Current sociological research in Canada: Views of a journal editor

On the basis of submissions to the Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology and the Annual Meetings of the Canadian Sociological and Anthropological Association, sociology in Canada may be described as social problem oriented, empirical, and atheoretical. There is a strong interest in research on ethnicity and on immigrant adjustment, reflecting a continuity with earlier periods of sociology in Canada, and on deviance and social control. Research on stratification, social mobility, and the family has been relatively neglected. As sociology in Canada shares the interests of “mainline” sociology, it has not escaped criticism or attempts to change its direction. A general model, identifying influences on the formulation of investigative issues in sociology, is used to interpret these criticisms and responses to them.