Examining Social World: Qualitative Research, Cohesion and Alienation

This essay provides an overview of key sociological concepts, including qualitative and quantitative research, alienation, social movements, and sustainability. It explores how qualitative research helps understand social issues through micro-level analysis, while quantitative research provides statistical insights. The concept of alienation is discussed in the context of its impact on social interactions and workplace dynamics. Social movements are examined as drivers of social change, highlighting their influence on public opinion and policy. The essay also addresses the importance of sustainability in preserving resources for future generations and the principles of economy, society, and environment. Furthermore, it delves into the concept of community and social cohesion, discussing its decline in contemporary society due to factors such as diversity, migration, and social inequalities, referencing Marx's conflict theory to explain disagreements over limited resources. Desklib offers a wealth of study resources, including essays and solved assignments, to aid students in understanding complex sociological topics.

Understanding the social
world

TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
PART 2............................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

MAIN BODY.
PART 1
Qualitative and quantitative research:
According to Chambliss and Schutt (2018) Qualitative research is based on collecting and
analysing non-numerical data so that certain opinions, concepts and experiences could be
understood easily. On the other hand quantitative research is based on analysing the numerical
data that is related to finding patterns, averages, predictions so that results can be generalized
form the large populations.
The strength of the quantitative data is that it helps in providing vital informations that is
related to any society or community that could not be otherwise gathered through personal
observations or records. Further Baškarada and Koronios (2018) stated that , certain opinions
that are taken in the public helps in gathering the overall idea of the situation or issue so that
major decisions could be taken in easier manner. Quantitative data also helps in bringing about
change in the society on matters that were remaining undressed for long period. For example:
Number of participation in health awareness program through data and statistics will help to
measure the effectiveness of program that is been launched through any movement so that
corrective actions could be taken on time.
In qualitative data helps in bringing social change through identifying the micro aspects
of the society through interview and personal observations. For example : With the help of this
data connection of poverty between racial hate could be identified by any external agency so that
social life and relations of the people could be improved on large level. Thus, through
qualitative data people everyday life experience is analysed that will help in creating new
theories that could be further use for research for further improvement in society.
Alienation:
According to Fanon (2018) it refers to withdrawing the individual affections from any
object that results in feeling of helplessness or powerfulness. It is also said that such type of
alienation is described by MAX under three types such as product of labour, process of labour,
others and self. Moreover, such type of alienation develop negative feeling towards certain
aspects or beliefs. The relevance of such concept in today social world is that this might result in
rejection of loved one or the society. For example : A person that have feeling of alienation
might not love to carry out certain tasks such as going to events, organizing a party etc. such type

of alienation might affect negatively in social world as it will resist people in carrying out certain
tasks, and they might not be able to work in social groups. Such type of problem might affect the
employee work relationship at any workplace and might create negative work environment.
Further Kaase (2019) said that it prevents the workers in understanding certain shared
experiences and problems and such cause hindrance in the development of the individual.
Further, it can be said that social alienation could develop feelings such as unsafe while talking
with others. Also, it might develop the feeling of left out in the conversation within the group or
people.
Social movement:
According to Mayer and Roberta (2017) Social movement is type of movement that is
organized so that some social goal is supported so that change in the society could be
experienced. Further, here all the different groups come together who are of diverse nature but
share a common outlook on the society so that problem could be solved.
In certain areas Van Dyke and Amos (2017) stated that whenever the social movements
happen in any part of the world than they are helpful in providing the direction to any society.
Also, these movements affect the public opinion on large scale. Further, these are organized
either on state, national or state level depending upon the situation. For example: There are
various non-government organizations that are concern on areas like poverty, education and
racial discrimination etc. and thus conduct various rallies that create awareness among the people
to support the cause.
Moreover, various types of movements bring people together who are unable to raise voices
in the political system independently. However, too many social movements in any country can
affect the harmony and create negative impacts on the working. Also, it may lead to political
interruptions, conflicts, wars and much more if the issue is sensitive or critical. Further,
nowadays modern movements influence people in large numbers through use of digital and
technology. Also, it is seen that such types of digital movements have greater impacts on minds
of people along with higher level of engagement. Hence, social movements also give confidence
and rights to the people that are weaker sections in the society or are unable to raise opinions on
certain issues.
Sustainability:

