Sociology More Nimble on its Feet

The quote below comes from a great book with lots of useful case studies of applied sociology in action. In Public Sociology: Research, Action, and Change, Philip Nyden, Leslie Hossfeld and Gwendolyn Nyden, argue:

“In their active engagement with various publics, sociologists become more aware of emerging issues and responding to those issues in their research. This elevates the field of sociology in the eyes of the 99.99% of the world outside of our field…. Because of their direct and immediate proximity, collaborative partners often raise questions and concerns based on local knowledge that the researchers may not even know about. Making these adjustments strengthens the research by making it more relevant to the publics involved.”