THE ANALOGUE AND THE DIGITAL AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF THEIR USE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

Text topic: METHODOLOGY OF MODERN SOCIAL RESEARCH – PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

Text author: Србобран Бранковић

The paper deals with the differences between the analogue and the digital and the opportunities they can present in social research. It is stated that digitization has given a strong impetus to measurement in the social sciences, by producing large quantities of specified data. This allows for a more extensive and qualitative description, explanation and understanding of social phenomena. The author has classified the data used in social research into three groups: 1) original data generated on a digital platform, 2) original analogue data, and 3) the data that is partly digital and partly analogue. The author looks at each of these three types of data, treating their potentials and limitations in terms of social research.