Sociology

How society changes – and what this means

En kvinna som arbetar i en klädesaffär — David Einar Nygren

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

An ancestry-segregated school class friendship network.

Peer influence or discrimination? Understanding the mechanisms behind ethnic differences in school achievement.

This project explores the achievement gaps in schools among students from different ethnic backgrounds. By analysing data from European youth and Swedish registers, we aim to increase awareness of bias in the education system.

Megabytes vs Megawatts: Understanding Infrastructural Frictions between Data Centers and Energy Grids for Sustainable Digitalization

Megabytes vs Megawatts is a research project that studies ongoing infrastructure developments and societal imaginaries to make data centers more environmentally sustainable.

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

Peer influence or discrimination? Understanding the mechanisms behind ethnic differences in school achievement.