The potential of reflective technology in the study of a changing society

Authors

  • Galina I. Saganenko The Sociological Institute of the RAS — Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the RAS, 25/14, 7-ya Krasnoarmeyskaya ul., St. Petersburg, 190005, Russian Federation
  • Alexey E. Geger  The Sociological Institute of the RAS — Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the RAS, 25/14, 7-ya Krasnoarmeyskaya ul., St. Petersburg, 190005, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8717-565X
  • Kirill K. Boyrsky  ITMO UNIVERSITY, 49, Kronverksky pr., St. Petersburg, 197101, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0306-8276
  • Victoria I. Dudina St. Petersburg State University, 7–9 Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2099-2345
  • Yuri P. Zarichnyak  ITMO UNIVERSITY, 49, Kronverksky pr., St. Petersburg, 197101, Russian Federation

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu12.2020.103

Abstract

Fundamental changes are taking place at all levels of life in modern society at a dramatic rate. They are set by the rapid development of digital and information-communication technologies. People have found themselves in a new temporal age. Is this situation subject to study by traditional empirical methods? The sensitivity analysis of popular empirical methods shows that standardized survey methods and in-depth interviews do not reveal changes in the texture of the transforming social reality, in the characteristics of different social groups. Moreover, these methods are resource-intensive, require significant financial, emotional, and time expenditures, and do not provide transparency and reliability of results. The global changes in the country that began during the Gorbachev era of perestroika have modernized the search for relevant and effective methods of studying transformative reality. It was then that we launched the methodology of open questions, including a joint project with mathematicians to create an informationanalytical system DISCANT, established contacts for regular surveys with the Academy of Sciences and GPB named after M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The aim of the article is to unlock the potential of the reflexive research technology developed by the authors based on open questions, providing its modules, methodological and substantial resources accumulated with its help. The structure of the article is organized as a consistent and brief presentation of the main modules of the technology, among them: typology of open questions, reflexive survey methods covering a wide range of social spheres, implemented empirical projects, and effective computer system DISCANT of mixed research support. In conclusion, the principal capabilities of the technology to respond to a number of social challenges are illustrated: effective empirical research in a time of transformation, development of sociological thinking, expansion of the system of didactic principles, mastering integral empirical experience.

Keywords:

open questions, mixed questions, reflective techniques, research technology, DISCANT, text arrays

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References

Литература

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Published

2020-04-30

How to Cite

Saganenko, G. I. ., Geger, A. E. ., Boyrsky, K. K. ., Dudina, V. I. ., & Zarichnyak, Y. P. . (2020). The potential of reflective technology in the study of a changing society. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Sociology, 13(1), 40–54. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu12.2020.103

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2020): Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Sociology.

Section

Methods in sociology: traditions and transformations

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Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Sociology" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.