Data-processing and the use of the results of sociological surveys.

The article discusses data-processing and sociological surveys. The results of any quantitative sociological survey can be transcribed on to a set of punched cards. In the major survey on archaic societies carried out by a sociologist, for example, the basic data relate to 250 units which, in this case, are societies. The same kind of information is collected for all societies. If one look at another sociological classic, "Suicide," one shall find a similar situation. In this case, the population considered is a body of individuals, namely, all those who committed suicide within a specific period. By and large, therefore, data collected in a sociological survey can, at least in theory, always be shown in table form composed of n rows and m columns, which may be termed a data matrix. Each row of the matrix corresponds to one of the units observed, each column to one of the data collected during the survey. There is no doubt that the work involved in interpreting sociological surveys is greatly facilitated by the use of data-processing. There are two reasons why sociologists frequently employ intuitive methods, both in the expression of raw data as variables and in the analysis of the structural properties of the matrix of variables. First, sociologists are often insufficiently trained in quantitative methodology. Second, it must be admitted that the application of the quantitative methods used in analyzing surveys is often an arduous task.