Operacionalizacija prekarnog rada u naučnim istraživanjima: Kritički pregled literature

Aleksandra Marković

doi:10.47152/ziksi2026013

Authors

Aleksandra Marković University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Institute for Sociological Research, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5219-4220

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47152/ziksi2026013

Keywords:

precarious work, precarity, operational definition, critical literature review, social research methodology

Abstract

The paper presents a critical review of the literature on the operationalisation of precarious work and precarity. Starting from the observation that precarity and precarious work, despite the widespread use of these terms in contemporary social science, are still not universally operationalised, and that there is a lack of such representations in domestic literature, the aim of the paper is to highlight the importance of operational definitions for the accumulation of scientific knowledge and the comparability of empirical findings. In the first part, the relationship between theoretical concepts and their empirical application is examined, with particular reference to the importance, role, and function of operational definitions. In the central part of the paper, selected examples of empirical research are analysed, offering not only descriptive accounts but also critical commentary on different approaches to measuring precarity and precarious work. In conclusion, it is argued that conceptual unevenness and the variety of operational definitions, dimensions, and indicators still represent a key challenge in research on precarious work and precarity. Without a clear theoretical framework and reflexive operationalisation, research on precarious work risks remaining at the level of pure empiricism.

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