on previous sociological theories. The another direction, or the second sphere of sociological problems, is the development of applied theoretical foundations, or “middle level theories” for empirical research methods. This is especially necessary for empirical research in modern institutions and enterprises aimed at improving the organization of intellectual work. And the third important direction is that is the empirical methods themselves need to be improved in connection with the changed conditions for collecting and processing information. This is due to the fact that Internet surveys have practically replaced personal surveys, new forms of observation are emerging, and digital methods of document analysis have appeared. In this regard, new requirements arise for the formation of a representative sample and the methods for creating valid instruments.