Computereinsatz zur soziologischen Informationsgewinnung

Abstract

This chapter aims at making aware that social science Computer usage need not be restricted to data analysis. Rather, Computer usage makes survey design, data collection and management easier, thus creating Information bases facilitating more comprehensive sociological analysis of higher quality. As an integral process of sociological research required to secure the availability of empirical material, it is primarily a process to identify the demands from the grown complexity of sociological research, to establish the methodological approach to the identification of the process character and the socio-structural determination of the factual situations studied, to safeguard the claims for the preparation of forecasts, to reveal the interdisciplinarity and to ensure international comparisons. Data bases have a special importance for the application of Computers. This concerns especially the use of data bases of existing Information Systems, data bases of archives of empirical investigation, data base in collections of questionaries and sociological research data bases. (author's abstract)