Applied sociology

Abstract

This paper provides an analytical framework for understanding applied sociology, namely sociological research oriented towards resolving practical problems rather than providing new contributions to our understanding of social phenomena. The first part contains a brief historical account of the concept and addresses the main problems which emerge when sharp distinctions between basic and applied research are made. The second part examines the knowledge resulting from applied sociology. We draw the main dimensions of typical organisational arrangements for doing basic and applied sociological work and analyse applied sociology as a set of social and political conditions where research is produced. These conditions usually give rise to descriptions and, on occasions,
to empirical generalisations, whereas results contrasting important theoretical hypotheses from a disciplinary point of view are produced less frequently. Then the article examines some specific mechanisms such as methodological decisions, the availability of resources and time constraints to explain why applied sociology most often produces this kind of cognitive results. Finally, effects related to cognitive and organisational divisions are addressed taking into account two processes in current research systems: the large amount of resources devoted to applied sociological research that result in non-theoretical and non-accumulative knowledge
and the decoupling of disciplinary sociology from the practical world of policy making. To conclude, some strategies for bridging this gap are discussed.