Lies of the reader: Disadvantages of the sociological research methods for the study of the reading

The research problems of this study are the difficulties in the explanation of the phenomenon of reading in its accelerated transformations by quantitative sociological methods, because of failure to comply with a number of factors: first, the social aspects of the purchase, consumption and possession of reading materials have not yet been reading; second, reading is both asocial and social activity; third, the reader is not social status, social class, social group or social role. Author's hypothesis: the most accessible and authoritative audience methods for study of the reading – sociological research methods, are unable to disclose the specifics of the reader and reading, they provide limited data only on the outer side of the reading activity, for its quantitative indicators but do not reach to the knowledge about the nature and the reasons both for the reading and not reading. The object of this study is the use of sociological research methods in the study of the reader and the reading. The purpose is to reveal the problems generated by the classical sociological research methods, which fed up the mainstream negativity towards the contemporary reading and hinder his objective knowledge. Methodology/approach: The study was conducted by critical analytical and synthetic approach, which involves a systematic review, comparative analysis of terminology and concepts and educational integrated research on the topic „Does my microgroup read?” among Bulgarians over 14 years (2003–2017). Findings: There have been found 15 disadvantages of the sociological methods of the study of reading, as a result of which, science can get a false picture of the reading situation of local and global level. These disadvantages are as follows: 1) research vs. survey, 2) sociological propaganda, 3) the effect of the crowd, 4) fear from the reader, 5) unrecognition of snobbery towards reading and the books, 6) connotations of the word „reading”, 7) literature vs. book, 8) the index „free time”, 9) reading in the consumer modality, 10) reading as demonstrative consumption, 11) undefined „reader”, 12) the respondent lie, 13) the respondent resistance, 14) the prejudice „compulsory for reading”, 15) absence of axiological balance. As an alternative to the sociological methods for obtaining of objective results in the study of the reading and the readers is proposed the integrated approach between qualitative sociological methods and the methods of cognitive neuroscience and bibliopsychology.

Keywords: reading research methodology, reading statistics, education statistics, sociological methods, sociological propaganda, linguistic substitutions, truth and falsehood in surveys, response bias, crowd.