Valid and Reliable Measures of Generalized Trust: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey and Behavioral Experiment

Across the social sciences, generalized trust has been one of the most frequently examined constructs since researchers first introduced measures of it in the 1950s. Despite its significance, there is growing consensus that conventional measures of generalized trust are prone to measurement invalidity and non-equivalence, which places sociological knowledge about generalized trust in serious doubt. In this article, I advance trust research in sociology by (1) refining two new self-report measures of generalized trust—the Stranger Face Trust scale (SFT) and the Imaginary Stranger Trust scale (IST)—and (2) assessing their empirical performance on a nationally representative probability sample (N = 1,264). I compare the reliability and validity of SFT, IST, and traditional measures of generalized trust across a number of measurement validation tests (convergent validity, discriminant validity, known-groups validity, and predictive validity). Results suggest that SFT provides the most accurate and consistent measure of generalized trust. I conclude by discussing the implications of my findings for sociological knowledge.

The Future of ‘Digital Research'

Sociology is a discipline inevitably based on interpretative categories of social reality derived from a specific historical phase. In a period that is increasingly defined as a new era or digital society, can sociological knowledge not be upset by this overload of changes of every kind and nature? And can these changes not involve all identity components of sociology, namely theory, research, and the usability of its knowledge? Given this, it seems rather evident that this volume is the sign of the times and testify the variety and flexibility of digital methods. The author limits to dealing schematically with two methodological components that are constitutive of the digital revolution: the shift from the traditional and glorious ethnography to the new and emerging netnography, especially as regards the qualitative side, and, on the more properly quantitative side, the overwhelming and boundless spread of big data. A brief and selective description of these “transitions” will be complemented by a thoughtful evaluation of their potential for the future in the peculiar field of inquiry.

On the origins of the methodology of social knowledge in Russia: A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky and contemporary discussions

The article considers those aspects of the development of sociological knowledge in Russia that were determined by the scientific and organizational activities of A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky (1863-1919). His contribution to the development of the Russian social and humanitarian thought is associated mainly with the development of the foundations of history, historiography and source studies, which is widely admitted in scientific works. However, Lappo-Danilevskys contribution to the development of sociology, to the identification of the specifics of its subject and to the creation of a model of systemic courses on the historical reconstruction of sociological knowledge are still widely discussed. The authors consider the creative component of Lappo-Danilevskys legacy and the strategy he developed for creating an interdisciplinary methodology for social sciences. The article aims at describing his contribution to the institutionalization of Russian sociology, which allows not only to clarify the origins of social knowledge in Russia, but also to actualize Lappo-Danilevskys legacy. The authors pose new questions and problematize the research potential of the works of Russian scientists at the turn of the 20th century, which has prospects for supplementing the history and methodology of sociology. The description of the activities of Lappo-Danilevsky - from the development of the institutional foundations of Russian sociology to the clarification of the methodological principles of social knowledge - raises the question of the influence of positivism and neo-Kantianism on the scientific community. On the other hand, the study of the scientific and organizational activities of Lappo-Danilevsky allow to expand the field of history and methodology of sociology by supplementing it with a description of the institutionalization of sociology in Russia. The study of the foundations of sociological knowledge emphasizes three points: creation of methodology, separation from related disciplines, and acceptance of the historical component in the development of academic sociology. The article also mentions contemporary discussions which consider the sociological legacy of Lappo-Danilevsky not only as a historical reconstruction of the development of social knowledge, but also in the interdisciplinary perspective of contemporary sociology.

Analysis of research programs: a sociological perspective

The origins and content of the methodology of scientific research programs of I. Lakatos are considered taking into account the problems and tasks of the history of sociology. The reception of the methodology of research programs in sociology can be explained by the relevance of the analytical model of the structure and dynamics of the research program in the analysis of sociological knowledge. Within the framework of sociological knowledge, metatheoretical, theoretical and empirical structural levels are analytically distinguished. Certain structural analogies are observed: between the “hard core” and “negative heuristics” of the research program, on the one hand, and metatheory, on the other; between the “protective belt” and the “positive heuristic” of the research program, on the one hand, and theory, on the other; between the empirical content of the research program, on the one hand, and the empirical basis of sociology, on the other. One can observe a number of analogies in the dynamics of functional connections between the structural components of the research program, on the one hand, and the dynamics of functional connections between metatheorizing, theorizing, and empirical analysis in sociology, on the other.

Love’s Labour’s Lost? Separation as a Constraint on Displays of Transnational Daughterhood

This article develops sociological knowledge on daughterhood through an analysis of how separation shapes the emotional and moral dynamics of transnational daughterhood. Building on Finch, we look at daughtering as a set of concrete social practices that constitute kinship and carry the symbolic dimension of displaying the family-like character of relationships. Within this framework, we analyse how Latin American women living in Barcelona discuss their transnational family lives and filial responsibilities. We see family as finite, evolving in the past, present and future, and develop a threefold understanding of filial love as an institution imbued with formal expectations, a strong and complex emotion, and reciprocal embodied caring. We consider persisting physical separation in migration as a circumstance that demands not only practical solutions but also ongoing moral labour that sustains transnational bonds and notions of being a ‘good enough’ daughter.

Genesis of sociology of media space

Sociology of media space is a new and still developing branch of sociology, just like sociology of space - a basic branch of sociological knowledge. Sociology of space focuses on natural space as a framework for the development of social connections and relations; while sociology of media space considers this space as a part of social space, not as its measurement but as a metaphor. Some natural space turns into a social space only if people use it and live in it. Social boundaries and meanings are added to natural space, which transforms it into a social phenomenon. Although sociology of media space is still developing, there is no doubt that the mass media have made a significant contribution to the development of social relations and sociology by filling social space with messages of all kinds. Media space is a platform that serves as a basis for social communications, a key to the social development, and a means of positive impact on the life of individuals, groups and organizations. Everything social is located in a space-time continuum, and the sociological approach to the theory of network media space is based on the assumption that there is a strong connection between network media communications and social changes. Sociology of media space does not emerge from sociology of space: the developing media space, which is studied with sociological methods, manifests itself in its social coordinates - this is how sociological knowledge expands to consider not only various spatial aspects of social life, but also the features of different contents and information chains created by the convergence of various media and ways of disseminating information.

From geographical pluralism to discourse pluralism

Like other pluralists, geographical pluralists oppose Western intellectual hegemony and advocate the diversity of sociological knowledge. Such appeals are reasonable and justified, but they give up the universality of knowledge while pursuing the diversity of knowledge, implicitly creating the danger of fragmenting knowledge. On the contrary, from the standpoint of discourse constructivism, a discourse pluralism can be constructed to enable us to not only deconstruct the intellectual hegemony of Western sociology but also pursue universal sociological knowledge.