Abstract
As a sociologist I have been impelled by the fun of gaining new understandings about society and guided by a normative stance which has remained with me since my student days — albeit now in a somewhat more sophisticated form. Fundamentally my actions have been based on a notion of sociology for use and on the enticing idea that sociology could be used to make society a better place to live in. I have not sought to practise a value-free sociology because I believe the nature of the social makes that impossible. However, I early realised that sociological knowledge, once gained, can be applied by anyone to any end, including ends quite alien to those of the original researcher. Consequently, in addition to gaining the knowledge, sociologists like other scientists have to take some responsibility for the way that knowledge is applied.
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© 1993 British Sociological Association
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Stacey, M. (1993). A Sociologist in Action. In: Payne, G., Cross, M. (eds) Sociology in Action. Explorations in Sociology. British Sociological Association conference volume series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-12108-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-12108-3_9
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