Sociology Unit 1
If you utilize the sociological imagination as proposed by C. Wright Mills, you would connect your personal problems with __________.
Historical trends
Reliability
How likely research results are to be replicated if the study is reproduced.
When picking a research question, which of the following is true according to the principles of value-relevant research?
Researchers pick their research questions based on the values they follow.
Value-Relevant Research (Max Weber)
An acknowledgment that our values guide us to our research topics; we study what we find valuable and interesting.
Qualitative Data
Comprise information that is subjective and often based on what is seen in a natural setting.
Value-Free Research (Max Weber)
Research must be objective and should not be biased by our values, principles, or beliefs.
Which of the following is the principle behind pursuing a value-free research question?
Research should be objective and not biased by the researcher's values.
Which of the following is the focus of qualitative research methods in sociology?
Gathering information in a narrative format
Social Institutions
According to Hebert Spencer, the patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs, such as government, education, family, healthcare, religion, and the economy.
Which of the following depicts the micro-level view of society?
Looking at a particular event or circumstances and noting how people interact
Assume that you are faced with a personal problem such as an unexpected layoff. Which approach would most strongly indicate that you possessed a sociological imagination?
Looking at the layoff in the context of the larger economic environment
Sociology founders and their contribution 1. Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712-1778 2. Emile Durkheim 1858-1917 3. Karl Marx 1818-1883 4. Max Weber 1864-1920 5. George Herbert Mead 1863-1931 6. Auguste Comte 1798-1857 7. Harriet Martineau 1802-1876 8. C. Wright Mills
1. Authority or power cannot be assigned without consent 2. People require a sense of community and meaningful social interactions 3. Capitalism is an economic system in which workers work to enrich others and it is inherently exploitative and alienates workers from the outcome of their efforts 4. The spread of Protestantism helped create and expand capitalism because of the work ethic it created in its adherents 5. Our sense of "self" is a result of social interaction with others 6. Coined the term sociology. He believed that research in the social sciences can be measured scientifically 7. Overcame deafness, disability and sexism to be a self-supporting social theorist and writer. Translated Comte's work into English from French thereby spreading the readership of his work throughout Europe 8. Famous American sociologist who saw personal problems as related to larger societal issues
List and describe the 10 skills
1. Self & Social Awareness - Understanding your personal strengths and limitations; recognizing your thoughts, emotions, and intentions; being open to receiving feedback; and identifying how your behaviors impact others. 2. Technology - Being able to confidently and effectively use technology to be productive, complete goals and tasks, and maintain a competitive advantage. 3. Productivity - Strategizing, organizing, and effectively managing your time and priorities. 4. Initiative - Thinking independently, seeing what needs to be done, and taking action without being prompted. 5. Results Driven - Acting with a sense of urgency and focus to reach goals, without compromising integrity or quality. 6. Communication - Actively seeking and delivering information, clearly articulating ideas, effectively listening, and confidently connecting to various audiences, settings, and situations. 7. Relationship Building - Effectively working with others and establishing, cultivating, and leveraging networks over time. 8. Problem Solving - Identifying and framing problems, exploring ideas, and creating effective, ethical, and evidence-based solutions. - Effectively working with others and establishing, cultivating, and leveraging networks over time. 9. Innovation - Creatively thinking and coming up with new ideas and solutions to solve old problems. 10. Agility - Embracing change and effectively adapting when things around you are constantly in motion.
Paradigm
A broad viewpoint, perspective, or lens that permits social scientists to have a wide range of tools to describe society, and then to build hypotheses and theories. Aka belief systems (theoretical perspective/approach = paradigm)
Variable
A characteristic such as age, education, income, or marriage status that can vary throughout the population.
Research Methodology
A coherent and organized plan for conducting research.
From the perspective of conflict theory, what is society built around?
A competition for limited resources
Population
A defined group serving as the subject of a study.
Operational Definition
A definition of a concept that defines it in terms of the physical or concrete steps it takes to objectively measure it. In a hygiene study, hygiene could be defined as "personal habits to maintain physical appearance," but that might be difficult to measure. Would brushing one's teeth be considered physical appearance (i.e white teeth) or health (i.e. healthy gums, prevent tooth decay, etc.)? To operationalize hygiene, one must be clear about what constitutes personal hygiene for appearance. A researcher could develop a checklist, for example, of things that are included.
