A sociologist is a person who completed university studies in sociology, and was trained as a researcher of society, to analyze its structure, its problems and understand the behaviors that occur between groups of people, as well as the causes that originated them.
Sociology is a discipline that deals with the study of the social life of human beings, groups and communities. Take into account that society is made up of each of the individuals and groups to which they belong, such as families, schools, workplaces, public and private organizations, that is, the community in general,
To know the link that exists between the beliefs, norms and rules that guide the actions of a person, that is, their culture with their way of acting, sociologists carry out studies applying various methodologies and research techniques, and thus try to explain some phenomena that occur in people's social environments.
What activities and functions does a sociologist do?
The main functions consist of investigating about individuals and their relationships with society, for which they must collect information, organize it, analyze it and communicate the results obtained, detailing among their activities the following:
one.
A sociologist makes a diagnosis of situations that arise in the individuals of a community and that merit the planning of a project to find possible solutions.
Write research projects or proposals, demonstrating the relevance of the research, the scope or limits of action.
It also chooses the methodology to be used for the analysis of the information, either by description of qualities, which allows narrating and exposing the reasons for a behavior, or numerical that helps to quantify the results or quantitative, according to the type of study required..
two.
Sociologists inquire about concepts, foundations, theories, ideas and previous experiences on a subject under study by various authors.
They select the most reliable and updated information, to offer it to others when it is needed.
3.
The writing and elaboration of questionnaires, dialogues for interviews, among other tools, to obtain information directed to a group of people, composed of questions that allow to identify a certain situation is part of the sociologist's functions.
Other themes on which these instruments are based are: people's beliefs, where they are focused, their thoughts and among which groups there are common tendencies of beliefs and thoughts.
Four.
It consists of organizing the information, tabulating it through mathematical processes or information analysis, in order to contrast the results obtained with the concepts, ideas, theories and other studies, in order to find similarities and justifications that help to explain the trends found.
A sociologist is also in charge of presenting said information clearly and coherently through graphs and histograms that allow the results to be viewed in a more organized way, to try to understand the behaviors of citizens in some contexts, as well as their motivations to take those decisions.
5.
A sociologist compares the result achieved with the desired one, to assess the means applied in the investigation, the formulation of a hypothesis, the performance of the researcher or the team.
The purpose of the assessment is to propose a better way to investigate, update processes and achieve more effective results.
6.
It is in charge of selecting the personnel, giving a training program and integration of the teams, guiding the actions of the human groups based on a common good.
Also to establish rules of action in the event of possible conflict situations, to disseminate job descriptions within the organization, to present to all personnel the functions and responsibilities of each department, and how they are linked to each other.
7.
Plan, organize and coordinate all the activities and resources that are available, group the data and records of the proposals and projects that are being carried out.
They are in charge of logically structuring the processes and methods for obtaining and analyzing the findings, communicating the functions and attitudes expected in their performance to each member of the group of researchers, establishing the goals, lapses and requirements.
Finally, they verify the applicability of the instruments, the reliability and relevance of the information.
8.
The sociologist is in charge of warning organizations or other entities about possible situations that could affect their proper functioning.
It can suggest corrections in the actions of both the staff and those who direct these organizations in terms of the rules of coexistence, respect for workers, shared responsibilities, to propose possible solutions.
It guides the institutions on some benefits that would improve the behavior of workers, as well as for the training and professional updating of their staff.
9.
The sociologist is trained to persuade individuals, groups, public or private institutions, about possible incorrect practices and work standards that affect a particular group or community, whether in terms of health, citizenship, inequality, discrimination, harm. to private property and the environment.
They are also responsible for warning state agencies about the presence of social phenomena such as crime, drug use, increasing levels of poverty, student status, urban development, the proliferation of diseases, school dropouts, gender violence, among others.
All this, in order to promote the full development of the human being and understand the type of society that you want to build.
10.
A sociologist can dedicate himself to teaching sociology classes in academic spaces. Transmit the set of norms, values, competencies and behaviors that a professional graduated in this area must have, to make them aware of the importance of studying the problems of society and their possible causes.
It must do so by highlighting the integrality of sociology, since it is a discipline that is related to anthropology, as an area in charge of studying the social and cultural expressions of a group of people, in order to seek timely and joint solutions that allow living in a more humane society.
References
- Brenton, J. (2012). Voices in action: What is a sociologist and what do they do. Recovered from: voicesintoaction.org.
- Giddens, A. (2000). Sociology. Madrid, Editorial Alliance.
- Professional profile of the sociologist. Recovered from: cdn.sociologiac.net.
- Sociology, Professional Profiles, Vocational Guidance, Vocation vs. Race. Recovered from: my-carrera.com.
- Sociology. Recovered from: dgoserver.unam.mx.