Sociology

How society changes – and what this means

Within sociology, researchers attempt to understand society's character, how society changes and how this influences people.

Linköping University conducts sociological research within a number of areas, primarily within analytical sociology, working life and social work.

Since 2014 we have placed a large focus on analytical sociology – a tradition that unites an individual's actions on a micro level with society's development on a macro level. We study things such as the individual's mobility in different sectors: in working life, within the housing environment and within the school sector and how they intertwine and influence one another.

Sociology provides a basic understanding of society's character and means of change and its significance to people as a social animal.

It is both a social science and a behavioural science and includes theories and tools for studying, describing, analysing and explaining relationships in society and human actions.

Research

Person in black jacket sitting with a mobile phone in hand

Man up! Open up? Teenage boys’ interpretations of social media content about mental health

Boys suffering from mental health issues are more likely to turn to social media than traditional healthcare providers. What messages about mental health do teenage boys encounter on social media, and how do they interpret the content?

Tackling the spread of cigarettes and alternative nicotine products in social networks

The project will investigate how different nicotine products spread through social networks and how they impact youth usage, both online and offline.

The Social Work research environment

The Social Work research environment nurtures justice and is guided by the principle of equal value for all persons. It acts to promote social change towards a more sustainable and inclusive society.

News

Woman at computer with the Swedish Public Employment Service home page.

Clash between employees and management when the Swedish Public Employment Service changed philosophy

The Swedish Public Employment Service was to become a modern public authority and wanted to introduce a new way of managing the organisation. Now researchers from Linköping University have examined what really happened.

Man in office with hand behind his head.

Extreme earners are not extremely smart

People with higher incomes also score higher on IQ-tests – up to a point. At high incomes the relationship plateaus and the top 1% score even slightly lower on the test than those whose incomes rank right below them, shows a new study from LiU.

Schools’ intake segregates students

Various intake rules for upper secondary schools affect segregation among students. The effect is less than from other factors, but still clear. This is the conclusion of a new study written by researchers at Linköping University.

Culture and social change

In cultural research, we study people's ways of living and of viewing the world. It is a multidisciplinary field which spans popular culture and media research, as well as studies of the relationship between culture and other fields.

Research on Working Life

Globalisation contributes to big changes in working life. An important challenge for research into working life at Linköping University is to develop knowledge that supports the sustainable development of companies in a globalised world.

Ethnicity and Migration

International migration and ethnic relations is a large multidisciplinary field of research at Linköping University.

Sociology

How society changes – and what this means

Research

Man up! Open up? Teenage boys’ interpretations of social media content about mental health