Focus Group
A group of individuals brought together in one room for a guided discussion of some topic of interest to research.
Society
A group of people who live in a defined geographic area, who interact with one another, and who share a common culture
Which of the following correctly describes the concept of society in sociology?
A group of people who live in the same geographic location and participate in the same overall culture
Global Perspective
A look at an individual society with respect to the larger global system
Symbolic Interactionism
A micro-level theory that focuses on meanings attached to human interaction, both verbal and non-verbal, and to symbols. Ex. If you love books, a symbolic interactionist might say you learned that books are good or important in the interactions you had with family, friends, school, or church; maybe your family had a special reading time each week, or getting your library card was treated as a special event, or bedtime stories were associated with warmth and comfort. Aka you like books now because you liked things about/related to books growing up Ex. While studying a political protest, a symbolic interactionist would be interested in how individuals in the protesting group interact, as well as the signs and symbols protesters use to communicate their message and to negotiate and thus develop shared meanings.
Symbolic Interaction Approach
A sociological approach that views society as the result of many individual, everyday interactions. Ex. If you go to the doctor's you won't tell them what to do and how to do it because of their role and the reason why you are there
Scientific Method
A multi-step procedure that involves systematically formulating questions, gathering data, and questioning hypotheses. Steps 1. Define the problem - pick a topic then ask questions regarding it 2. Review the work of others - work on top of others' work don't replicate their work 3. Hypothesize - make an educated guess 4. Design a research plan - determine how you're going to test your hypothesis 5. Collect your data 6. Intreperate your data 7. Explain the findings - summarize findings 8. Pose new questions
Interview
A one-on-one, unstructured, long conversation between the researcher and the subject.
Conflict Theory
A paradigm that looks at society as a competition for limited resources. Karl Marx theory that the bourgeoisie (elite) own and control the means of production, which leads them to exploit the proletariat (workers) because they are motivated by profit. In this arrangement, the proletariat, or workers, have only their labor to sell and do not own or control capital.
Value Neutrality
A practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment, during the course of a study and in publishing results.
Experiment
A regimented, highly controlled research method for investigating cause and effect relationships between variables. Implementation 1. Deliberate manipulation of social customs and mores Advantages 1. Tests cause and effect relationships Challenges 1. Hawthorne Effect 2. Ethical concerns about people's well-being
Quantitative Research
A research method that focuses on gathering data from experiments or studies.
Qualitative Research
A research method that focuses on gathering information in a narrative format instead of designing a study.
Survey Research
A research method where subjects respond to the researcher's questions directly in an interview or questionnaire.
Meta-Analysis
A research technique in which the results of virtually all previous studies on a specific subject are evaluated together.
Snowball Sampling
A sampling technique where initial subjects are found through acquaintances, and later subjects are found through acquaintances of acquaintances.
Class Consciousness
A sense of common group identity as exploited proletarians (workers) and potential revolutionaries.
Which of the following is true of paradigms in sociological theory?
A single event can be viewed through different paradigms.
Sample
A smaller group of subjects that ideally represents the larger population as a whole.
Theory
A statement on how and why facts are related. Ex. Paradigm may be that a woman is a feminist and so she will follow those general principles but theory is the ideas that she creates due to those principles.
Random Sample
A study's participants being randomly selected to serve as a representation of a larger population/the whole population.
Literature Review
A survey of any existing similar or related studies on a topic of study. 7 Steps to Write a LR: 1. Narrow your topic by defining your research question 2. Search for literature on your topic of choice at the library or using an online database of scientific journals 3. Read the selected articles thoroughly and evaluate them 4. Organize the selected readings by looking for patterns among them or by topic 5. Develop a purpose statement and form an introduction to your review 6. Write the review 7. Use APA format for in-text citations, direct quotations and your source page
Hypothesis
A testable educated guess about predicted outcomes between two or more variables.
Structural Functionalism
A theoretical approach that sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society. Aka Functionalism Ex. Think of your body. Many parts contribute to the same goal. If one part is taken away it all fails. It's the same with society.
Ethnography
A type of qualitative research in which the researcher immerses themself in a specific community.
