From the quality of life to social well-being: evolution of approach

The paper deals with the development stages of methods for studying the quality of life. The research analyzes the reasons for the transition from purely objective indicators of living standards to combined methods involving subjective assessments of various determinants of social well-being. The authors describe the causes of differences between Western and Russian methodology for examining social well-being and discuss the problematic choices of indicators for its subjective measurement. The results of a study conducted in Novosibirsk in 2018 demonstrate that subjective measures rather than objective data provide an overview of the situation in the city. From the methodological perspective, a study on social well-being can be hindered by various factors to be considered and the evolution of their composition and measurement techniques over time. Besides, the subjective meaning of the factor can vary according to the situation that makes it difficult to compare research results obtained at different times. To solve this problem, it is necessary to determine the essence of social well-being and its relationship with the factors measured in relevant studies.