''Policy sociology'' is a term coined by

Michael Burawoy Michael Burawoy (born 15 June 1947) is a sociologist working within Marxist social theory, best known as the leading proponent of public sociology and the author of '' Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capitalis ...

referring to a way of providing solutions to social problems.''2004 American Sociological Association Presidential address: For

public sociology Public sociology is a subfield of the wider sociological discipline that emphasizes expanding the disciplinary boundaries of sociology in order to engage with non-academic audiences. It is perhaps best understood as a ''style'' of sociology rath ...

'', The British Journal of Sociology 2005, Volume 56, Issue 2. p260-290 Goals are usually defined by a client, which could be the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. Policy sociology provides instrumental knowledge, that is, knowledge that can be used to solve or help a specific case in the

social world Social reality is distinct from biological reality or individual cognitive reality, representing as it does a phenomenological level created through social interaction and thereby transcending individual motives and actions. As a product of huma ...

. According to Burawoy, the information gathered from policy sociology is open to an extra-academic audience. It is not confined to

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

boundaries. The findings of policy sociology research are likely to have an effect on the general public as they could influence government policy. In recent year, policy sociology has been a popular research methodology for analysing educational policies. Sometimes it is also called critical policy sociology.

References

Sociological terminology {{sociology-stub