The horizons of sociological knowledge and method are expanding gradually.

Its scope is
becoming wider and wider to cover all the activities of human's social life. Thus, the knowledge
of sociology has a great value especially in modern complex society as well as developing
society. The society is transforming from simple society to complex society, thus its inevitability
are recognize widely today.
Sociological knowledge and method are helpful in providing scientific knowledge about entire
human society. It is helpful in identifying social problems and solving them. Such as, labour
problem, poverty, unemployment, crime, racial discrimination, drug and alcohol addiction, sex
offences, gender discriminations etc, it is helpful in national unity and rural development too.
So we can say, Sociological knowledge and method are unavoidable in promoting and
strengthening Rural Development process. Rural development workers try to identify the rural
people needs and interests and mobilize local people's participation from the stage of plan
formulation to ending phase of the plans. People should involve after end of the project for
sustainable development.
The sociological knowledge and method is essential for understanding and planning of society,
which increases the power of social action. It is indispensable especially in underdeveloped
countries for the rural development process. Sociological knowledge and method helped several
governments to promote the welfare of the marginalized people as far as rural people.
Sociological knowledge refers to the knowledge of society and sociological method refers to
analyzed society by conducting survey and research. Research means search for truth.
Scientific methodology is used to find out the truth and it provides valid knowledge of social
impact, social events, social change, social control and social development. More over,
sociologists are involving to find out development approaches appropriate to the society.
Let's see the implication of sociological knowledge and method, societies are laboratories of
sociology, to success the development program and increase the public participation; sociology
plays such type of rolls.
1. Socio-cultural factors affect the society or rural development program. Before the
implementation of any kinds of project or development program, planner must understand
the socio-cultural tradition, which is the task of sociologist. Whether the program will be
highly beneficial to them, if it is against their socio-cultural tradition, they will not adopt it.
Examples of irrigation project, which is constructed left hand side of the religious tree,
local people deny to use that irrigated water on their crops. Like pig husbandry program
will not be adopt in the locality of Brahimens settlement. If they got cow husbandry
program, it may be success. So, sociologist recommends those programs, which is
applicable to the society.
2. The main target of the rural development is right to development and distribution of
development benefits to the poorest of the poor people. By the sociological knowledge
and method sociologist can identified the poorest of the poor people.
The nation's targets must not be those females who were already empowered, not to
those Dalit who were socially and economically respected, nor to those nationalities who
were socially transmitted. But targets must be on those females, Dalits, nationalities who
are in vicious circle or on the poverty level. Development will not take place, unless the
improvement of life standard of poorest of the poor people. So the development and
distribution of development benefits must reached firstly to those people who are least
advantaged member of society. Landless laboures, tenants, are land less population,
illiterates; on few senses rural people are poorest of the poor. Sociologist tries to find out
 the poorest of the poor people of the society and tries to involve them to the development
benefit shareholders.
3. Public oriented program like agriculture, education, forest, health, community social work
etc, and sociologist can play rolls as administrator, adviser, researcher and planner etc.
So we can further add, acquired sociological knowledge and methods were sociologists.
The new role of the sociologist in national development
To understand the role of the sociologist in the face of conflicting ideas and rapid social change
a distinction between pure, applied and popular sociology should be made. Pure sociology is a
search for knowledge without concern for its practical use. In this case, sociology is neutral and
value free. When the knowledge acquired from this use of science is applied to the improvement
of society- this is applied sociology. In recent times, a great deal of sociological material has
gotten into print through the agency of people who are not sociologists. The mass media of
communication like magazines, periodicals, television programs, etc. are studied with articles on
crimes, family life and disorganizations like divorce and separation, sex and corruption etc. this
is popular sociology.
When a sociologist studies the structure of a squatter or slum area, he is doing pure Sociology.
When he follows this with a study of how to prevent delinquency in this area he is doing applied
sociology. When writers, columnists and journalists write about what this sociologist is doing and
publish their own opinion of what is going on in the area this is pop sociology.
