Socio-economic status measurements and a model suggestion for Turkey

IV ABSTRACT SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS MEASUREMENTS AND A MODEL SUGGESTION FOR TURKEY H.Kemal SUHER Communication Sciences Department Anadolu University Social Sciences Institute, October 2003 Advisor: Prof. Dr. Ali Atıf BİR In recent years, marketing, advertising and media sectors come to an important position in Turkey. Many international firms are trying to make improvements in their markets and enlarge their market share. All these developments make the consumer and marketing research a necessity in the sector. Thus, there is an extensive data production towards the consumers in the market. In many of these marketing and consumer research, consumers are identified according to certain social classes. The consumption habits and life styles of these consumers are interpreted according the social class which they belong to. It is observed that there are some problems in the status scales which are used in determining the social classes in Turkey. Primarily there are too many scales which are used in marketing, advertising and media sector. This variety makes it difficult to establish an agreement between the players of these sectors. At the same time, this variety leads to meaningless comparisons between local and international researches. Secondly, another problem involves with the developing of the scales. It is not clear enough how these scales are built and which theoretical criterions are based upon. Related to these problems, in the first chapter of the thesis, it is tried to give information about the stratification concept and theories. Thus, the stratification and class concept which lay behind the social status measurement is explained in sociological perspective.In the second chapter, the information about the social status measurement studies in America and England is given in a historical perspective. Because, these countries were the main starting points of these measurements, it is important to give information about the studies in these countries. At the same time, theoretical and sectoral studies are mentioned in this section. It is thought that, the information which is given in this section is enough to cover the information lack in this subject in Turkey. In the third chapter, class analysis and social status measurements in Turkey are tired to examine. Information about the certain stratification studies in Turkey are mentioned in this section. At the end of the section, some of the socioeconomic status measurements which are used by the sector are explained in detail. Naturally, there are many scales which are used by the sector In Turkey, but the important ones accepted by many groups in the sector are mentioned. In the fourth and fifth chapters, the data from 2002 and 2003 AGB Anadolu Establishment Survey is used for proving the relationship between elements of scales in the statistical sense and building up a new socioeconomic status scale with the purpose of improving the existing ones and giving them a theoretical and an academic background.