Main Content
Social Research
Research and Teaching, Market Research, Opinion Research, Labor Market and Occupational Research, Higher Education and Science Research
The main pathway for sociologists to research activities beyond the university is social structure analysis. Starting with market research (“Where do we find our target group in the population, how is it differentiated, what needs can we satisfy with our products and services?”), through opinion research (“Which socialization factors lead to particularly pronounced opinions, where and in whom, what keeps certain preconceptions stable, what makes them appear changeable?”) to labor market and occupational research (“Who takes up which occupations with which labor market opportunities, based on what conditions?”), it is always the analytical, structural knowledge of sociology that makes valid statements possible in the first place.
Possible Tasks
-As a doctoral candidate, you conduct research and write your doctoral thesis.
-As a research associate, you are involved in research projects or research areas.
-You are involved in the conceptualization of studies, from the development of the research design and the selection of survey and evaluation methods to the actual creation of the questionnaire or interview guide. You evaluate the data obtained using software, write up the research results in the form of reports, and summarize them in various forms of presentation (opinion research, market research, university and academic research).
-For example, you conduct (guided) interviews in job centers, employment agencies, or with job seekers, evaluate qualitative data from various institutions, publish academic research results (in German and/or English), prepare reports for the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, advise the professional public, and respond to inquiries from politicians and administrators (labor market and occupational research).
-You publish academic papers and evaluate specialist literature.
-You attend academic conferences and are actively involved in research groups both at your university and between universities.
-You write project proposals to raise external funding for your research.
-You educate students on specialist knowledge, practical skills, and social scientific methods.
-You conceptualize and conduct seminars and evaluate student assignments. You support your students during office hours.
-Your expertise includes, for example, research in the fields of macro- or microsociology, such as social network theory, conflict research, or social constructivism.Industries and Occupations
-Higher education
-Social science research and market research institutes
-Institutes for labor market, occupational, and higher education research (Institute for Employment Research, German Center for Higher Education and Science Research)
-Research and analysis departments in (non-)governmental and intergovernmental authorities and organizations (e.g. the German Bundestag, International Criminal Court, United Nations, European Union, or large political foundations)Job Boards and Professional Associations
-Stellenangebote WiLa-Arbeitmarkt
-Science Jobs - Stellenbörse für die Wissenschaft
-Hochschulstellenmarkt
-duz Wissenschaftskarriere - Stellen aus Wissenschaft, Forschung und der freien Wirtschaft
-Academics Stellenportal
-Interamt - Jobportal für den öffentlichen Dienst
-Kultweet Stellenmarkt
-Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung
-Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung IAB
-Arbeitskreis Deutscher Markt- und Sozialforschungsinstitute e.V.
-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie (DGS)