According to Salas‐Zapata and Ortiz‐Muñoz (2019) the term is defined as ability of the
person to be maintained at certain level so that needs of the future generations is not
compromised. Further, sustainability of the environment occurs when the natural resources are
preserved in systematic manner. Also, it is seen that it is long termed goal so that world could be
made more sustainable.
Purvis, Mao and Robinson (2019) stated that through sustainability there is optimum
utilization of resources and chances of duplication are very less in the any economy. Further, it is
said that sustainability ensures that there is ecological balance in the country that does not affect
or compromise the individual standard of living. Moreover, there are three principles of this
concept such as economy, society and environment that are related to profit, people and planet
respectively. Therefore, to be sustainable it is required that all three factors are carried out in
systematic manner so that all the systems could work effectively. Also, in environment pillar
companies are aiming to reduce carbon footprints, waste and overall negative impact on the
environment. Further, the social pillar in any company is based on treating all the employees
fairly and in right manner whereas economic pillar is based on making aligning the shareholders
interests and its end user so that best of results are achieved. Also, the only motive of the firm is
to earn profits and achieve the desired goals and objectives so that it could remain competitive
and stay ahead in the competition for longer period.
PART 2.
“Community and social cohesion are in decline in contemporary society”
Introduction:
It is type of social unit that consists of norms, values and identity that are shared by the
group of people in specific time period. Also, people of different aspects gathered at community
centre for a particular purpose so that particular need could be fulfilled. Further, Wickes and
et.al. (2019) stated that social cohesion on the other hand could be defined as process that is
based on two main dimensions such as sense of belonging and different relationships among the
peoples that are the members of the community itself. Through social cohesion groups of people
aim at reducing the inequalities and social disparities that are present in the society (About
community cohesion, 2021).Further, through this various communities are able to resolve the
conflicts that are common to all the people that re living in any society in common (Torres and

et.al., 2021). Moreover, common liking and shared feeling such as bonds, friendships, closeness,
sharing, enjoyment and much more are the part of such aspects. Such shared values build
confidence among the people to overcome all sorts of challenges in the right manner so that all
the members have the opportunity of upward mobility. Also, through this process new group
members are added to the existing ones over the period. Moreover, through social cohesion
different societies are created that helps in creating opportunities so that all people can live
together happily in spite of certain differences.
Concept of community cohesion:
In the changing world social cohesion is much-needed so that better community systems
could be developed. Further, the main motive of the social cohesion is to ensure the well-being
of all its members so that disparities existing within the current system could be reduced to the
great extent. There are various factors and levels that are related to the cohesion so that society
could become more resilient. Raw, Sherry and Rowe (2021) said that there are certain level of
cohesions are level of community that includes shared loyalties, bonds, trust etc. Hence, it can
be said that any individual is highly influenced through the opinions that are shared by other
members of the community and thus for all the errors that are committed are in groups and not
on individual level. Next in this is individual level where individual intimate, face to face
communication, degree of like and dislike etc. are included. Last level is institutions that
consists of life satisfaction, social behaviour, civic society and much more.
Moreover, it is seen that social cohesion are mostly measured on the basis of trust
between various individuals that allow accomplishing certain tasks. Further, Healy (2019)
critically stated that it is seen that too much diversity in any country might decrease the level of
cohesion and decline in contemporary society due to the conflict in opinions. Also, there are
various factors that are part of cohesion that includes families and social transformations,
housing, deprivation, place and belonging, work and economic integration etc. Furthermore,
Ramos-Vidal, Villamil and Uribe (2019) investigated that in UK that with the new immigration
there are certain pressure on the society that has been due to various social and economic
transformations as old structures of the local community could be harmed. Various sociological
issues such as mental health, inflation, pollution, unemployment are rising continuously in parts
of UK. Hence, social cohesion is very important for long term harmony and competitiveness in
the society. Moreover, it results in policies that allow everyone in the society to share growth and

