Abstract
In this paper I describe my experience as a qualitative sociologist on the research staff of a government policymaking agency. Using specific examples from my experience, strategies for survival as a qualitative sociologist in a quantitatively-oriented setting are presented. It is proposed that: 1) qualitative methods need to be promoted as a credible and valuable approach to research and the individual researcher must “sell” him or herself as competent in the use of such methods; 2) social support networks with similarly inclined co-workers and sociologists outside of the workplace need to be developed and maintained and used to enhance the status of qualitative methods and qualitative sociologists; and 3) as is true for all researchers working in a policymaking or applied setting, it is necessary to recognize the reticular nature of social research and to demonstrate how qualitative methods generate information that is useful to policy or other applied purposes. By application of this approach in my own workplace, qualitative research methods have become an acceptable and even desirable part of many research projects of the agency and I have been able to continue to practice and to maintain my identity as a qualitative sociologist.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, P. and Adler, P. A. (1980). “Symbolic Interactionism.” pp. 20–66 in J. D. Douglas, et al. (eds.),Introduction to the Sociologies of Everyday Life. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
Agnew, N. McK. and Pykes, S. W. (1982).The Science Game-An Introduction to Research in the Behavior Sciences. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Babbie, E. (1986).The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Berger, P. L. (1963).Introduction to Sociology-A Humanistic Perspective. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.
Berger, P. L. and Kellner, H. K. (1981).Sociology Reinterpreted-An Essay on Method and Vocation. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Bernstein, I. N. and H. E. Freeman, (1975).Academic and Entrepreneurial Research. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Bogdan, R. and Taylor, S. J. (1975).Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods-A Phenomenological Approach to the Social Sciences. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Brownstein, H. H. (1983). “The Adequacy of Intensive Interview Data: Preliminary Suggestions for the Measurement of Validity.”Humanity and Society 7, August, pp. 301–20.
Bulmer, M. (1982).The Uses of Social Research. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Campbell, D. T. and Stanley, J. C. (1963).Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Conrad, P. and Reinharz, S. (1984).Computers and Qualitative Data-A Special Issues of Qualitative Sociology. v. 7, n. 1 and 2, Spring and Summer.
Cook, T. D. and Campbell, D. T. (1979).Quasi-Experimentation-Design and Analysis for Field Settings. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Cook, T. D., Del Rosario, M., Hennigan, K., Mark, M. M., and Trochim, W. M. K. (1978).Evaluation Studies, Review Annual. Volume 3. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Cronbach, L. J. (1982).Designing Evaluations of Educational and Social Programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publish.
Denzin, N. K. (1978).Sociological Methods-A Sourcebook. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Dixon, W. J., Brown, M. B., Engelman, L., Frane, J. W., Hill, M. A., Jennish, R. I., and Toporek, J. D. (1981).BMDP Statistical Software, (1981). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Dooley, D. 1984.Social Research Methods. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Freeman, H. E. and Rossi, P. H. (1984). “Furthering the Applied Side of Sociology.”American Sociological Review 49, pp. 571–80.
Freudenberg, W. R. and Keating, K. M., (1985). “Applying Sociology to Policy: Social Science and the Environmental Impact Statement.”Rural Sociology 50, pp. 578–605.
Gibbons, D. C., Lebowitz, B. D., and Blake, G. F. (1976). “Program Evaluation in Correction.”Crime and Delinquency 22, July, pp. 309–21.
Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967).The Discovery of Grounded Theory-Strategies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine-Atherton.
Goffman, E. (1959).The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor Books.
Gollin, A. E. (1983). “The Course of Applied Sociology: Past and Future.” Pp. 442–66 in H. E. Freeman, R. R. Dynes, P. H. Rossi, and W. H. Whyte (eds.),Applied Sociology-Roles and Activities of Sociologists in Diverse Settings. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gottfredson, D. M. (1970). “The Base Expectancy Approach.” Pp. 807–13 inThe Sociology of Punishment and Correction, edited by N. Johnston, L. Savitz, and M. Wolfgang. New York: Wiley.
