key words 2 Flashcards
Structure, structural theorists
Theories, including functionalism and marxism, which look at society ‘as a whole’, looking for ‘social facts’, patterns or structures, and taking a ‘macro’ perspective.
Action, action theorists
theories such as interactionism which look at society at the level of individual experiences and meanings, suggesting we should look from the ‘micro’ level, up.
conflict
theories which see society as built on hostility, tension and conflict between people/groups - e.g. for marxists the key division is social class, and exploitation of the poor.
consensus
theories which see society as built on agreement and cooperation- e.g. for functionalists social institutions serve positive functions, fulfilling society’s needs.
positivist
sociologists and their methods which model themselves on science - trying to be objective, finding ‘big’ data, identifying cause and effect, and using replicable methods.
interpretivist
sociologists and their methods which believe you need to be much more ‘human’ in approach, prioritising deep understanding (verstehen) and validity.
replicability
the key priority for positivists. it means a sociologist using the same method should get the same results - like a scientist following rigorous methods in a lab experiment.
validity
the key priority for interpretivists. it means that the results convey not just general but real and authentic truth, taking account of human complexity and subtlety
internal validity
means results are authentically true for the studied person’s inner world - as in, they are honest, deeply true, genuinely conveying how they feel and experience the world.
external validity
means results avoid distortions which can arise, and therefore are an accurate representation of the outer world - e.g. no missing data, no lies or selectivity in the data.