Participant Observation
A type of research in which a sociologist joins a group of people and participates in a group's routine activities for the purpose of observing them within that context.
Macro-level Orientation
A zoomed out look at the social structures and institutions that shape society. Looking at the big parts/functions of society and how they work On a macro-level, engineering companies may not have sufficient women applicants to effectively diversify the field. One might combine these two levels to come up with the theory that women are still underrepresented at higher levels in all technical fields due to unfair access to opportunities and support.
Micro-level Orientation
A zoomed-in focus on specific situations and individual interactions. Think personal interactions between individuals On a micro-level, one student might be deterred from entering a STEM field by an old-fashioned teacher who doesn't think girls are good at engineering.
Manifest Functions
According to Robert Merton, the consequences/results of a social process that are sought or anticipated. Ex. A manifest function of college education includes gaining knowledge, preparing for a career, and finding a good job that utilizes that education
Social Facts
According to Émile Durkheim, the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life. Ex. The overall belief/custom to punish criminal behavior
Adrian is a structural functionalist, and Drew is a conflict theorist. How is Adrian's view of society likely to differ from Drew's view of society?
Adrian focuses on how each part of society works to maintain stability, whereas Drew focuses on the inequalities that cause social differences.
Structural-Functional Approach
An approach that sees society as a complex system with interlocking parts that each work together to maintain the system as a whole. Ex. Think of your body. Many parts contribute to the same goal. If one part is taken away it all fails. It's the same with society.
Social Conflict Approach
An approach to social theory that argues that society is characterized by various conflicts that cause people to act socially, producing change. People act on conflicts which create a change Ex. A capitalist paying low wages to factory workers. Those workers won't have the time or money to go to school which in turn creates generational poverty
Hypothesis
An educated guess about how things are related to one another, often predicting how one form of human behavior influences another.
Which of the following is a quantitative research method that aims to observe the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable?
An experiment
Laboratory Experiment
An experiment in which the independent variable can be manipulated between control and experimental groups to measure the outcome or dependent variable.
Natural Experiment
An experiment that occurs in the natural environment of the subjects.
Constructivism
An extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be.
Hawthorne Effect
An unavoidable phenomenon in research where people change their behavior because they know they are being watched as part of a study.
In the scientific method, which of the following should a researcher do after gathering raw data?
Analyze the data collected and check to see if they support the hypothesis
Group
Any collection of at least two people who interact with some frequency and who share some sense of aligned identity
Patriarchy
Any group of social relationships in which men dominate and exclude women.
Content Analysis
Applying a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as they relate to the study at hand.
Aster and Jodi are both studying religion within a society. Aster uses the perspective of structural functionalism, whereas Jodi uses symbolic interactionism. Which of the following statements best describes Aster's and Jodi's examination of religion?
Aster examines the role religion plays in promoting social solidarity and stability, whereas Jodi examines the role it plays in shaping a person's life and experiences.
ASA Code of Ethics
Formal guidelines for conducting sociological research.
Surveys
Collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire. Implementation 1. Questionnaires 2. Interviews Advantages 1. Yields many responses 2. Can survey a large sample 3. Quantitative data are easy to chart Challenges 1. Can be time consuming 2. Can be difficult to encourage participant response. 3. Captures what people think and believe but not necessarily how they behave in real life.
In the scientific method, which of the following is the next step after determining the exact research plan that is to be used to conduct the study?
Collect raw data.
Primary Data
Data that are collected directly from firsthand experience.
Which of the following steps should a sociologist perform before selecting variables to study?
Deciding on the research questions
Wright Mills' concept of the sociological imagination enables sociologists to:
Determine how personal problems relate to social issues.
Which of the following actions relates to maintaining confidentiality in a research study?
Ensuring that information that could cause a study's participant to be identified is not published
Which of the following would sociologists do when undertaking a meta-analysis?
Evaluate all previous studies on a specific subject together
Quantifiable Evidence
Evidence that can be measured or expressed as a numerical value.
Historical Sociology
Examining past societies and past structures to elucidate contemporary issues.
Which of the following is the most important element for researchers to obtain informed consent for a study?
