The Theory of Neo-Kantianism As Base of Modern Qualitative Research

The report is about the Russian sociological school of Neo-Kantianism which appeared in Russia at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries. The ideas of neo-Kantianism are consonant to the development of a modern situation in Russian society and Russian sociological science. Recent political events in the country proved that quantitative research methods of social processes cannot cope with the given scientific and social task and explain the reasons of resulting changes. In this concern, the use of qualitative methodology as the strategy of researching social processes perfectly meets the requirements laid down by the scientific community to the social science. It is noteworthy that sociology, in order to recover from recession and solve the problems of self-determination, must strive for the maintenance of its subject matter , the structure of scientific knowledge and a method which should be the method of qualitative researches aimed at the investigation of goals of human activities and their correlation to the social hierarchy of values. The Neo-Kantian strategy of qualitative research include: 1. Understanding sociology as a science of the spirit which is based on generalizing knowledge. Considering the quality first and not the quantity, a sociologist should be able to analyze in detail the individual, isolated facts which form the essence of social processes. Classification and typology of the key methods of qualitative sociological research. 2. The methodology of qualitative social research should be based on an idea of teleology as the basis of conscious human actions. 3. Attribution to value as the main method of the verification of the research results, as well as a collective scientific work as a means of avoiding subjectivity.