Methods used in Rural Sociology

In spite of the difficulties in the scientific study of rural society that we have seen above, rural sociology, which studies it, is believed to be a science which makes use of the statistical and social survey methods and also of the other scientific methods. Though it is true that scientific method cannot be applied to the study of the rural society as it can be to the natural sciences, there is no reason why the study of the rural society should not be done according to a method recognized by science if such a method can with facility, be used in social sciences like psychology, social psychology, economics, political science etc. If seriously though over, it will be quite evident that the above difficulties which confound the study of the rural society, also arise in the study of all psychological and economic activities. But, nevertheless, psychology and economics respectively use the scientific method. All that can be said with regard to these difficulties is that the scientific study of the rural society is far more difficult, less realistic, less definite and less objective that is the case with the study of physical objects. But, in the future, some progress can be made in this direction, although undoubtedly it will entail a certain amount of effort, with the result that the subject can become more conducive to rural scientific study.

We are now in a position to acquaint the reader briefly with the different methods which are applied to the study of the rural society. The major methods of investigation used by rural sociology are the following:

1. Questionnaire.
2. Schedule.
3. Interview.
4. Participant Observation.
5. Social Survey.
6. Social Research.
7. Statistical methods.

A. Questionnaire

In social research the questionnaire is used comprehensively. In the questionnaire method, as is evident from the name a list of such questions is compiled, which throw light upon the different aspects of the problem. Usually the questions are accompanied by ‘yes’ and ‘no’ as their answer and the information has to reject the wrong answer. The questionnaire method has several difficulties. Often, people prevaricate in answering the questions. Sometimes the questions are so framed that they are interpreted differently by the observer and the informant. Quite often the questions are answered without grasping their full significance. Notwithstanding there difficulties the questionnaire method is, by far, the most popular method in rural social research.

B. Schedule

The schedule method resembles the questionnaire to some extent, in as much as it, too, requires a list of questions, the answers to which supply the data. But these questions are taken by the observer to the informant and filled by the observer himself. Usually, this method is made use of only in a limited sphere. The data compiled by this method is more valid, but compared to the questionnaire method, it involves more time, energy and money. This method achieves greater minuteness in detail.

D. Interview 

In the interview method, evidently enough, the observer faces the informant and questions him across the table, noting down the information which the questions elicit. This certainly does elicit much useful information which the informant can offer indirectly cannot be expected in a direct interview. Actually, much of the success of the interviewer depends upon his individual ability. If the informant shows hesitation because the information is being transcribed, a tape recorder may be used.

E. Participant Observation 

As is evident by the name, in the participant observation method, the observer participates with the people whom he is observing. This gives him the opportunity to come into direct contact with the people who are to provide him with his information and obtain much useful information. This provides much detailed information along with the facility of its execution. But this method involves extensive use of time, money and energy. Yet, in spite of these defects, it assists in a profound study of rural and primitive groups, because other methods like the questionnaire method do not prove efficacious about them. This method finds an uninhibited use in many anthropological studies.

F. Social Survey

Social survey is intended to be the study of the social aspect of a community’s composition and activities. It aims at the collection of quantitative facts. It makes a concrete study of society, especially the social problems inherent in the society. It presets program for improvement and development. It is conducted with fixed geographical limit; it is related to problems of social importance and assists in formulating constrictive programs.

G. Social Research 

Another important method or rural study is social research. Social research is the discovery of new truths about society. It is a systematic method of discovering new facts or verifying old facts, their sequences, inter-relationship, causal explanations and natural laws. In this way, social research or investigation discovers new facts about social activities, social circumstances, social assumptions, social groups, social values or social institutions etc. and investigates the old facts on these subjects. It locates inter relationship or causal relations among social incidents. It locates those natural laws which stimulate different phenomena in social life.

References: 

RURAL SOCIOLOGY BY RAJENDRA KUMAR SHARMA

Difficulties in the Scientific Study of Rural Society

Rural sociology is a branch of sociology, and, therefore, the study of rural community makes and unrestricted use of all the methods of social research.

All these methods are scientific and all the common characteristics of any scientific method are to be found in them. Hence, it would be quite in keeping with the context to describe the major steps and common characteristics of scientific method before we proceed with an individual study of each of these methods. In this context, an exposition of the difficulties of the scientific studies or rural community will also be advantageous because all these difficulties are applicable to each and every one of these methods. 

Difficulties in the Scientific Study of Rural Society

Now the question which arises here is as to whether rural sociology is a subject which has all the above mentioned qualities and admits of the use of the scientific methods. Some of the major difficulties in this context are:

