| Sumario: | This article discusses sociology as a worldwide social science. In recent years, the worldwide spread of sociology has been made evident by the organization of the International Sociological Association. The First World Congress of Sociology was held in Zurich, Switzerland in September 1950. The Second World Congress met at the University of Liege, Belgium in August 1953 and was attended by 281 delegates from 34 countries. A total of 156 papers were read, dealing with four major themes. At the Second World Congress of Sociology, several sociologists from the U.S. took part. In this congress, René Konig, professor of sociology at the University of Cologne, presented a report on the subject of experiences in social research techniques in Germany and Switzerland. The emphasis is one the importance of empirical research methods, those discussed being interviewing, sampling and making community studies. One problem of interviewing relates to the fact that in the social sciences everything is connected with everything else. Another problem in interviewing involves the fact that two different populations may react quite differently to being interviewed. In the discussion of sampling, Konig points out that the large sample fails to get the detailed and thoroughgoing information that is possible in a small sample. Another sampling problem develops because randomization is not randomlike at all. This sampling of the wide range of reports given at the Second World Congress suggests that the day may not be far distant when joint sociological studies may be conducted simultaneously in different areas of the world.
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