Methodological trauma in the socio-humanitarian sciences

Abstract

The article raises the issue of the state of logic and methodology of socio-humanitarian researches in modern Ukraine. It is diversely argued the canonical requirement to return the preparation of scientific research projects and subsequent publication of their results and conclusions to generation in them such a conceptual structure (writing an introduction), which necessarily contains a normative formulation of the scientific problem in the form of a theoretical question concerning cognitive contradictions resulting from the existing practices of obtaining new rational knowledge in accordance with the three types of epistemological matrix of sociological cognition, which determine one of the research positions – to be an observer, interpreter or activist. Emphasis is placed on the tendency of reducing the demands concerning mandatory presentation of the methodological basis of the study in its program, reports, publications on the results obtained, in particular concerning the normative design of articles published in Ukraine’s professional journals in sociology. Examples of violations of this norm are given in articles published during 2015 and 2016 in two leading domestic periodicals of sociological orientation. It is noted that the claims of some authors to the theoretical significance of their publications are not justified in the absence of a scientific problem statement, the formulation of which must include a number of issues of theoretical content. In addition, it is underlined that the current situation in Ukrainian sociology can be explained by the so-called methodological trauma, which is also typical for researchers from other post-Soviet countries. The conclusion is formulated that the development of sociological science in its theoretical and empirical contexts is possible only if the methodological trauma experienced by sociologists, psychologists and other representatives of socionomic research role is overcome.