AN ANALYSIS OF ‘SOCIAL PROBLEM TOPICS’ PERTAINING TO THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN SOCIAL PROBLEMS BETWEEN THE YEARS 1976-2012

Social Problems dergisi onemli sosyal problemleri tartismak ve bunlara iliskin sosyal politikalarin formulasyonuna katkida bulunmak hedefi ile 1951 yilinda kurulan Sosyal Problemleri Calisma Toplulugu (The Society for the Study of Social Problems) (SSSP)’nun resmi dergisidir. Henslin ve Roesti (1976) Social Problems’de 1952-1975 yillari arasinda yayimlanan tum makalelerde, hangi sosyal problemlerin konu basliklari olarak dahil edildiklerini, cesitli zaman periyodlarindaki karsilastirilmali sikliklarini ve yonelimlerini belirlemek icin bir icerik analizi yapmislardir. Ayrica Henslin ve Roesti (1976) 1952-1975 yillarinda dergide yayimlanan makaleleri, makalede onerilen politikalari, onerilen politikanin yoneltildigi kitleyi ve politika onerilerindeki yonelimleri acisindan da incelemislerdir. Bu calismada, Henslin ve Roesti (1976)’nin calismasindan esinlenerek, dunyanin hangi ulkesinden olursa olsun ozellikle sosyal problemler sosyolojisi ile ilgilenen arastirmacilar icin onemli bir basvuru kaynagi olan ve ayrica sosyal problemlere iliskin akademik tartismalari (konulari, yonelimleri, politikalari, ilgili kitleleri) takip etme olanagi veren Social Problems dergisinde 1976-2012 yillarinda yayimlanan makaleler incelenmek istenmistir. Boylece Social Problems’deki makalelerin 1952-1975 yillari arasindaki icerik analizine ilave olarak, daha farkli bir baglamda dergide 1976-2012 yillari arasinda yayimlanan makalelerin icerik analizi gerceklestirilmek istenmistir. Ancak bizim calismamizda bu icerik analizi ozellikle dergideki sosyoloji calismalari icin yapilmistir. Icerik analizinde MAXQDA software programi yardimiyla, belirtilen yillar icinde sosyoloji ve sosyoloji ile birlikte diger alanlarda yazilmis makaleler uzerinde durulmustur. Bu icerik analizinin en onemli amaci dergideki yayinlanan yazilar hakkinda genel bir bilgi vererek Social Problems dergisinin 1976-2012 yillarindaki genel profilini vermektir. Calismada sosyoloji alaninda yayimlanmis calismalarin hangi sosyal problemler uzerinde odaklandiginin zaman icindeki karsilastirmali dagilimlari ile ana konulara iliskin egilimleri, bu makalelerde hangi metod ve tekniklerin siklikla kullanildigi ve yine bu makalelerde kullanilan kuramsal aciklamanin hangilerinde yogunlastigi belirtilmistir. Anahtar Sozcukler: Sosyal problemler, ‘Sosyal Problemler’ Dergisi, MAXQDA AN ANALYSIS OF ‘SOCIAL PROBLEM TOPICS’ PERTAINING TO THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN SOCIAL PROBLEMS BETWEEN THE YEARS 1976-2012 Abstract Social Problems, the flagship journal of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) established in 1951, continues to make invaluable contributions to current sociology. A prominent reference source for researchers from all around the world, this journal enables scholars to follow the academic discussions, topics, trends, and policies in the field. The main objective of SSSP’s journal is to provide an open space for discussion of social problems as well as to contribute to the formulation of social policies regarding these issues. Henslin and Roesti (1976) conducted a content analysis covering all the articles published in Social Problems between the years 1952 and 1975 with the aim of designating what social problem topics were included, their comparative frequency in various time periods, and their related trends. In this study, Henslin and Roesti (1976) also presented an analysis of the articles in terms and trends of the policy suggestions as well as the target audience to whom the policies were directed. Deriving inspiration from Henslin and Roesti’s study, and as a follow-up, this current research analyzes the articles published between the years 1976 and 2012 in Social Problems, acknowledging the journal’s worldwide appeal for researchers particularly involved in the sociology of social problems. In other words, to complement the analysis of published articles between 1952 and 1975, the authors aimed at making a content analysis in a new context, now dealing with the articles published during 1976 and 2012. However, the content analysis in this current study was particularly conducted on the sociological studies published in the journal. The researchers utilized MAXQDA software to analyze the content of articles published in sociology, and in other related disciplines in conjunction with sociology. The main purpose of this content analysis was to create an outline of the articles published in the journal, constructing a general profile of Social Problems between 1976 and 2012. It was this study’s objective to determine, in this time period, which social problem topics were included in these articles, the trends of the topics, distribution by country regarding research on social problem topics, the methods and techniques used in the studies, and the theoretical explanations utilized in the studies, as well as the interpretation of the study’s findings. Key Words: Social problems, ‘Journal of Social Problems’ , MAXQDA