Quantitative Social Research In Germany And Japan: Chikio Hayashi, Erwin K. Scheuch (hrsg.)

Empirical social research, and specifically quantitative research were experienced in Germany after 1945 as American imports. This is, of course, in terms of intellectual history an error but correct if we mean by this the spreading of a craft. Towards the end of the Weimar Republic, a number of empirical studies were published that can claim the status of classics. Siegfried Kracauer submitted a report on the then new white-collar class; Theodor Geiger analyzed in an ingenious way census data to present a picture of social stratification; Paul Lazarsfeld's The Unemployed of Marienthal is undoubtedly a classic despite the by now methodological objections. The National Socialist government stopped these developments. Market research continued and here a certain maturity was reached by the "Gesellschaft fUr Konsumforschung" (GfK) under the leadership of Wilhelm Vershofen. His panel of "correspondents" was not unlike the procedures of "Mass Observation" in Britain at that time. Demographic studies were encouraged, and the same is true for research on labor relations. But, nevertheless, the continuity of social research was interrupted -all the more so due to mass emigration of scholars between 1933 and 1939. The re-establishment of empirical social research as part of sociology was largely due to American influences. One of the strongest influences was the impact of returning emigrees. Important members of the Institut fUr Sozialforschung -foremost Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno -reopened this institute in Frankfurt, and in its launch this institution was hospitable to empirical research. Its development of the methodology of group discussion added to our arsenal of research tools a procedure that is so far underused. Parallel was the development in Cologne, where Rene Konig took over the now "Forschungsinstitut fUr Soziologie" from the perennial "eminence gris" of German sociology Leopold von Wiese and Kaiserswaldau. Konig was instrumental in importing the latest knowledge in research methodology, first by publishing translations of American texts, and then, inl962 editing the monumental Handbuch der empirischen SozialJorschungseveral editions later still the most important overview of research methodology in any language. Of even greater importance for the position of sociology in the intellectual world was his Fischer-Lexikon "Soziologie" which became a bestseller. The many translations of these anthologies are a testimony of their importance. Front Matter....Pages 1-7 Quantitative Social Research in Germany and Japan....Pages 9-22 Front Matter....Pages 23-23 The Metamorphosis of Life Cycle Change in Longitudinal Studies on Postmaterialism....Pages 25-52 Macro Analysis by Means of Cohort Analysis....Pages 53-70 Presentation of Planned Behaviour During the Radical Social Changes in Eastern Germany....Pages 71-89 Front Matter....Pages 91-91 Einheit über alles? — What Did the Voter Decide in the 1990 German Elections?....Pages 93-121 Personal Environments in the Process of Political Intermediation as a Topic of the Comparative National Election Study....Pages 122-139 Front Matter....Pages 141-141 Statistical Methods and Models for the Analysis of Cross-Cultural Data....Pages 143-160 Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation of Social Processes....Pages 161-181 Degree of Conformity for the Cross-National Comparative Study of National Character....Pages 182-206 Front Matter....Pages 207-207 Cultural Link Analysis (CLA) for Comparative Quantitative Social Research and its Applications....Pages 209-229 How Different are European Countries from Each Other? Describing Trend Data by Using Correspondence Analysis....Pages 230-248 Dimensions of Partisanship: A Five-Nation Comparison....Pages 249-265 Comparative Data Analysis of ALLBUS and Japanese Data: Desirable Quality for a Child, Meaning of Human Life, Legal Abortion, and Important Aspect of Job....Pages 266-288 Religious Factors and General Social Attitudes Among Five Industrial Nations....Pages 289-309 Front Matter....Pages 311-311 Images of Foreigners in Mass Media....Pages 313-333 Models of Urban Change....Pages 334-350 The PM Theory: A Borderless Approach to Leadership Apprehension....Pages 351-369 Front Matter....Pages 371-371 Time Budget Studies in Japan....Pages 373-385 Opportunity Structures and Network Relations....Pages 386-400 The Impact of Distributional Coalitions and State Power on Economic Performance....Pages 401-421 Back Matter....Pages 422-427