A space to explore, share and shape the issues facing social scientists

Robert Dingwall is a consulting sociologist, providing research and advisory services particularly in relation to organizational strategy, public engagement and knowledge transfer. He is co-editor of the SAGE Handbook of Research Management.

Understanding the Slave Trade

By Robert Dingwall | Published: June 3, 2019

Our Robert Dingwall says he has long thought that sociologists should read more history. It might correct some of their sweeping generalizations about the emergence and development of Western societies. This reflection has been reinforced...

Posted in International Debate, News | Tagged reparations, slave trade, Slavery, West Africa | Leave a comment

Reflections on the Death of Doris Day

By Robert Dingwall | Published: May 22, 2019

Ruminating on the late Doris Day - and in particular her rendition of 'Que sera sera' - our Robert Dingwall draws a comparison with the Greek Stoics , Western educational trends and the restraint that...

Posted in News | Tagged Adam Smith, Doris Day, Hipparchia, Stoic | Leave a comment

What Counts as “Real Sociology”?

By Robert Dingwall | Published: May 19, 2019

In the course of a recent visit to Mainland Europe, I got talking to a young sociologist with a particular interest in fashion. Her work was clearly valued by the leading fashion degree programme where...

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Whatever Happened to Conservative Social Thought?

By Robert Dingwall | Published: April 16, 2019

In the wake of Brexit, Robert Dingwall asks a series of probing questions about the eclipse of Conservative Social Thought at universities, such as when did the social sciences last have a serious engagement with...

Posted in Brexit, Higher Education Reform, International Debate | Tagged conservatism, Conservative Social Thought, Friedrich Hayek | Leave a comment

Why is Social Theory So Boring?

By Robert Dingwall | Published: February 17, 2019

The roots of sociology lie among a group of engaged, engaging and vibrant people who often risked their well-being, or even their lives, to advance their ideas. So what happened to suck much of the...

Posted in Higher Education Reform, Teaching | Tagged Adam Smith, David Hume, DH Lawrence, Emile Durkheim, John Locke, Max Weber, Social Theory, Sociology, teaching sociology, Thomas Hobbes, von Richthofen | 1 Response

The Civic Responsibility of Ethnographers

By Robert Dingwall | Published: January 9, 2019

What duty do social scientists have to report illegal activity that they witness as part of their fieldwork? If you answered quickly, you may not have thought about the issue all that deeply.

Posted in Research Ethics | Tagged Alice Goffman, Criminology, Ethics, Ethics regulation, Fieldwork, participant observation, Research ethics, Steven Lubet | Leave a comment

Academic Morale and Ponzi Schemes

By Robert Dingwall | Published: December 5, 2018

The pool of PhDs and postdocs has expanded far more rapidly than the long-term career opportunities in higher education, a situation Charles Ponzi would have recognized- and which Felicity Callard captured with a late-November...

Posted in Career, News, Tips | Tagged marketization, morale, phdpostdoc, ponzi, postdocs, Postgraduates, Twitter | Leave a comment

Reflections on the Centenary of the Armistice

By Robert Dingwall | Published: November 14, 2018

At the 100th anniversary of the end of World War, Robert Dingwall asks how has English sociology asked questions about the experiences and the legacy of the war -- or if it even has broached...

Posted in International Debate, News, Public Policy | Tagged identity, Masculinity, Sociology, World War I, World War II | Leave a comment

Why the Chinese Government Should Read Herbert Spencer

By Robert Dingwall | Published: August 3, 2018

Herbert Spencer's examination of 'militant' societies, argues our Robert Dingwall, proves to be a cautionary tale for the present Chinese government and its attempts to micro-manage society through the ‘social credit’ scheme.

Posted in International Debate, News, Public Policy | Tagged China, Herbert Spencer, social credit, Sociology | Leave a comment

Sir Cliff Richard, the BBC and the Ethics of Interviewing

By Robert Dingwall | Published: July 19, 2018

The recent brouhaha involving the BBC and the singer points out something the journalists and qualitative researchers share: the need to develop a common approach to the ethics of interviewing.

Posted in News, Research, Research Ethics | Tagged Ethics, interviewing techniques, Journalism, qualitative interview, Research, Social Research | Leave a comment

Paying for the Good Stuff

By Robert Dingwall | Published: July 18, 2018

When Robert Dingwall was younger, sociology departments routinely taught a course on ‘industry,’, ‘work’ or ‘economic life.’ "Most of this turf has now been abandoned to business schools in the form of organization studies, where...

Posted in Interdisciplinarity, News, Public Policy, Science & Social Science | Tagged Bank of England, Economics, Inequality, productivity, Public Sociology, Sociology | Leave a comment

The Other Dead of 1918

By Robert Dingwall | Published: May 15, 2018

Although it won't see the memorials and centenary events that the World War I Armistice will, it's worth thinking back to the ravages of the 'Spanish flu' of a century ago and the implications that...

Posted in News, Public Engagement, Public Policy, Science & Social Science | Tagged Health, influenza, Max Weber, Public Health, World War I | Leave a comment

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Understanding the Slave Trade

Reflections on the Death of Doris Day

What Counts as “Real Sociology”?

Whatever Happened to Conservative Social Thought?

Why is Social Theory So Boring?

The Civic Responsibility of Ethnographers

Academic Morale and Ponzi Schemes

Reflections on the Centenary of the Armistice

Why the Chinese Government Should Read Herbert Spencer

Sir Cliff Richard, the BBC and the Ethics of Interviewing

Paying for the Good Stuff

The Other Dead of 1918

Reading that Matters

SAGE Open

Social Science Bites

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