New Technology and the Nature of Sociological Work.

The article examines a variety of technologies and the nature of sociological work. One way to understand how technology may influence sociological work is through Charles Ragin's distinction between case-oriented and variable-oriented research. This distinction identifies two poles of a continuum on which most research may be arranged. Case-oriented research focuses on understanding the specific characteristics of individual cases. Cases are treated as wholes and the distinctive combination of characteristics in each case is used to understand the context in which events occur. Technology in general and computer hardware and software in particular are usually designed for business, not academic needs. As such, their justification is that, through reducing costs or saving time, they can make a business more profitable. But the viability of sociology as a profession will not be enhanced by cost reductions. Whether technology will change the actual content of sociological work is a difficult and politically sensitive question, because it touches the status and centrality of different kids of research within sociology, and thus influences careers and prestige. We approached the idea of content, using distinction between variable- and case-oriented research strategies.