Lecture 1

Question 1

Mode of knowledge production

Answer 1

the process by which we come to know what we know

Question 2

What are the 5 examples of mode of knowledge production

Answer 2

• tradition
• common sense
• authority
• personal experience
• scientific method

Question 3

scientific method

Answer 3

process of using systemic observations, measurement, experimentation, and hypothesis testing to create theories about the world

Question 4

quantitative social research

Answer 4

process of collecting and analyzing information about human beings and their activities that can be turned into numerical data in order to discover generalizable patterns, test hypothesis, make predications, and access risk

Question 5

Core characteristics of quantitative social research method

Answer 5

1. it quantifies
2. it creates generalizations
3. it tests hypothesis
4. it assess risk and make predictions

Question 6

quantification

Answer 6

we are collecting numerical data

Question 7

generalization

Answer 7

rather than assuming from personal experience or common sense, we would generalize findings from a sample of the population. this allows us to infer how society at large perceives gender inequality

Question 8

test hypothesis

How can we test hypotheses

Answer 8

using statistical tools, you could test the hypotheses

Question 9

what allows you to make a prediction

Answer 9

knowing the gender and age of a respondent allows you to make predictions about their level of support for gender equality using statistical tools

Question 10

Regime of Truth (ROT)

Answer 10

the way a society determines what counts as ‘truth’ and how this truth is produced, shared, and maintained by powerful institutions, like governments, media, schools, scientific organizations, churches, etc. (Foucault)

Question 11

what is considered the most legitimate way to communicate information

Answer 11

statistics

Question 12

how do statistical data and quantitative methods function together

Answer 12

statistical data and quantitative methods equal the dominant mode of knowledge, they function as a tool and a currency, used for particular ends and are required to participate in the shaping of society

Question 13

historical context:
how was information collected and stored

Answer 13

information was collected and maintained on local population via church, they had records on births, deaths, and marriages

Question 14

historical context:
who collected this data

Answer 14

the king appointed people to collect this data, and data on resources like crops, livestock, land, and other natural resources

Question 15

historical context:
how was the collected information used

Answer 15

the collected information was used to tax people, recruit soldiers for war, and make decisions about economic trade

Question 16

who used the expression ‘the avalanche of numbers’

Answer 16

Ian Hacking (1991)

Question 17

what was the ‘avalanche of numbers’

Answer 17

a dramatic increase in collection and use of statistics in Europe and North America leading to institutions and professions being created to collect and analyze data

Question 18

when did the population census become widely used in Canada

Answer 18

1871

Question 19

what was the new idea that came about with the ‘avalanche of numbers’

Answer 19

data needed about a population to ‘correct’ / ‘improve’ / control it, statistical revolution happened at different paces and in different contexts throughout the world and imposed on indigenous forms of knowledge / governance via colonialism

Question 20

when did sociology emerge and why

Answer 20

sociology emerged with the industrial revolution as an attempt to study and understand new forms of urban life and to solve new ‘social problems’

Question 21

what were the new social problems to emerge with the industrial revolution

Answer 21

• immigration and rise of multicultural neighborhoods
• racism and discrimination
• new forms of work and exploitation
• new family formations
• decline in religion
• increase in conflict and crime
• management of health and illness
• mass poverty
• suicide
• changing gender roles

Question 22

what are the politics of quantitative data

Answer 22

social actors and institutions differ widely on what counts as a social problem, how it should be studied, how it should be corrected and to what end

Question 23

what are social reformers and sociologists concerned with

Answer 23

they are concerned with decreasing unequal access to collective ‘goods’; expanding opportunities/well-being of marginalized groups

Question 24

what are political and economic elites concerned with

Answer 24

they are concerned with maintaining status quo and/or preserving privileges, power, profit

Question 25

what do governments negotiate

Answer 25

governments negotiate between demands of social reforms and political and economic elites, siding with different groups in different moments (but often with PEs)