Week 1 : Introduction Flashcards
1
Q
What is Sociology?
A
The scientific study of the social lives of individuals, groups & societies – macro- & micro-level issues
2
Q
Macro- vs Micro-Sociology
A
- macro-sociology = focuses on large-scale social systems such as the political system or the economy
- micro-sociology = focuses on personal concerns & interpersonal interactions such as dr-patient relationship, how spouses negotiate housework/childcare & how one’s peers may encourage behaviour
3
Q
Research is short for ‘scientific research’
A
- produce (new) knowledge
- Answer specific research questions
- Based on systemic methods & high-quality data
- Generalizable & replicable
- Unbiased or value-free
4
Q
Subjectivity & Reflexivity in being value-free
A
- Subjectivity = the way research is influenced by the perspectives, values, social experiences and viewpoint of the researcher
- Reflexivity = (repetition) the process of attending systematically to the context of knowledge construction, especially to the effect of the researcher, at every step of the research process ( the ways researchers explain how their social position affects their work)
5
Q
The Sociological Imagination…
A
- C. Wright Mills
- a viewpoint recognizing that our personal experiences are shaped by macrosocial & historical forces
- it helps us to step back from taken-for-granted assumptions abt everyday life
- ‘personal troubles’ as ‘public issues’
- example = larger % of unmarried people (many public reasons)
6
Q
Quantiative, Qualitative & Mixed Methods
A
- Quantitative = encompasses the collection & analysis of numerical data, surveys, experimental methods, statistical analysis, social network analysis
- Qualitative = data include rich description in words or images, ethnography, interview, textutal analysis
- Mixed-Methods = can provide more nuanced insights than would have been achieved using only one of the two approaches (triangulation)
7
Q
Agency & Structure
A
- Agency = our capacity to make our own choices & act autonomously
- Structure = social structures are the patterned social arrangements that may constrain (or facilitate) our choices & opportunities — influence agency
8
Q
Intersectionality
A
- Emphasizes that our overlapping identities & group memberships are critical to our life experiences
- personal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, class, gender & age expose us to different structural opportunities & constraints
9
Q
Sociology vs Anthropology
A
- A = study of individual & group behaviour digging deep into cultures (some no longer exist) - emphasize culture & cultueral relativism
- S = more basis on Western cultures - emphasize structure
10
Q
Sociology vs Psychology
A
- P = individual behaviour, attitudes, emotion & causes, experimental methods - focus on the individual
- S = social context & group membership
11
Q
Sociology vs History
A
- H = study of past events, material-based approach
- S = approach history through a theoretical lens in an effort to draw broad conclusions abt human behaviour
12
Q
Sociology vs Economics
A
- E = broad field of study focusing on production, distribution & consumption of goods & services - quantitative
- S = humans are not highly rational & their decisions are not always guided by incentives
13
Q
Sociology vs Political Science
A
- P = study the policies, laws, diplomacy & processes of government institutions, etc.
- S = both focus on the ways that social context affect political behaviour
14
Q
Basic vs Applied Research
A
- Basic Research = purely to create new methods, not necessarily have an applued/immediete goal
- Applied Research = solve real life problems
- In the middle = ‘knowledge mobilization’
15
Q
Cross-sectional study design…
A
- data obtained at onepoint in time
- seperate groups of different ages
- cannot ascertain causal ordering & cannot ascertain the presewnce of a cause-and-effect relationship
16
Q
Repeated cross-sectional study…
A
- track social change
- involves conducting a cross-sectional study at multiple points in time, where each snapchot captures a different cross section of ppl
- specific ppl drawn from the population are different at each time point
17
Q
Panel design…
A
- observe the same individuals at multiple times
- cohort designs
18
Q
Longitudinal study designs…
A
- repeated cross-sectional & panel designs are both longitudinal
- data collected at multiple points in time
- attrition & bias
- high cost & a lot of effort
19
Q
Unit of analysis
A
- the level of social life about which we want to generalize
- I will need to collect data from different ____ to answer this question
- range from individual to a nation
- do not want to make ecological fallacy where group level data are used to make claims about individual-level processes and vice versa
20
Q
5 Steps of Scientific Method….
A
- Identify research question
- Choose a suitable research method (hypothesis)
- Gather relevant data (hard)
- Analyze the data
- Draw & report conclusions
21
Q
(4)
Criteria when coming up with research questions…
A
- Social Importance
- Scientific Relevance (fill gap)
- Feasibility
- Bias
22
Q
4 common pitfalls
A
- overgeneralization
- selective observations
- illogical reasoning - a leap in logic that involves an assumption
- resistance to change
23
Q
Descriptive Research…
A
- documents/describes trends, variations & patterns of social phenomena
- first step a researcher takes when starting a project is description
- Quantitative and qualitative research methods are both well suited to describe social phenomenon
24
Q
Exploratory Research…
A
- tends to answer questions of how, with the goal of documenting precisely how particular processes & dynamics unfold
- Qualitative approaches
- might examine how ppl interact in a particular setting, how they interpret their surroundings & how they try to change or adapt to those surroundings
25
Q
Explanatory Research
A
- considered the highest and most sophisticated type of research
- documents the causes & effects of social phenomena, thus addressing questions of why
