L’Enquête, entre science de l’État et thérapie sociale

Abstract

This article reconstructs the history of the reception and appropriation of the category ‘Inquiry’ in empirical social science research in Germany between the 1880s and 1930. We shall show how ‘Inquiry’ moved from a State-operated science to a form of ‘private’ research in certain reformist and feminist movements. In so doing, the focus shifted to a research project outside, and independent of the university, in which methodological reflection on this particular type of investigation was central. Covering individual case studies, direct observation, interviews, and analysis of official documents and statistics, ‘Inquiry’ designated a hybrid mode of production of knowledge of society, between a close and a distanced perspective on the milieus studied.

Keywords

• inquiry
• feminist movements
• social reform
• social work
• statistics