Can applied sociology be useful? An examination of different viewpoints

Abstract

This paper is a literature review of different views regarding applied sociology. While universities often educate their students in general sociology, the demand for applied sociology has continually outstripped the supply of qualified professionals. Part of this gap could be ascribed to the failure of applied sociology to develop its full potential. There are, however, also critics who contend that sociology cannot be applied at all. Their main point is that there are prescriptive questions involved in policy, and science simply cannot provide the answer to prescriptive questions. Such criticism cannot be easily dismissed but they miss the different and broad ways in which sociology can be applied. These applications, as I will show, can roughly be categorized in three ways: Mapping and Social Indicator Research, Modeling Social Phenomena and Evaluation of Purposive Action. The potential of applied sociology might be reached by providing the specific education needed for it and decreasing the negative picture of applied sociology.