Encyclopedia of Sociology

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN SOCIOLOGY

activity of nearly every graduate student and pro-
fessional in sociology. It consists not only of writ-
ing but preparing tables, ‘‘typesetting’’ mathemati-
cal equations, and resizing objects, such as three-
dimensional graphs embedded within text. Social
researchers are using such capabilities and moving
rapidly toward workstation environments that ob-
scure the transition between data analysis and
manuscript preparation (Steiger and Fouladi 1990).
Not only do researchers use their computers for
writing papers, but word processing software plays
a central role in the refinement of data collection
instruments, especially questionnaires and codebooks,
which allows for rapid production of alternative
forms and multiple drafts.

Trends in text production that blur traditional
distinctions between writing and publishing (Lyman
1989) may in the long term have the most impact
on what sociologists do. The growing body of
articles and books in electronic-text form propel
scholarship toward hypertext, which is a document
system that provides for nonsequential reading of
text using links that automatically access other
documents. Contemporary word processors con-
tain the capacity to easily produce documents in
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) that are
ready for installation as sites on the Web. HTML
can contain hypertext links, which with a single
click of the mouse can bring up a totally different
document from anywhere in the world, making it a
truly new form of publishing.

There are several major forms of text entry
that may also change the nature of writing and
publishing. These forms include scanning for opti-
cal character recognition (OCR), voice recogni-
tion, and automated language translation. The
technology for scanning text documents and pro-
ducing computer text files has been in use for
some years and requires only a scanning device
and OCR software. This technology will continue
to improve and its use will yield fewer errors and
require considerably less effort in the future.

Likewise it is now possible to use voice recog-
nition software to automatically transcribe dicta-
tion, interviews, and field notes into computer text
files. One of the remaining problems in this ap-
proach is that all voice recognition software now
requires considerable ‘‘training’’ time where the
errors made in recognizing a speaker’s word-sound
pattern are corrected. The software is thus ‘‘taught’’

to make refined guesses in translating vocalized

sounds into electronic text. Even the best voice

recognition software now makes a moderate num-

ber of errors, so it is not yet a panacea for manual

transcription of either the spoken word or audio

recordings.

It is possible now to find software that will

translate text into many different languages. How-

ever, like voice recognition software, translation

software still requires considerable time to manu-

ally check, decipher, and make judgments about

the text produced by such programs. Future soft-

ware may yield significantly improved results, au-

tomating nearly all of the voice recognition and

translation process.

Communicating Electronically (E-mail, etc.).

Networks for computer-mediated communication

(CMC) continue to expand internationally follow-

ing the traditional logistic diffusion curve (Gurbaxani

1990). Electronic networks now supplement most

other forms of social communication. E-mail, which

is asynchronous or nonsimultaneous, is still the

most common form of electronic interaction, but

Internet-based, synchronous (simultaneous) ‘‘mail-

ing lists’’ and ‘‘newsgroups’’ are also popular, as

are ‘‘chat rooms’’ or ‘‘discussion groups.’’ With

improvements in transmitting digital audio and

video files on the Internet, it is expected that some

new forms of video conferencing will become

commonplace. At the turn of the millennium,

desktop video conferencing is available ‘‘off the

shelf,’’ but suffers from extraneous noise and rough

motion. While individual sociologists vary greatly

in how they utilize e-mail, nearly all sociologists in

economically developed countries depend upon it

for certain types of communication.

While e-mail messages are generally written in

plain text, ‘‘attachments’’ to e-mail now make it

possible for formatted documents, even those in-

cluding graphics and multimedia, to be shared

with others around the world in a matter of min-

utes. This remarkable technology makes co-authoring,

and other forms of collaboration, far more feasi-

ble due to reduced time and cost.

As e-mail systems continue to expand, they

offer social researchers new opportunities for con-

ducting studies using electronic networks. For

instance, Gaiser (1997) explored issues of running

online focus groups. Online surveys have become