Chapter 1 Sociology: Theory and Method Flashcards
sociology
the study of human groups and societies, giving particular emphasis to analysis of the industrialized world
personal troubles
difficulties that are located in individual biographies and their immediate milieu, a seemingly private experience
public issues
difficulties of problems that are linked to the institutional and historical possibilities of social structure
sociological imagination
the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions;
someone using the sociological imagination “thinks himself away” from the familiar routines of daily life
structuration
the two-way process by which we shape our social world through our individual actions and by which we are reshaped by society
globalization
the economic, political, and social interconnectedness of individuals throughout the world
Auguste Comte:
What did he contribute?
What did he believe?
He invented the word sociology.
He believed sociology could produce a knowledge of society based on scientific evidence
Herbert Spencer:
What did he believe?
He held that development is a natural outcome of individual achievement;
He argued that society can change and improve the quality of life for all people only when everyone changes his or her behavior to maximize individual potential
Emile Durkheim:
What did he believe?
What did he think the key task of the sociologist was?
He thought that to become a science, sociology must study social facts. He believed that the continuation of a society depended on cooperation.
The key task of the sociologist was to search for correlations among social facts to reveal laws of social structure.
social facts
the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals
–Emile Durkeim
organic solidarity
the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole
–Emile Durkeim
social constraint
the conditioning influence on our behavior by the groups and societies of which we are members
–Emile Durkheim
anomie
refers to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior
–Emile Durkheim
Karl Marx:
What did he believe?
It is not the ideas or values human beings hold that are the main sources of social change (Durkheim believed it was), but rather social change is prompted primarily by economic influences
materialist conception of history
the view to which material, or economic, factors have a prime role in determining historical change
–Karl Marx
capitalism
an economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested to produce profit
–Karl Marx
Max Weber:
What was his view?
He believed that economic factors are important, but ideas and values have just as much effect on social change. Cultural ideas and values help shape society and affect our individual actions
Harriet Martineau:
Why is she significant to sociology?
She argued that when one studies a society, one must focus on all its aspects, including the lives of women (as well as married life, children, domestic and religious life, race relations), and that sociologists shouldn’t just observe but should act in ways that benefit society
W.E.B. Du Bois:
What did he contribute to sociology?
What did he believe?
double consciousness: measuring one’s identity through the lens of another
He claimed that one’s sense of self and one’s identity are greatly influenced by historical experiences and social circumstances
What are 4 (6) theoretical approaches?
Symbolic Interactionism,
Functionalism,
Conflict Theories (Marxism & Feminism ad Feminist Theory),
Postmodern Theory
Symbolic Interactionism
A theoretical approach that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction
–George Herbert Mead
symbol
one item used to stand for or represent another (flag symbolizes a nation)
Functionalism
A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform, that is, the contributions they make to the continuity of a society
(–Comte and Spencer)
manifest functions
the functions of a particular social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in that activity
latent functions
functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur
Conflict Theories
A sociological perspective that emphasizes the role of political and economic power and oppression as contributing to the existing social order
Marxism
A body of thought deriving its main elements from Karl Marx’s ideas (intended to generate a program of radical political change; places emphasis on conflict, class divisions, power, and ideology)
power
the ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold
ideology
shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups
feminism
advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life
Feminist Theory
A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the experiences of women
Postmodernism
The belief that society is no longer governed by history of progress.
Postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no “grand narrative” guiding its development.
microsociology
the study of human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction
macrosociology
the study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems
science
the disciplined marshaling of empirical data, combined with theoretical approaches and theories that illuminate or explain those data
empirical investigation
factual inquiry carried out in any area of sociological study
factual questions
questions that raise issues concerning matters of fact (rather than theoretical or moral issues)
comparative questions
questions concerned with drawing comparisons among different human societies
developmental questions
questions that sociologists pose when looking at the origins and path of development of social institutions
theoretical questions
questions posed by sociologists when seeking to explain a particular range of observed events (allows us to generalize about the nature of social life)
What are 4 types of questions sociologists ask?
Factual Questions,
Comparative Questions,
Developmental Questions,
Theoretical Questions
What are the 7 steps of the research process?
- Define the research problem (select a topic for research)
- Review the evidence (familiarize yourself with existing research on the topic)
- Make the problem precise (formulate a hypothesis)
- Work out a research design (choose one or more research methods)
- Carry out the research (collect data and record information)
- Interpret the results (work out the implications of the data collected)
- Report the findings (define the significance)
hypothesis
an idea or a guess about a given state of affairs, put forward as a basis for empirical testing
data
factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation (social science data often refer to individuals’ responses to survey questions)
What are the 4 methods used in sociological resarch?
Ethnography,
Surveys,
Experiments,
Comparative and Historical Research
qualitative methods
approaches to sociological research that often rely on personal and/or collective interviews, accounts, or observations of a person or situation
quantitative methods
approaches to sociological research that draw on objective and statistical data and often focus on documenting trends, comparing subgroups, or exploring correlations
ethnography
the firsthand study of people using observation, in-depth interviewing, or both (“fieldwork”)
participant observation
a method of research widely used in sociology and anthropology in which the researcher takes part in the activities of the group or community being studied
survey
a method of sociological research in which questionnaires are administered to the population being studied
pilot study
a trial run in survey research
sampling
studying a proportion of individuals or cases from a larger population as representative of that population as a whole
sample
a small proportion of a larger population
representative sample
a sample from a larger population that is statistically typical of that population
random sampling
sampling method in which a sample is chosen so that every member of the population has the same probability of being included
experiment
a research method in which variables can be analyzed in a controlled and systematic way, either in an artificial situation constructed by the researcher or in naturally occurring settings
comparative research
research that compares one set of findings on one society with the same types of findings on other societies
oral history
interviews with people about events they witnessed earlier in their lives
triangulation
the use of multiple research methods as a way of producing more reliable empirical data than are available from any single method
~measures of central tendency
the ways of calculating averages
~correlation coefficient
a measure of the degree of correlation between variables
~mean
mode
median
the average, based on dividing a total by the number of individual cases
the number that appears most often in a data set
the number that falls halfway in a range of numbers
~standard deviation
a way of calculating the spread of a group of figures
informed consent
the process whereby the investigator informs potential participants about the risks and benefits involved in the study
debriefing
following a study, informing participants about the true purpose of the study and revealing any deception that happened during the study
