Social audit as a proposal to enrich instruments of social research methods

Abstract

Paper presents the social audit method – a research tool designed to measure discrimination in the employment area. Social audit is used to examine the discrimination problem in the recruitment process and to study working conditions, especially these of female staff, in companies applying or having obtained the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) certificates. The audit methodology combines the experimental approach with the fieldwork orientation: hidden and open observation, various types of interviews, documentation analysis linking to financial audits and occupational health and safety control. This approach seems to be similar to the grounded theory methodology or to the evaluation research methods. The paper examines the audits conducted in Poland – both these commissioned by a non-governmental organizations in order to evaluate the working conditions, and these conducted by the author of this paper to countercheck its methodology and adapt it to the local environment, pointing out its advantages and disadvantages.