I have previously discussed the four questions facing applied sociologists. These questions refer to how we utilise sociological theories, methods and principles in our work, and the challenges and opportunities we encounter practising sociology outside academia. In brief, these questions are: 

1. Sociology for What? That is, why are we doing sociology and what are the "real life" constraints in which we produce our work? 
2. Sociology for Whom? Who are our users or audiences and how do we tailor our outputs for different stakeholders and clients? 
3. Sociology for Where?  What place-related issues do we encounter in delivering sociological solutions for communities and clients? 
4. Sociology How? How do we actually carry out our research, activism or activities? 

My post today for Sociology at Work addresses all these questions, through a specific focus: what is it like when applied sociologists work with differnent clients? As I mentioned previously on the S@W blog, there are not enough first-hand accounts of how applied sociologists navigate their work. Today I want to open up a conversation about how we manage our client relationships.

This post starts with an overview of the client work that applied sociologists carry out, by demonstrating how applied sociology differs from the industry projects undertaken by academics. I then share some of my general experiences working with clients in three contexts: as a researcher in the public service; as a private contractor; and as a consultant running my own business. I draw on my examples to reflect on the challenges and rewards of working as an applied sociologist. Later posts will focus on other aspects of applied work with clients, such as the types of sociological activities we carry out for clients in different industries.

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As two men were arrested this week for allegedly conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not interested in talking about the causes of terrorism. He said: "I think, though, this is not a time to commit sociology, if I can use an expression... The root causes of terrorism is terrorists." 

Here's two introductory references if you're interested in the sociology of political violence: Political Terrorism by Alex Schmid and Albert Jongman, and one of the best resources I've read, The Psychology of Terrorism by John Horgan.

Link to news story via The Sociological Cinema.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr was born on the 15th of January 1929. Our American colleagues and others might know that King had a degree in sociology and theology (of course!). As the Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Sociology notes, King remains "a public sociologist par excellence." In celebration of the passing birthday of this pre-eminent sociologist and progressive activist, I made you this meme with one of my favourite quotes by King. Here, he argues that education is not simply about accumulating knowledge, but rather to develop a sense of morality based upon principles of social justice and then acting upon these values.

As an applied and public sociologist, we can see how Luther's sociological training influenced his "change management" leadership style, which David Frantz describes as:

building a vision, networking, communicating powerfully, identifying and dealing with differences, creating leverage to motivate people, and conceptualizing alternative strategic paths. (p.157)

If you're still studying sociology and you wonder what you can do with a sociology degree, think about King as a model for what applied sociologists can achieve outside academia.

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What are the roles that applied sociologists take on? What skills and methods do they apply in order to carry out their work? What workplace issues do they face? How do they manage their professional challenges and celebrate their triumphs? 

As I've previously written here on Sociology at Work, there is a small but dedicated scholarship on the general principles of applied sociology. Yet there are not enough first-hand accounts about how sociologists experience and carry out their client work. Our online journal Working Notes is trying to fill this void, by including profiles on applied sociologists and their research, activism and general adventures working outside academia. We need more of these stories to demystify the work we do.

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