The Methodological Divide of Sociology: Evidence from Two Decades of Journal Publications
Faculty/Professorship: | Political Sociology ; Sociological Theory |
Author(s): | Schwemmer, Carsten; Wieczorek, Oliver ![]() |
Title of the Journal: | Sociology |
ISSN: | 0038-0385 |
Publisher Information: | London [u.a.] : Sage |
Year of publication: | 2019 |
Volume: | 54 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 19 ; Online-Ressource |
Language(s): | English |
DOI: | 10.1177/0038038519853146 |
Abstract: | Past research indicates that Sociology is a low-consensus discipline, where different schools of thought have distinct expectations about suitable scientific practices. This division of Sociology into different subfields is to a large extent related to methodology and choices between qualitative or quantitative research methods. Relying on theoretical constructs of the academic prestige economy, boundary demarcation and taste for research, we examine the methodological divide in generalist Sociology journals. Using automated text analysis for 8737 abstracts of articles published between 1995 and 2017, we discover evidence of this divide, but also of an entanglement between methodological choices and different research topics. Moreover, our results suggest a marginally increasing time trend for the publication of quantitative research in generalist journals. We discuss how this consolidation of methodological practices could enforce the entrenchment of different schools of thought, which ultimately reduces the potential for innovative and effective sociological research. |
GND Keywords: | Soziologie; Forschungsmethode; Fachzeitschrift; Wissenschaftssoziologie; Geschichte 1995-2017 |
Keywords: | Natural Language Processing, Research Methodology, Scientometrics, Sociology of Science, Sociology of Sociology |
DDC Classification: | 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology |
RVK Classification: | MP 8000 |
Peer Reviewed: | Ja |
International Distribution: | Ja |
Type: | Article |
URI: | https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/45974 |
Year of publication: | 26. July 2019 |

originated at the
University of Bamberg
University of Bamberg