Beyond Methodological Frontiers: Re-Imagining Research In Transformative Times

The accelerating transformations characterizing contemporary societies — ranging from digitalization and artificial intelligence to climate crises, migration, democratic backsliding, and widening inequalities — pose significant methodological challenges for sociological research. As social realities become increasingly complex, interconnected, and rapidly changing, traditional methodological approaches are being re-evaluated, adapted, and combined with emerging tools and perspectives. This session invites contributions that critically reflect on how sociologists investigate social transformation and development in turbulent times. We welcome papers discussing methodological innovations, mixed-methods designs, digital and computational approaches, participatory and collaborative research, comparative and transnational methodologies, visual and sensory methods, as well as reflexive and decolonial perspectives on knowledge production. This session aims to foster dialogue across substantive fields and methodological traditions by addressing questions such as: How can sociologists capture rapidly evolving social phenomena? What methodological challenges arise when studying uncertainty, crises, and social change? How can qualitative, quantitative, computational, and participatory approaches be integrated to better understand complex social realities? What are the ethical implications of emerging research technologies, including AI-driven methods? How can methodological innovation contribute to building a more inclusive and genuinely global sociology? By bringing together diverse methodological experiences and reflections, this session seeks to advance discussion on the future of sociological inquiry and the role of methods in understanding and responding to contemporary social transformations.