Essay Example about Challenges of Studying a Society

Sociology is a discipline that deals with the study of human cultures and civilizations. Despite the fact that the profession is quite popular, there have been a lot of controversies and contentious issues in the understanding of the meaning of sociology and specific things that sociologists as experts should concern themselves with (Gunter 12). Furthermore, the sociologists themselves have come up with more sophisticated definitions that have further complicated the intricacies. Some definitions posit that sociological study focuses on the investigation of the social life; that it investigates how opportunity and experience influence the lives of people as well as the impacts caused by the people themselves in their quest for making a change. Consequently, the above misunderstandings and issues have culminated into challenges in the methods and the process of studying society.

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Challenges and problem in social work and research

Sociology is a critical and central profession in understanding societal dynamics. Nonetheless, scientific inventions, as well as technological advancement in our contemporary societies, have contributed significantly to the social dynamism. The societal improvements have much more complicated social science and complicated social present problems making the sociology works tiresome.

Several problem and challenges accompany social studies especially in the methods and strategies of research. In this regard, the issues or challenges facing the sociologist can fall into two major problems. First, it is challenging to obtain valid data about specific conditions in the society. For instance, if one wants to study the sociology of education, it is cumbersome to quantify issues and factors such as good teaching and good scholarship hence making it almost impossible to analyze things objectively (Kraus and Wooden 18).

Secondly, it is also challenging to determine any causal relationships in human beings. It is challenging for the sociologist to know for sure what kind of factors are responsible for various human conditions. In the study of poverty, for instance, it difficult to determine with certainty whether factors such as globalization which is an economic factor causes poverty. Furthermore, it is also difficult to decide whether or not it is the culture of the poor that makes themselves and their descendants dwell in poverty. Precisely, it is a significant problem and challenge to the sociologist to study undetermined casualties (MacClancy et al. 29).

According to (Andersen, Margaret, and Taylor 21) one of the critical aspect of society that makes sociology a challenging profession is the culture which denotes how people live. Moreover, revolutionary advancements in increasing globalization, as well as communication technology, has culminated into unprecedented access to the cultural richness and variation. In the context of understanding the dynamics of human interactions between nature, and nurture grows steadily, the concept of culture continues to offer the framework of nurture in the human development.

The cultural challenge in the professional is mainly perpetuated by the science of childhood development as the explosion development of cognitive psychology in the 1960s paid little attention to the environmental influence as well as the competencies of young children. The new generation of young people has acted as agents of their development and come a long way along way in developing and attributing early skill acquisition to the universal emergence linguistics and cognitive structures that require a bit modest environmental guidance. The initial childhood establishment of the firm cross-sectional foundation for the first child development as well as the development complexities that early childhood development in the current contemporary society is a significant challenge to the social researchers.

Furthermore, unlike researchers in other fields such as neurobiology of childhood development, studies involving the relationship between cultures and competence are greatly infused with personal beliefs and values. Therefore, the capacity to resolve this and carry out this critical analysis depends on the ability of the individual to understand the diversity in social, emotional, human cognitive, as well as moral development from the early years of life. Therefore, it is very elaborate that that cultural practices that are related to childhood development are critically variable and eventually results in different developmental outcomes (MacClancy et al. 36).

Demographic challenges are also the primary menace in the work of social research as the study. Researchers show that absence of precise definitions of fundamental demographic factors such as race and ethnicity. The two elements are the primary sources of confusion with the current blending and tremendous increase of world's population. The exponential rise in the world population results in the multicultural society which poses challenges in the community such as wastage of human capital and complicates social work and study (Andersen, Margaret and Taylor 36).

Sociological imagination

Additionally, another sociological challenge is sociological imagination. Nonetheless, professionals offer the most plausible solution to these many problems. Despite the argument on the understanding of the concept by most sociologists, widely accepted definition presents social imagination as the awareness of the relationship between the society at large and the personal experiences. The sociological imagination seems challenging to a majority of sociologist since it is based on the application thoughts to make ad answering sociological questions. It derives from the understanding that the social outcomes are purely articulated to what we do and are the shaped by the situation in which humans live. Some of the critical things that form the social results in this context include but are not limited to the environmental factors and social norms (Parsons et al. 25).

Sociologist mills believe in the connection of personal troubles to public issues through the power of social imagination. In our contemporary society, there is always an urge to know sociological and historical of a singular individual in the community. Therefore, social creativity is essential in the understanding historical scene to understand the inner self. A good example of real-life situation can be the drinking of tea, which can be seen as a self-cafe since it catalyzes the work of metabolism. On the other hand, the consumption of tea is a ritual as some people drink tea at the same time daily. Also, tea also contains caffeine that is addictive than the issue changes from a simple care action to addition. In a public perspective, people meet to drink tea together hence the social atmosphere (Gunter 46).

Argument and Personal Viewpoint

The revolutionary advances in ICT and the exacerbating globalization have culminated in unprecedented to the cultural richness and human variations in our contemporary society. Agreeably, the above advancements and changes have greatly complicated the profession. Conceivably, it is cumbersome for a sociologist to examine and quantify social issues and determine undetermined topics such as teaching and poverty respectively. Also, other contemporary issues such as early childhood development as well as social imagination and demographic changes have possessed a blow to the credibility of the profession.

However, in my viewpoint, the many challenges facing the profession of sociology are nothing but just stepping stones and a platform to improve the professional credibility and reputation. The world rapid population growth, the culture, and human variations, as well as competencies of the science early childhood development, are vital platforms for social experiments (Kraus and Wooden 22). The challenges trigger social research and investigation strategies such as the social imagination. Hence this not only raises the standard in the profession but also makes it a defined and established occupation. Therefore, I stand to uphold sociology as the most understood profession as asserted by a 2013 global survey of 16,000 students' parents conducted by social media networking platform LinkedIn.

In conclusion, sociology is one of the world's most famous professions, the professional harbors a lot of controversies and challenges as a result of the drastic changes in the vital social parameters which render the job cumbersome. Despite the obstacles, key strategies such social imagination and using the problems as opportunity has improved the research work and the occupation at large.

Works Cited

Andersen, Margaret L, and Howard F. Taylor. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2008. Print.

Gunter, Sandra. Sport in Globalised Societies - Changes and Challenges. Munster: Waxmann, 2013. Print.

Kraus, Wolfgang, and R G. Wooden. Septuagint Research: Issues and Challenges in the Study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006. Internet resource.

MacClancy, Jeremy, and Agustin Fuentes. Ethics in the Field: Contemporary Challenges. New York: Berghahn Books, 2013. Print.

Kraus, Wolfgang, and R G. Wooden. Septuagint Research: Issues and Challenges in the Study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006. Internet resource.

Parsons, Jeffrey, Tuure Tuunanen, John Venable, Brian Donnellan, Markus Helfert, and Jim Kenneally. Tackling Society's Grand Challenges with Design Science: 11th International Conference, Desrist 2016, St. John's, Nl, Canada, May 23-25, 2016, Proceedings. , 2016. Internet resource.