1. Possibility of subjective ideas and prejudices: Rural society is a network of social relations. These relations make their impressions upon the person who is studying them. Consequently, the possibility of prejudice and the thoughts and experience of the observer becoming manifest upon the study cannot be ignored. Thus, the objectivity necessary for scientific study cannot be overemphasized.
2. Difficulties in maintaining scientific objectivity: In this way the following difficulties arise in the achievement of scientific objectivity in the study of rural society. (a) From his very childhood an observer is obsessed with certain prejudices and bias which it is very difficult to eliminate. (b) If forceful diminution, of these prejudices is attempted, there is a great likelihood of contrary prejudices being acquired. (c) In the study of rural society, values too are an important consideration but these value can neither be controlled nor studied objectively. (d) There are many different communities in rural societies whose culture, customs, conventions and geographical conditions do not, in the least, concur. Hence, it is difficult to be objective in their study and there is no small possibility of prejudice. A man’s impression of this own society act as an obstacle in studying some other society.
3. Complexity of Rural society: A third difficulty in the study of the rural society is its complexity. Rural society is a network innumerable social relations and these social relations have a multitude of factors. It is due to this complexity that it becomes difficult to expose all the factors involved in any aspect of the study of rural society.
4. Changeability to rural society. Rural society is very much susceptible to change and this is another drawback in studying it scientifically. Society is a network of relations among human beings. Man is a conscious and dynamic being who makes use of his reason. He can, with consummate ease, mark his behavior, thoughts and opinions. At the same time, these do not remain static but change constantly. This continuous change aggravates the difficulty in studying social relations. And secondly, even if they have been successfully studied this success may be obstructed by this changeability of the relations.
5. Dearth of Universality: there are many rural societies which differ from each other in respect of their cultures, customs, conventions, physical environments and other relevant aspects. And even within one rural society the customs, standards of living ideas and values of the different classes of people are different. And even the individuals within a single class differ from each other in many respects. In this way, rural society is a subject in which each unit does not resemble any other. Thus, its study is not conducive to the formulation of any universal laws. Consequently, the scientific method cannot be of much use here.
6. Difficulty in the control of the units of rural society: The scientific method is applied only to those subjects who allow control over their units. In the study of rural society, its units-individuals and groups—cannot be controlled and it is not possible to locate a particular person in a circumstance and control him because it is in no way essential that all people be identically affected by the situation or that the individual be at al influenced. Therefore, rural society cannot be scientifically studied.
7. Hindrance by vested interests: The scientific study of rural society is rendered even more Utopian by the vested interests which make any progress impossible. No society, group or community can hear without objection the criticism of its shortcomings, because, in it, are latent the individual, social or class related interests.
8. Study of values: The scientific method cannot study values due to which it cannot be applied to the study of rural society which possesses so many values. While, on the one hand, it necessarily neglects the axiological aspects of society, it, on the other hand, hinders the study of facts because social facts are not utterly removed from the impact of these values.
9. Other difficulties: Besides the special difficulties which arise in the application of the scientific method to the study of rural society which we have mentioned above, it is further beset with all those difficulties which are inherent in any subject which does not have the necessary characteristic qualifications for scientific study. Values and facts are found mixed in rural society.

Therefore, it is no means easy to discover any cause-effect relation among them by using the scientific method. The fact that rural society is sub-divided into almost innumerable communities makes it difficult to formulate any universal law based upon the study of rural society. These laws are further related to the conscious and changeable man, a fact, which debars these laws from being examined for their validity and neither can they, for the same reason, be considered useful for prediction. Some people assert that the scientific method cannot be used in the study of rural society because it is not possible to establish laboratories and use the apparatus. 

References: 

RURAL SOCIOLOGY BY RAJENDRA KUMAR SHARMA

Welfare State

A welfare state is commonly understood as an agency of social services than as an instrument of power.

Definition:

D.L. Hobman ,in his book welfare state, “welfare state as a compromised between the two extreme of commism on the one hand and unbridled individualism on the other.”

Herbert H. Lehman “The welfare state is simply a state in which people are free to develop their individual capacities, to receive just aware for their talents and to engage in the pursuit of happiness, unburden by fear of actual hunger, actual homelessness or oppression by reason of race creed or colour.”

Function of welfare state

1. Maintenance  of peace and order.
2. Protects people’s right and provide justice.
3. Conservation of natural resource.
4. Provision of education.
5. Arrangement of public utility service.
6. Encouragement of trade, industry, commerce’s and agriculture.
7. Organization of labor.
8. Protection of old, poor and handicap.
9. Maintenance of public health.
10. Arrangement of recreation.
11. Maintenance social harmony.
12. Prevents disarrangement.

Rural Society in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a densely populated county. here most of the people are lives in rural area with agriculture based society. in Bangladesh almost 80% people are farmer and they lives in the  rural area.their economy is agriculture based.here most of the people are directly or indirectly related with agriculture.

Rural Resources in context of Bangladesh
In rural area there are various types of resources. every countries development is dependent on his rural areas resources.generally in rural area there are 3 types of resource in the  context of Bangladesh.

A) Natural resources: It means the resources that is got given.in Bangladesh a lot of natural resources are available to use. some natural resources are given below that are available in Bangladesh.

1. Land: It is a  very important natural resources in the rural and urban area in every country. Every development depend on the land. Without land we can not make any infrastructure, cultivation and so on. In Bangladesh land is vital element because without land we can’t cultivated anything.
2. Water: Another basic elements of natural resources is water. Drinking, irrigation and domestic work we mainly use water. Good production is mainly depend on sufficient supply of water. So water is very much important for increasing the growth of production.
3. Climate: the amount , frequency velocity periodicity etc of each of the natural elements of wind , rainfall and temperature in the  rural and urban area.
4. Forest: forest is another vital elements of natural resources. Forest is helpful for our environment. In our rural all we can see a lot of forest are available small and big size.
5. Natural gas: In Bangladesh main natural resources is natural gas. Most of the gas field are located in the rural area. So in the development of rural area natural gas is too much important.
6. River: Bangladesh is land based country. Here more than 58 river situated in our country. River is  main source of  water. In rural area farmer are depend on river to irrigation.
7. Mineral water:

B) Man Made Resources: Although Bangladesh is a least developed country and many resources are available that are made. It is also easier our rural life. some man made resources are given below 

1. Communication system.
2. Health.
3. Supply and Service agencies.
4. Education facilities.
5. Marketing.
6. Religious facilities.
7. Recreational facilities.
8. Financial facilities.

C) Human resources: The greatest resources of any society, organization,enterprises are people. The human resources or rural society reflects two aspects which are mental and physical. in huge populated country population is a great problem and it a glorious source of develop the country. If we use the population currently then it is turn into population problem to manpower. in agricultural sector if we can use skill man-power then our agricultural production is increased a lot of. so population  is very important for any countries development.