exam 1 Flashcards
agency vs. structure
agency is our capacity to make our own choices and act autonomously (freewill). structure is the patterned social arrangements that may constrain our choices and opportunities.
adopting a sociological imagination
we cannot understand human behavior by viewing individual actors as free agents who are disconnected
basic vs. applied research
basic research seeks to answer theoretically informed questions or resolve fundamental intellectual puzzles about social behavior. applied research seeks to answer questions or concrete problem in the real world or to evaluate a policy or program.
qualitative vs. quantitative research
qualitative research collects and analyzes data using description in words or images. quantitative research relies on data that can be represented by numbers.
cross sectional vs. longitudinal study designs
cross sectional is data that is collected at one point in time. longitudinal study is data collected repeatedly over time.
unit of analysis
refer to the level of social life about which we want to generalize
starting the research process: choosing a question and setting goals
identify social importance, scientific relevance, and the feasibility
purposes of theory
to describe
to explain
to explore
level of abstraction in theory
macro-level: refers to the boradest way thinking about social life, focusing on structure, composition, and processes of society.
micro-level: refers to the most intimate way of thinking about social life; it focuses on face-to-face interaction and small group interactions
meso-level: refers to the middle-aged way of thinking about social life, focusing on the physical settings and organizations that link individuals to a larger society
commonalities among theories
testable, can be quantitatively or qualitatively examined.
falsifiable
generalizable, can explain a broad class of events
probabilistic, refer to what is likely not what is definite
use of theory in research
inductive approach, draw up a general understanding of social phenomenon through empirical observations.
deductive approach, translation of general theory into specific empirical analysis.
social science theory
theories develop from paradigms
paradigms
a broad set of taken for granted and often unacknowledged assumptions about how social reality is to be defined
scientific paradigms
commonly accepted views about what direction research should take and how it should be performed
selected sociological paradigms
structural functionalism
conflict
rational choice
symbolic interactionism
the elements of theory
must be well articulated
well reasoned
allow researchers to move systematically from one point to the next in order to arrive at a conclusion
concepts
an idea that can be named, defined, and eventually measured
a brief history of ethical problems in research
the belmont report of 1979- was issued by the national commission for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioral research
the Tuskegee syphilis experiment: deliberate harm
1932-1972, the us public health services conducted a long term study of untreated syphilis in 400 poor African American men who had advanced syphilis. the men were not told they were infected with the disease and were under the impression they were receiving treatments but were really given placebos.
the 1950s to 1970s: four controversial studies
Willowbrook
how the IRB works
a committee located at an insitution where research is done that is responsible for reviewing all research involving human subjects, with the goal of protecting human subjects and preventing ethical violations
professional codes of ethics
respect, benficience, and justice
positive and negative relations
positive- both concepts move in the same direction, an increase in one concept leads to an increase in another.
negative- the two concepts move in opposite directions, an increase in one leads to a decrease in another and vice versa.
mediation and moderation
mediation- the expected relation between two concepts is channeled through a third concept that links them to each other.
moderation- the strength of the association between two variables is made weaker or stronger by a third variable.
spuriousness
an apparent relation between two concepts is actually the result of some third concept influencing both of them.
subjective reality
everyone has their own unique perception of reality
structural functionalism
society must be viewed as a collection of interrelated parts, each with unique role, that cone together to form a whole. Talcott Parsons
