Volume 7, Issue 1 (1989) The Development of Clinical and Applied Sociology

Preface:The Sociological Practice Association is pleased to announce that in addition to publishing the Clinical Sociology Review, we will begin to publish Sociological Practice. Six volumes of the journal have appeared since its inception in 1976. This issue, our first, is Volume VII.

Sociological Practice is intended to be a basic resource for practitioners, faculty, graduate students and upper-level undergraduate students who are in the social sciences. It also is designed to be of interest to those in other fields who now use or are considering the use of social science applications.

Our aim is to thoroughly cover selected topics in applied and clinical sociology. This issue is about the field of sociological practice, and future issues will focus on special areas of application such as sociological approaches to intervention and practical research in communities or in health settings.

This volume presents information about the core of the field of sociological practice: basic definitions, historical perspectives, ethical standards, and guidance for the establishment or improvement of sociological practice programs.

In order to adequately cover these core areas, some original articles have been prepared and others updated for this volume. Most of the documents have been selected from a variety of published sources. We tried to find relevant historical pieces as well as contemporary work that provided overviews, syntheses or special insights.

For those undertaking research on the history of sociological practice or those who are interested in current issues in the field, we would like to call your attention not only to the featured writers and ideas but also to the periodicals and books from which many of these selections were reprinted. Early issues of The American Journal of Sociology and The American Sociologist, for instance, are important sources of information when studying the history of clinical and applied sociology. Others, like The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science and the Clinical Sociology Review, are excellent references covering developments in theory, methods and substantive areas of practice.