prosperity. It can be linked to social resource theory where resources are classified based on
personal and social resources (Social resource theory, 2019). In personal resources consists of
belonging to individuals based on gender, race and age etc. On the other hand social resources
are related to the possession of other individuals that are gathered based on the social network
and ties. Thus, this theory focused that all the resources that are included in the social connection
play a very important role for building effective interaction among various groups of society.
Also, it analysis how individuals use various social resources so that certain tasks are
accomplished and self-interest is promoted.
However, it is seen that there is decline in the level of modern societies as there is lot of
migration, foreign invasions, diseases outbreaks in the community that has led to conflicts and
disharmony in the country that has further led to degraded in value systems and unity among the
people. According to Schiefer and Van der Noll (2017) this could be linked to the Marx conflict
theory of sociology that states that there are more cases of disagreement among individuals due
to competition among the limited resources. According to this theory those who are in power try
to dominate other people that are poor or powerless in the society. Thus, uneven distribution in
the country tends to reduce the social cohesion among the people as they prevent others to join
their ranks (Aall and Crocker , 2019). As result of which country faced more issues relating to
the society as people are unable to understand each other emotions in well manners. Thus, well
cohesion could be developed only when focus is on communities and not on any particular
individuals. Further, all the people living in community must ensure that enough understanding
and engagement so that racism could be avoided. This will result in log term partnerships and
sharing positive outcomes in any society.
Conclusion:
From the above report it can be said that with the increasing level of population,
globalization and diverse groups within the society it is very important that community cohesion
is maintained in proper manner (Paramita and et.al., 2021). Thus, it would allow the government
to make policies that are in welfare of the common public so that harmony and peace in the
country could be maintained without compromising the needs of the public. Further, the report
summarized that those societies that are socially cohesive are likely to develop better
frameworks for economic growth and also have clear defined rules so that stronger sense of
belonging could be developed. Moreover, strengthening of social relations within the country

also helps in overcoming certain risks and challenges in positive manner. However, lack in the
clarity creates inconsistency in work and does not guarantee the development of the community
on large level. Further, the country would be developed only when all the people shared common
vision and goals, develop positive relationships and circumstances through creating the
environment where all the people values are respected.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Aall, P. and Crocker, C. A., 2019. Building resilience and social cohesion in conflict. Global
Policy. 10. pp.68-75.
Baškarada, S. and Koronios, A., 2018. A philosophical discussion of qualitative, quantitative,
and mixed methods research in social science. Qualitative Research Journal.
Chambliss, D. F. and Schutt, R. K., 2018. Making sense of the social world: Methods of
investigation. Sage Publications.
Fanon, F., 2018. Alienation and freedom. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Healy, M., 2019. Belonging, social cohesion and fundamental British values. British Journal of
Educational Studies. 67(4). pp.423-438.
Kaase, M., 2019. Political alienation and protest. Comparing Pluralist Democracies. pp.114-142.
Mayer, N. Z. and Roberta, A. G., 2017. Social movement organizations: Growth, decay, and
change. In Social Movements in an organizational society (pp. 121-142). Routledge.
Paramita, S. A. and et.al., 2021. Social cohesion and quality of life in Bandung: A cross sectional
study. Plos one. 16(10). p.e0258472.
Purvis, B., Mao, Y. and Robinson, D., 2019. Three pillars of sustainability: in search of
conceptual origins. Sustainability science. 14(3). pp.681-695.
Ramos-Vidal, I., Villamil, I. and Uribe, A., 2019. Underlying dimensions of social cohesion in a
rural community affected by wartime violence in Colombia. International journal of
environmental research and public health. 16(2). p.195.
Raw, K., Sherry, E. and Rowe, K., 2021. Sport for social cohesion: exploring aims and
complexities. Sport Management Review. pp.1-22.
Salas‐Zapata, W. A. and Ortiz‐Muñoz, S. M., 2019. Analysis of meanings of the concept of
sustainability. Sustainable Development. 27(1). pp.153-161.
Schiefer, D. and Van der Noll, J., 2017. The essentials of social cohesion: A literature
review. Social Indicators Research. 132(2). pp.579-603.
Torres, L. and et.al., 2021. Ethnic discrimination, social cohesion, and mental health among
Latinx adults. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Van Dyke, N. and Amos, B., 2017. Social movement coalitions: Formation, longevity, and
success. Sociology Compass. 11(7). p.e12489.

Wickes, R. and et.al., 2019. Neighbourhood social conduits and resident social cohesion. Urban
Studies. 56(1). pp.226-248.
Online.
About community cohesion. 2021. [Online]. Available through:<https://tedcantle.co.uk/about-
community-cohesion/>.
Social resource theory. 2019. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-
and-maps/social-resources-theory>.