Exam 1 Flashcards
Central Insights of Sociology
- We are all thoroughly interconnected
- Things are not always as they appear
- We make assumptions that often go unquestioned
- What we learn in the context of our culture
C. Wright Mills
The sociological imagination
Sociological methods of knowing
Systematic
Comprehensive
Group effort
Sociological methods of knowing
-systematic
This is deliberate and organized.
There is a need to define what things mean.
Sociological methods of knowing: comprehensive
Big picture
The Sociological Imagination
“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.” C. Wright Mills.
How does society shape out individual experiences and our perceptions of those experiences.
Making the connection between the big picture and the induvial.
The Sociological Imagination
How do we know what we know?
- At the everyday ordinary level, what we see and hear and what we don’t see and hear
- Our socialization
Problems with our knowing at the everyday ordinary level
- Faulty generalizations and assumptions from a single case
* Affected by our prevailing myths and stereotypes
Sociological methods of knowing: Group Effort
when studies replicated= more complete view
Dependent variable
Effect
Independent Variable
Cause
Field Experiments
There are no controlled settings
-An example of this would be something like faking a heart attack on the streets of CA and seeing who helps. The IV would be faked heart attack. The DV would be the people passing by ignore
Surveys
- phone interview
- Face to face
- observation
- existing sources
- previous studies
Survey: Mail
- lease expensive
- More anonymous
- More time to respond
- Can do a lot in a short time
Survey: Phone Interviews
Folks may not have time
Survey:Face to Face
- In depth, in person
- Very costly
- Can clarify questions and answers’
Survey: Observation
- Nothing changed by researcher
- Detached-need to make assumptions
- Participant-affect group behavior
Survey: Existing sources
- Census
- News media
- Film Footage
Surveys: Previous studies
- Benefit from others insights and findings
- Build on existing knowledge
Quantitative vs Qualitative Approach
Quantitative
-Numbers are percent’s, ratios, sophisticated
-Number of panels, square feet, visitors
Qualitative
-Characteristics, attributes, worth
-Why folks make a panel
-Impact of a visit to quilt
THE POINT
interaction is structured, ordered, scripted and patterned