Corpus-based conceptualization in sociology: possibilities and limits

Abstract

In our opinion, sociology can lose essential meanings in the research process because of lack of in-deep immersion in the daily Niterói, v. 10, n. 20, p. 14-25, jan./abr. 2018 AbstractThe problem of the quantitative interpretation of qualitative data is one of the most important in sociological research. Textual analysis has placed emphasis on deep and careful study of texts how personal strategies embodied in the concepts. However, quantitative interpretation has always been problematic. Our paper deals with the corpus-based conceptualization method, which can considered as a method of collecting and organizing data material from linguistic corpora. The corpus-based conceptualization allows us to establish a closer link with the meaning and identify the whole spectrum of meanings. It shows that some sociologists lose essential meanings in the research process because of lack of in-deep immersion in the daily life and speech of the people. We chose the concepts of "altruism" and "mercy" as examples to demonstrate the corpus-based conceptualization and its place in sociological research methodology. Data comes from the Russian National Corpus. The Russian National Corpus consists of 1802 relevant words, with 775 for altruism and 1047 for mercy. Data processing carried out by SPSS 19.0. As the result, we have discussed what difficulties the researcher can meet using this method and have offered SFL and Role and Reference grammar as a way to accurately determine the context. Our 16Conhecimento & Diversidade, Niterói, v. 10, n. 20, p. 14-25, jan./abr. 2018 suggestions can be used in the preparation of questionnaires, guides, in an analysis of interview transcripts. Keywords:Corpus-based conceptualization. Sociological operationalization. Corpus linguistics. ResumoO problema da interpretação quantitativa de dados qualitativos é um dos mais importantes na pesquisa sociológica. A análise textual colocou ênfase no estudo profundo e cuidadoso de textos como estratégias pessoais incorporadas nos conceitos. No entanto, a interpretação quantitativa sempre foi problemática. Nosso artigo trata do método de conceituação Corpus-based, que pode ser considerado como um método de coleta e organização de material de dados a partir de corpora linguística. A conceituação Corpus-based nos permite estabelecer uma ligação mais próxima com o significado e identificar todo o espectro de significados. Isso mostra que alguns sociólogos perdem significados essenciais no processo de pesquisa por causa da falta de imersão profunda na vida cotidiana e na fala das pessoas. Escolhemos os conceitos de "altruísmo" e "misericórdia" como exemplos para demonstrar a conceituação Corpus-based e seu lugar na metodologia de pesquisa sociológica.