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Sociology Paper 1 > Theory and methods > Flashcards

Theory and methods Flashcards

1
Q

What is positivism

A

Positivist approaches to social research are quantitative
-Seen as scientific as they are objective
-

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2
Q

What is an example of a positivist study?

A

Durkheim’s suicide study
believes behaviour was caused by social facts

  • found a number of social patterns, arguing the patterns found demonstrate that suicide is not a random individual act.
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3
Q

What is interpretivism

A
  • qualitative, empathetic, humanistic
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4
Q

What is an example of an interpretivist study?

A

Douglas - focused on the meanings behind the act of suicide.

  • he wanted to interpret how individuals who commit suicide define and give meaning to their act
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5
Q

How do positivists criticise interpretivist and how do Interpretivists criticise positivists

A

it’s too subjective, not authoritative.

criticise Positivist’s reliance on statistics (they are socially constructed)

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6
Q

What are the key features of science

A

-Objective
-Paradigms
-Falsification
-Cause and effect (factual)

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7
Q

How does Positivism support sociology as a science

A

a scientific approach applied to society – Durkheim’s suicide as an example.

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8
Q

How do Interpretivists reject sociology as a science

A

humans are conscious actors, they cannot be understood using detached, quantitative methods

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9
Q

How does Kuhn reject sociology as a science

A

Kuhn = Sciences are based on paradigms that cant be changed as its accepted by the majority

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10
Q

How do realists support sociology as a science

A

we can still usefully study society as an open system, rather than just focussing on individuals
- e.g. we can still make general predictions about social behaviour based on statistical trends
-Cause and effect

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11
Q

What does sociology as value free mean?

A

If social research is value free then it means that it is free of the personal biases of the researcher.

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12
Q

In what two ways is Sociology value free

A

Positivism – sociology could be value free using scientific methods which meant the researcher was as detached as possible.

Weber= if we are explicit about our own values all the way through the research process. We can collect objective data

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13
Q

In what two ways is Sociology not value free

A

Interpretivists- values creep into the quantitative research process through the social construction of statistics
e.g. we need to understand people’s values to understand how they act

Marxist and Feminist sociology isn’t value free in its choice of research topic

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14
Q

What is social policy?

A

Things the government does to steer society in some way.

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15
Q

What is the functionalist view of social policy

A

-Social policies help society run more smoothly and efficiently as it promotes equal opportunity and social cohesion

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16
Q

What is a Social policy that’s an example of a functionalist view

A

The 1988 Education Reform act
-National curriculum

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17
Q

What is the New right view of social policy

A
  • Believe that the state should not interfere too much in
    the private lives of the citizen.
  • Prefer policies that aim to restore peoples sense
    of responsibility,
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18
Q

What is a Social policy that’s an example of A new right view

A

The 1988 Education Reform Act
-League tables, Ofsted

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19
Q

What is the Marxist view of social policy

A

the state represents the interests of the ruling class and
-prefer policies that promote equality of opportunity

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20
Q

What is a social policy that’s an example of the Marxist view

A

abolition of private schools.

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21
Q

What is the Feminist view of social policy

A

Its patriarchal and therefore social policies are designed to maintain this patriarchy
-prefer policies which emphasis gender equality

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22
Q

What is a social policy that’s an example of the Feminist view

A

Legalisation of contraceptive pill
Equal pay

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23
Q

What is the Post modernist view of social policy

A

support policies of diversity and choices.

24
Q

What is the Late modernist view of social policy

A

believe that social policies need to adapt constantly to globalisation.

25
Q

What are 2 factors effecting the influence of sociology on social policy

A

Cost/ Funding - Governments may not have the budget to implement a sociologists recommendations.

Social Bias - Marxists and Feminists believe governments generally have an ideological bias which mean they ignore certain research findings.

26
Q

What are consensus theories?

A

a general shared belief of the essential norms and values of society.

-Agreement between groups and individuals in society allow it to work effectively

e.g. functionalism & new right

27
Q

What are conflict theories?

A

Seeks to acknowledge the significant amount of conflict in society that consensus theories tend to ignore (inequalities)

e.g marxism, neo marxism & feminism

28
Q

What are structural theories?

A

emphasize the power of society over the individual, and believe that the individual is largely controlled by society and institutions within it

e.g marxism, functionalism, feminism

29
Q

What are social action theories?

A

emphasise the role of the active individual and interactions between people in shaping personal identity and in turn the wider society.