Explaining the research study to potential participants to ensure that they understand what they are agreeing to do
Sociological Theory
Explanations for the social behavior of people in groups. Ex. Explaining (making an assumption) about a group of seniors in HS as to the reason why they chose the college they went to and why they did. A theoretical perspective (also called a paradigm) is a broad viewpoint, perspective, or lens that permits social scientists to have a wide range of tools to describe society. The existence of different theoretical perspectives is why multiple sociologists can look at the same events or institutions and draw different conclusions.
Sociological Theoretical Perspectives 1. Structural Functionalism - macro 2. Conflict Theory - micro 3. Symbolic Interactionism - micro
Focus 1. Structural Functionalism - The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole (stability) 2. Conflict Theory - The way inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetuate differences in power 3. Symbolic Interactionism - One-to-one interactions and communications Criticisms 1. Structural Functionalism - Doesn't explain social change; repetitive behavior is assumed to be useful because it is repeated 2. Conflict Theory - Doesn't explain stability; sometimes focuses on class to the exclusion of other axes of conflict 3. Symbolic Interactionism - Narrow focus doesn't include structural constraints
Which of the following is the aim of quantitative research methods in sociology?
Gathering data from experiments or studies
What does field research involve?
Gathering primary data from people in their natural environment
What was Emile Durkheim's contribution to the field of sociology
He suggested that people suffer when they lose their sense of social connection
Samantha is a sociologist who uses the structural functionalist perspective. She is analyzing the family structure in a particular society. Which of the following is she most likely to focus on?
How the organization of the family contributes to the stable functioning of the society as a whole
Correlation
How two variables change together.
Validity
How well a study measures what it was designed to measure.
Case-Study
In-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual.
Which of the following statements is true of the final literature review?
It analyzes and discusses the sources used in the research study.
Which of the following is a criticism of the structural-functional approach?
It cannot effectively explain how society changes over time. Structural functionalism, also just called functionalism, is a theoretical approach that sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the people in that society. A major criticism of functionalism is that it cannot adequately account for social change.
Which of the following is a drawback of the survey method in sociological research?
It captures what people think and believe but not how they behave in real life.
Which of the following is a criticism of symbolic interactionism?
It does not consider the structural constraints people have while interacting with one another.
Which of the following statements best describes a literature review?
It involves the in-depth analysis of published scholarly or peer-reviewed articles for a specific research topic.
Which of the following is true of a hypothesis?
It is the researcher's guess about the answer to a research question.
Which of the following is true of field research?
It produces data much of which are based on correlation
How does reviewing existing research help sociologists conduct their studies?
It provides new ideas to use in their research, which might not have occurred to them earlier.
Which of the following is a criticism of conflict theory?
It tends to focus on conflict to the exclusion of recognizing stability.
Which of the following is the first step in the scientific method?
Observe and pick an issue to research further.
Which of the following would be focused on by a sociologist who applies symbolic interactionist thinking?
One-on-one communication between people
Which of the following practices should a researcher follow while writing a literature review?
Organize the selected sources either chronologically or by methodology
Which of the following is a key tenet of symbolic interactionism?
People assign different meanings to different things and respond accordingly.
According to criticisms of conflict theory, which of the following does it not consider?
Periods of stability and growth
Which of the following does a researcher do when formulating a hypothesis?
Propose an explanation about the influence an independent variable has on the dependent variable
Which of the following quantitative research methods uses a relatively small group of people for testing and is most helpful in obtaining data that are representative of the whole population?
Random sampling
Which of the following must researchers do to ensure confidentiality in a research study?
Remove all identifiable data about study participants
Quantitative Data
Represent research collected in numerical form that can be counted.
Nonreactive Research
Research that does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people's behaviors. Also known as unobtrusive research.
Informed Consent
Researchers are required to explain all parts of a research study to potential participants in order to ensure that they understand what they are agreeing to do.
Which of the following quantitative research methods involves the examination of existing information that was previously collected by other researchers?
Secondary data analysis
Samples
Small, manageable number of subjects that represent the population.
According to the concept of sociological imagination, the term "issues" relates to:
Social and cultural factors that are beyond a person's control.
Which of the following is true according to Émile Durkheim's view of society?
Society is made up of interdependent parts that function together to maintain stability. Durkheim believed that society is a complex system of interrelated and interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability and that society is held together by shared values, languages, and symbols.
Bourgeoisie
The capitalists who own and control the means of production, which leads them to exploit the workers because they are motivated by profit.
