Sociology has not achieved triumphs comparable to those of the older and more heavily supported sciences. Several interpretations have been offered to explain the difference—most frequently, that the growth of sociological knowledge is more random than cumulative. Yet, in some parts of the discipline—such as methodology, human ecology, demography, social differentiation and mobility, attitude research, small-group interaction, public opinion, and mass communication—a slow but significant accumulation of organized and tested knowledge has taken hold. By comparison, some other fields lack this expanding volume of literature. Still, the slow development of published sociological research may stem from a variety of factors: excess use of jargon, a disposition for pseudoquantification, excessive imitation of natural science methodology, and overdependence on interview data, questionnaires, or informal observations. Contemporary sociology is indeed marked by all these shortcomings, but in general there has been progress toward clearer communication and improved methodology, both of which yield more reliable data. As a result, conclusions are drawn from research methods applied to replicated studies that are, in turn, less dependent on the strength of one particular methodological device.

Bias is sometimes presumed to be a chronic affliction of sociology. This may arise in part from the fact that the subject matter of sociology is familiar and important in everyone’s daily life. As a result, variations in philosophical outlook and individual preferences can contribute to an irrational bias. Thus, critics have expressed disapproval of the sociologists’ skepticism on various matters of faith, of their amoral relativism concerning customs, of their apparent oversimplifications of some principles, and of their particular fashions in categorization and abstraction. But skepticism toward much of the content of folk knowledge is a characteristic of all science, and relativism can be interpreted as merely an avoidance of antiscientific ethnocentrism. Furthermore, abstraction, categorization, and simplification are necessary to the advancement of knowledge, and no one system satisfies everyone.

The dispute about the main purpose of sociology—whether it works to understand behaviour or to cause social change—is a dispute found in every pursuit of scientific knowledge, and such polarization is far from absolute. Scholars differ in the degree to which they regard the value of science as an intellectual understanding of the cosmos or as an instrument for immediate improvement of the human lot. Since even the “purest” scientist conceives of his work as benefiting mankind, the issue narrows to a difference in preference between an ad hoc attack on immediate human problems and a long-run trust that basic knowledge, gathered without reference to present urgencies, is even more valuable. In some countries there is much pressure toward early practicality of results; in others, including the United States, the larger number of scholars and the principal sociological associations have shown preference for “basic science.”

A degree of polarization has also arisen over the proper strategy for research—whether research should take its direction from the needs of society and humankind or from the evolving theoretical corpus of sociology. In nations that allow academic freedom, such disputes are usually of low intensity, because scholars select research interests on any basis they prefer, including that of personal taste. In this way presumably the motivation of the investigator is maximized.

Sociologists most interested in action express impatience at the claims of others who prefer to separate their research from personal values. Much of the dispute prevails only because the two sides argue past each other. There can be wide agreement that no human being is without personal values, that research forced to confirm a particular set of values is not good science, and that there can be scientific issues toward which a particular investigator is value-neutral. In research that is susceptible to contamination by the values of the worker, it is generally possible to minimize the damage by employing methodological devices that prevent the researcher from imposing his or her wishes on a particular outcome. These devices include objective observational techniques, measurement methods, and independent or blind analysis of results.

Current trends

Sociology will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. Among present trends contributing to this growth are the increase in public appreciation of the subject, the continuing growth of funds for teaching and research, the steady reduction of sectarian opposition to study of social institutions, the refinement of methodologies that permit statistical analysis, and the growth of acceptance from scientists in other fields. Although factors such as extreme nationalism and internal conflict can inhibit growth in sociology, such conditions have impeded development only locally and temporarily.

Furthermore, it appears likely that public interest in the development of sociological knowledge will increase as more people come to realize what sociology can contribute to human safety and welfare. Advances in science and technology will always be accompanied by unforeseen and unintended consequences. Progress can indeed diminish the effects of natural catastrophes such as famine and disease, but progress can also bring about a wide range of new problems. These are not the menaces of an impersonal nature but dangers that arise from imperfection in human behaviour, particularly in organized human relations. In addition, wars have shown a tendency to become larger and ever more destructive, and the causes, though far from being understood, clearly lie, in large measure, in the complexities of social organization, in the interaction of great corporate national bodies. It can be argued that politics, unaided by social science and other disciplines, cannot reverse this trend.

Problems within nations are seen as increasing sources of human troubles. There is a general rise in the severity of ethnic hostilities and of internal conflicts between generations, political factions, and other divisions of the populations. Human welfare is also threatened by widespread poverty, crime, vice, political corruption, and breakdowns in the family and in other institutions. Contemporary sociology does not yet provide the solutions, but its practitioners believe that the prospects for human betterment depend in large part on the increasing application of social science knowledge to these enduring problems.

Applications of sociology also appear to be spreading in several directions. Many sociologists are employed by national and international bodies to recommend programs, evaluate their progress and effects, gather data for planning, and propose methods for initiating change. Sociologists aid industry by obtaining data on clients and workers. Some of this work includes social surveys, offering advice on personnel or public relations problems, providing labour unions with advice, helping communities undertake reform, counseling families, and donating or selling advice to consumer groups. As long as organizations need information on their various publics, there will be strong demand for sociological knowledge.

Progress into the deeper sociological questions will require greater resources, larger research teams, and special research agencies. This compares to the increased complexity of research organization that occurred in the older sciences. In addition, large-scale sociological research will continue to be enhanced by the availability of computers and the Internet and by the use of complex statistical techniques.