Kerlinger, F. N. (1973).Foundations of Behavioral Research. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Labovitz, S. and Hagedorn, R. (1981).Introduction to Social Research. New York: McGraw Hill.
Landecker, W. S. (1955). “Types of Integration and Their Measurement.” Pp. 19–27 in P. F. Lazarsfeld and M. Rosenberg (eds.),The Language of Social Research. New York: Free Press.
Lazarsfeld, P. F. and Reitz, J. G. (1975).An Introduction to Applied Social Research. New York: Elsevier.
Lazarsfeld, P. F. Sewell, W. H., Wilensky, H. L. (1967). “Introduction.” Pp. ix-xxxiii in P. F. Lazarsfeld, W. H. Sewell, and H. L. Wilensky (eds.),The Uses of Sociology. New York: Basic Books.
Lee, A. McC. (1976). “Presidential Address: Sociology for Whom?”American Sociological Review 41, December, pp. 925–36.
Mayer, R. R. and Greenwood, E. (1980).The Design of Social Policy Research. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
McKinney, M. H. (1985).AskSAM. Corpus Christi, TX: Seaside Software, Inc.
Merton, R. K. (1945). “Role of the Intellectual in Public Bureaucracy.”Social Forces 23, pp. 405–15.
Merton, R. K. (1949). “The Role of Applied Social Science in the Formation of Policy: A Research Memorandum.”Philosophy of Science 16, pp. 161–81.
Merton, R. K. (1968).Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press.
Miles, M. B. and Huberman A. M. (1984a). “Drawing Meaning from Qualitative Data: Toward a Shared Craft.”Educational Researcher May, pp. 20–30.
Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1984b).Qualitative Data Analysis-A Sourcebook of New Methods. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Nerlove, M. and Press, J. S. (1973).Univariate and Multivariate Log-Linear and Logistic Models. Rand Corporation, R-1306-EDA/NIA.
Oppenheim, A. N. (1966).Questionnaire Design and Attitude Measurement. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Patton, M. Q. (1978).Utilization-Focused Evaluation. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Patton, M. Q. (1980).Qualitative Evaluation Methods. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Patton, M. Q. (1981).Creative Evaluation. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Philliber, S. G., Schwab, M. R., and Sloss, G. S. (1980).Social Research-Guides to the Decision-Making Process. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.
Portney, K. E. (1986).Approaching Public Policy Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Riley, J. W. (1967). “The Sociologist in the Nonacademic Setting.” pp. 789–805 in P. F. Lazarsfeld, W. H. Sewell, and H. L. Wilensky (eds.),The Uses of Sociology. New York: Basic Books.
Schatzman, L. and Strauss, A. L. (1973).Field Research-Strategies for a Natural Sociology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Schutz, A. (1962).Collected Papers-I The Problems of Social Reality. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Schutz, A. (1964).Collected Papers-II Studies in Social Theory. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Seidel, J. V. and Clark, J. A. (1984). “THE ETHNOGRAPH: A Computer Program for the Analysis of Qualitative Data.”Qualitative Sociology v. 7, n. 1 and 2, Spring and Summer, pp. 110–125.
Selltiz, C., Jahoda, M., Deutsch, M., and Cook, S. W. (1966).Research Methods in Social Relations. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Spector, M. and Faulkner R. R. (1980). “Thoughts on Five New Journals and Some Old Ones,”Contemporary Sociology 9, July, pp. 477–82.
U. S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1983). “The Prosecution of Felony Arrests, 1979”.BJS Report. NCJ-86482, December. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office.
U. S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1984). “The Prevalence of Guilty Pleas.”BJS Special Report. NCJ-96018, December. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office.
Weber, M. (1947).The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. Tr. By A. M. Henderson and T. Parsons. New York: The Free Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Thanks to Vincent D. Manti and two anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Thanks also to Robert K. Merton for assuring me that the application of sociology is important and for giving me the word “reticular.” Nonetheless, opinions and points of view expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of any reader nor of the State of New York or any of its Divisions and no official endorsement should be inferred.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brownstein, H.H. Surviving as a qualitative sociologist: Recollections from the diary of a state worker. Qual Sociol 13, 149–167 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989684
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989684