Independent Variable
The cause of the change, or what drives the change in the dependent variable.
According to conflict theory, how does the structure of society develop?
The disagreements and differences between groups in society allow people to drive change in society.
Dependent Variable
The effect of the change. a variable changed by other variables.
Keren observes members of a particular group over a period of time to understand their society. She analyzes their interactions using a symbolic interactionist perspective.
The effects of social institutions on individual behavior
Confidentiality
The efforts by researchers to maintain anonymity of subjects from outsiders and to protect all potentially identifying information.
Secondary Data Analysis
The examination of existing data that have already been collected by other researchers. Implementation 1. Analysis of government data (census, health, crime statistics) 2. Research of historic documents Advantages 1. Makes good use of previous sociological information Challenges 1. Data could be focused on a purpose other than yours 2. Data can be hard to find
Communication
The exchange of meaning through language and symbols.
Causation
The existence of a cause and effect relationship between variables.
Agency
The extent to which a person can exercise free will in their choices
Sociological Imagination
The idea, coined by C. Wright Mills, that each person's individual lives and personal biographies are deeply connected to the larger trends of society and history
Which of the following is true of variables in a sociological study?
The independent variable causes a change in the dependent variable.
Issues
The larger social and cultural forces and trends that lie beyond one's personal control
Structure
The larger society in which we make those choices
American Sociological Association
The major professional organization of sociologists in North America. Abbreviated as ASA.
Which of the following does the theory of symbolic interactionism focus on?
The meaning people gain in society through social communication
According to Herbert Spencer and the theory of structural functionalism, which of the following best describes social institutions?
The patterns of belief and behavior focused on meeting social needs
Troubles
The private problems experienced within the character or life of the individual and within the scope of their immediate relationship to others
Which of the following skills helps you resolve issues by making decisions only after considering diverse and ethical perspectives?
The problem solving skill
Which of the following is the last step in the scientific method?
Use the results obtained to make new predictions and suggest new ways to research the issue further.
Field Research
The process of gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey. Aka field work Implementation 1. Observation 2. Participant observation 3. Ethnography 4. Case study Advantages 1. Yields detailed, accurate real-life information Challenges 1. Time consuming 2. Data captures how people behave but not what they think and believe 3. Qualitative data is difficult to organize
Data Interpretation
The process of reviewing data through a predefined process, which helps to make sense of collected data.
Figuration
The process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of individuals and the society that shapes that behavior
Dissemination
The publication or other public sharing of the outcomes of the research process.
Which of the following skills will enable you to strengthen your ability to relate to others in the best way possible?
The relationship building skill
Which of the following occurs in participant observation?
The researcher joins in with the activities of the group of people being studied.
Which of the following is a potential drawback of pursuing a value-relevant research question?
The researcher's own beliefs could bias the research.
Which of the following skills best helps you gain a deeper understanding of yourself so that you can work collaboratively with others?
The self and social awareness skill
Sociology
The study of groups and group interactions, and of societies and social interactions
Latent Functions
The unsought consequences/results of a social process. Ex. Latent functions of your college years include meeting new people, participating in extracurricular activities, or even finding a spouse or partner.
Intersectional Theory
Theory that examines the impact of multiple, overlapping identities (can include blacks, whites, asians, rich, poor, etc. but all a specific category like women).
According to Robert Merton, which of the following is true of the latent functions of a social process?
They are the indirect effects of a social process.
Which of the following is true of the bourgeoisie in the Marxist view of society?
They own and control the means of production.
How do sociologists who use the macro-level orientation view society?
They view society from the perspective of the influence of large institutions and structures.
Positivism
Tied to French philosopher Auguste Comte, the positivist movement popularized the idea that anything that was real could be counted and analyzed, including social phenomena.
Which of the following is the purpose of an operational definition of a concept?
To provide a basis for measuring the concept in a particular study
Which of the following is the aim of qualitative research methods?
To understand society from the participants' viewpoint
When does the Hawthorne effect occur in a sociological study?
When participants know they are being observed by a researcher
Proletariat
Workers who have only their labor to sell and do not own or control capital.
Which of the following quantitative research methods should a researcher use when trying to understand the political views held by the young population of a specific area?
Written surveys
