This is the first part of a textbook for students of sociology, and for those students of other social sciences who wish to make use in their work of the research methods elaborated in the course of the develop ment of empirical sociology over the last few decades. The development of empirical sociological research in our country and the growing demand both for a practical application of its results and for graduates of sociological studies in various fields of social practice testifies to a much broader trend. It is evidence of a desire to base our understanding and conscious transformation...