"Ratio Generationis" – Aspects for responsible generational research; "Ratio Generationis" – Szempontok a felelős generációkutatáshoz
In: Metszetek: társadalomtudományi folyóirat = Cross-Sections : social science journal, Band 10, Heft 2, S. 104-126
ISSN: 2063-6415
Huge amount of literature has been published in recent years on topic of generation researchbut of varying quality. There is a significant interest in the topic, although an increasing amountof contradictory and methodologically questionable results have come to light. People developprejudices and beliefs based on popular media, which could be counterbalanced by scientificworks, but there is a noticable amount of thorough criticism against them. It is still a question,whether generation is the proper response to certain phenomena or we have just "generated" itand most charachteristics are rather related to age or life span? Cautious research is complicatedand lengthy, therefore many either choose to perform superficial research or to go so in-depththat does not allow answering problems and return to just individual differences. Some concludeby refusing the generational approach altogether. In these circumstances a kind of "responsible"generational research is to be suggested, which turns from dead ends to the scientific way andfinally tries to find "ration in generations" keeping in mind all the criticism of the approach.I summerize cosiderations in my work to find this right direction.