Military Occupations: Methodological Approaches and the Military-Academy Research Nexus

Military occupations are continually evolving in relation to the geopolitical changes of societies, their conflicts and conflict management strategies, and technological developments in military hardware and software. Military occupations studies undertaken by the academy have been key to informing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology compass 2011-01, Vol.5 (1), p.37-51
Main Authors: Jenkings, K. Neil, Woodward, Rachel, Williams, Alison J., Rech, Matthew F., Murphy, Ann L., Bos, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Disciplines
Armed Forces
Computer Software
Conflict Resolution
Strategies
Technological Change
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Summary:Military occupations are continually evolving in relation to the geopolitical changes of societies, their conflicts and conflict management strategies, and technological developments in military hardware and software. Military occupations studies undertaken by the academy have been key to informing government strategy towards the maintenance of functioning armed forces. Since the 1950s, such studies have prioritised ‘top‐down’ quantitative sociological methodologies. This paper reviews these studies and the role of the dominant Institutional/Occupational model. The paper then considers less influential ‘bottom up’ interpretive methodological studies of military occupations. It is suggested that the reliance on ‘top down’ modelling approaches has led to the paucity of studies describing the range and experiential detail of military occupations. The Military–Academy nexus, and the priorities of the discipline of sociology are suggested as reasons for this emphasis.
ISSN:1751-9020
1751-9020
DOI:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00340.x