30
Q

What are the 2 main motivations of social actions according to Weber

A

Affective action - based upon emotional factors, such as an individuals state of mind

Traditional - based upon custom and habit of the individual

31
Q

What is phenomenology and who is the sociologist?

A

Shultz
- Individuals exist in a shared society that is based on typification’s we experience in our life world

  • we develop common sense knowledge in order to communicate with others and exist in a shared society
  • our meanings are socially constructed based upon common sense, sociology should look into how we arrive at these assumptions
32
Q

What is Ethnomethodology and who is the sociologist behind it?

A

Garfinkel
study of peoples actions

Documentary method - breaching the social norms to see how people react

33
Q

What are 2 strengths of social action theories?

A

Application to contemporary society, allowing us to understand why people reject the ideas of institutions such as education & family

Allows for individuals to be heard instead of the society that controls them

34
Q

What are 2 limitations of social action theories?

A

Ignores the influence institutions has on individuals

Subjective interpretations ignore objective data

35
Q

What’s the post modern theory?

A

-there are no absolute rules or explanations
-society cannot be understood in a rational way, because they are subject to constant change.

36
Q

What is late modernity?

A
  • Rapid change between the modern and post- modern eras
  • They recognise that something important is happening but the elements of modernity are still present
37
Q

What is modernity theory?

A
  • refers to a particular era in human history.
  • Its an era characterised by scientific thought and individualism
  • industrialisation and urbanisation meaning growth of capitalism which developed the middle class
38
Q

What are 4 general Practical issues when choosing a method for research

A

Cost/ Funding
Time available
Type of data required (Qualitative or Quantitative)
Personal characteristics of researcher

39
Q

What are 5 general Ethical issues when choosing a method for research

A

privacy and confidentiality
Informed consent
Deception
Right to withdraw
Protection from harm

40
Q

What are the 3 general theoretical issues when choosing a method for research that effect validity

A

Demand characteristics - Acting a way they think the researcher wants them to

Social desirability - For written questions

Hawthorne effect - When they know they are being watched

41
Q

What are the 2 general theoretical issues when choosing a method for research that effect Reliability

A

Research method - Repeatable methods have more reliability

Data type - Quantitative data is more reliable than qualitative as it is quantifiable

42
Q

What is a general theoretical issue when choosing a method for research that effect Representativeness

A

Sample size - Some research methods will mean that the sample will need to be small (interviews and
Observations)

43
Q

What are the 3 types of Questionnaires and what type of data are they all?

A

They are all Primary research methods
-Open Questionnaire
-Close Questionnaire
-Web based Questionnaire

44
Q

What are the 3 types of Interviews and what type of data are they all?

A

They are all Primary research methods
-Structured Interview
-Unstructured Interview
-Group Interview

45
Q

What are the 4 types of Observation and what type of data are they all?

A

They are all Primary research methods
-Overt observation
-Covert observation
-Participant observation
-Non participant observation

46
Q

What are the 2 types of Experiments and what type of data are they?

A

They are both Primary research methods
-Laboratory Experiment
-Field Experiment

47
Q

What are the 2 types of Statistics and what type of data are they?

A

They are both Secondary research methods
Official statistics
Unofficial statistics

48
Q

What are Official statistics?

A

any set of data collected by the government or other official body, for example official crime statistics,

49
Q

What are Unofficial statistics?

A

numerical data collected and published by independent organisations.

50
Q

What are the 3 types of Documents and what type of data are they?

A

They are all Secondary research methods
-Personal Documents
-Public Documents
-Historical Documents

51
Q

What are Personal Documents?

A

written documents that were created with the intention of keeping them to oneself or to show to certain trusted individuals.
e.g. Diary, birth certificate, Letters

52
Q

What are Public Documents?

A

Government documents that have been released such as OFSTED reports

53
Q

What are Historical Documents?

A

Original (Past) documents that contain important historical information about a person, place, or event.

54
Q

What is Prior research and what type of research is it?

A

Its a secondary research method
Research that has been carried out regarding a similar topic

55
Q

What is content analysis and what type of research is it?

A

Its a secondary research method
provide a reliable interpretation of the qualitative data that is being analysed, by creating quantitative data from it

56
Q

What’s 2 strengths of Primary research?

A

The information is up-to-date.

allows the researcher to obtain original data that are current and highly specific to their needs.

57
Q

What’s 2 strengths of Secondary research

A

Saving time
Cost-effectiveness.

Sociology Paper 1 (2 decks)

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