In recent times, more and more sociologists have viewed their role as both scientist and
participant in what is doing on. As a scientist, his task is to produce accurate systematic
generalization; like all scholars, he tries to be exact. As a result, much research has been done
on aspect of social life.- crime and delinquency, empowerment and girls trafficking, racial conflict
and political conflict, sex and class, drug abuse and alcoholic, poverty and unemployment and
many of social problem. Most inaccuracies and fallacies have been clarified resulting in much
accurate knowledge about human behavior. Yet, sociologist is timid about making predictions on
what should be done to solve problems arising from these studies, so he remains in the
background. However, as part of the social world, the sociologist is caught up in major events
and social issues in which he is both a sociologist and participant. With his sociological training
and insight and skills, he is expected to help society not only to understand social problems but
also to provide direction towards their solution.
Sociologist knows some things about population growth, race relations, urban development,
rural development, and many other matters involving question of public policy. Should
sociologist become public advocates of birth control programs, legalized abortion, women's
liberation, racial integration, and many other programs, which they may consider socially
desirable? Whether sociology should be value-free or not has not been settled today. However,
sociologist literature seems to agree on certain prepositions, which are as follows;
a. Sociology should show the relationship between values. Explain condition or situations as
they are (value-free) but propose certain actions or alternative that society or social policy
can do to obtain its objectives. For example, if you want to rehabilitate the squatters in
Chitwan, it is necessary to alleviate poverty, reduce unemployment, establish job
opportunities in the rural areas, and in most cases, sacrifice some property rights of
landowners to provide housing for them.
b. The sociologist as an individual may make value judgments on social issues and social
problems as a participant or concerned citizen. After all, he is a member of society in
which he lives and in which he expects to bring up his family in peace and reasonable
 contentment. As a citizen, he is free to express his opinion and make decision according
to personal beliefs and values.
c. More recently, many sociologists believe that sociologists should claim a major role in
making decisions about policy and should involve themselves in the major issues of our
society.
As acquiring knowledge and method of sociology, sociologist can play such vital rolls in rural
development program,
As a social scientist - Sociology is a fast growing discipline, as well as vast too. An effort has
been made to divide its study into different fields or aspects of human social life. Sociology just
became as a new social sciences even though, it has break down into an endless list of
specialties. Thus it has several specialized areas of inquiry. As other science like political,
economics, physic, chemistry, botany etc, those scientists have their own specialized field. As a
social scientist sociologist studies the nature and character of human society, and also its origin
and development, structure and functions and they analyses the group life of human and
examines the bonds of social unity.
As a development planner- as development planners, sociologist must have applied knowledge
and method in promoting and strengthening rural development process. The knowledge applied
to:
To identify the needs for change perceived by local people.
Working with those people to design socially appropriate interventions strategies.
Apply the knowledge method for protecting local people from harmful scheme of development.
As a student of social problem- the present world is beset with several social problems of great
magnitude like poverty, beggary, unemployment, prostitution, over population, family
disorganization, racial problems, crime, community disorganization, crime, alcoholism,
untouchability, gambling etc. by the sociological knowledge and method sociologist study such
social problems and tried to find out the cause and effect of those social problem.
As an activist of social change- society or nation development is impossible with out social
change. For the social change, change in attitude and concept is essential for the member of
society or nation. Thus, by the sociological knowledge and method sociologist able to find out
their needs and interests and motivate them for social change. So sociologist can play vital rolls
as an activist of social change.
As a helper of national integration- by applying the sociological knowledge and method
sociologists try to make balance between or among the different categories of people in rural
society and maintained the national integration.
As an observer of weakness of plan- Sociologist work as a development facilitators. They
observe and study about the plans and find out the merits and demerits of those plans. If there
are any weaknesses of plan, they also try to identify the obstacles of development by observing
it and solve it.
As a researcher- by the sociological method- research or survey, sociologist can identified the
social problems such as- poverty, unemployment, crime, racial discrimination, drug and alcohol
addiction, sex offences, gender discriminations etc, and analyze the cause and effect of those
social problem which is applicable to solve them.