What Is Sociology?

Sociology: the systematic study of human society

The Sociological Perspective

Seeing the general in the particular Seeing the strange in the familiar Seeing society in our everyday choices Marginality and crisis

Global Perspective

Definition: the study of the larger world and our society's place in it Three nation types

High-income: industrialized nations in which most people have relatively high incomes Middle-income: limited industrialization and moderate personal income Low-income: little industrialization and most people are poor

Applying Sociology

Public Policy Personal Growth

Assess the truth of common sense Assess the opportunities and constraints in our lives Empowers us to be active participants in society Helps us navigate a diverse world Wide application in many fields, including your own

Careers

Origins of Sociology

Historical Change (17 - 19 Centuries)

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Industrial Revolution The growth of cities Political changes, such as the French Revolution The world became a smaller place! Positivism: a scientific approach to knowledge based on positive facts as opposed to speculation

Science and Sociology

Sociological Theory

Theory: a statement of how and why specific facts are related. The goal of sociological theory is to explain social behavior in the real world. Theoretical approaches: basic images of society that guide thinking and research. Two basic questions:

What issues should we study? How should we connect the facts?

Structural Functionalism

The organic view of society Sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Social structures: relatively stable patterns of social behavior Social functions: consequences for the operation of society as a whole

Social Functions

Manifest functions: the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern.

Example: What is the manifest function of higher education?

Latent functions: unrecognized and/or unintended consequences

Example: What are some latent functions of higher education?

Social dysfunctions: consequences that disrupt the operation of society

Example: Are there some dysfunctions with higher education?

Conflict Theory

Sees society as an arena of inequality, generating conflict and change. Originates with Karl Marx and his view of economic class conflict. Gender-conflict: a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between men and women. Race-conflict: a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories

Symbolic Interactionism

Sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals. Micro-level orientation: focuses on patterns of social behavior within specific settings (as opposed to macro-level, which focuses on broad social structures that shape society as a whole) Attempts to explain how individuals experience society.

Critical Review

Structural functionalism tends to ignore inequalities in areas of race, class, and gender Conflict theories tend to ignore social unity and shared values; they are also overtly political, which compromises their scientific value

Both approaches are very broad and can overlook the individual

Symbolic interactionism overlooks the influence of larger social structures

Critical Review

What we see is that these theories are not mutually exclusive. The weaknesses of each theory are the strengths of the other theories; they can be combined in any number of ways, depending on what you want to study. It is ultimately a question of emphasis.

Three Ways to Do Sociology

Scientific Sociology: research based upon empirical evidence, or facts we verify with our senses. Scientific sociology challenges some assumptions of common sense.

Social Science

Concept: a mental construct that represents some aspect of the world in a simplified form.

Example: Social Class or Family

Variable: a concept whose value changes from case to case.

Example: Poor Rich, or extended nuclear

Measurement: a procedure for determining the value of a variable in a specific case.

Example: Income or Family Size

Measurements

Must be reliable and valid A reliable measurement is one that is consistent. A valid measurement is precise; it actually measures what one intends to measure.

Correlation and Cause

Correlation: a relationship by which two or more variables change together. If you remember nothing else, remember this: correlation is not the same as cause. When two variables are correlated, but do not have a cause-and-effect relationship, it is called a spurious correlation.

Objectivity

The guiding principle of scientific study: we must be dedicated to finding truth as it is, not simply offering what we think it should be.

Other Models

Critical Sociology: the study of society that focuses on the need for social change. The philosophers have only interpreted the world; the point is to change it. Marx Interpretative Sociology: the study of society that focuses on the meanings people attach to their social world. Human beings do not simply act; they engage in meaningful action.

Research & Theory

Structural-functionalism is linked with positivist or scientific theory. The researcher is a neutral observer. Conflict approaches are linked with critical sociology. The researcher is an activist. Symbolic-interaction is linked with interpretative sociology. The researcher is a participant.

Bias & Ethics

Researches should be aware of how possible biases can affect their work.

Example: asking only men about a certain topic won't give you a fair picture of what all people think, since women have been excluded

Researchers must take extensive ethical precautions, and obtain informed consent from those participating in their studies.

Research Methods

A systematic plan for conducting research. Experiment: a research method for investigating cause-andeffect under highly controlled conditions. The goal of an experiment is to test a hypothesis, an unverified statement of a relationship between two variables. The hypothesis is accepted or rejected on the basis of evidence, which is gathered by...

Measuring the dependent variable (the effect) Measuring the independent variable (the cause) Measuring the dependent variable again to see if the predicted change took place.

Other Methods

Surveys: a research method in which subjects respond to a series of statements or questions in a questionnaire or an interview.

Descriptive rather than explanatory. Random sampling is the preferred method.

Participant observation: a research method by which researchers systematically observe people while joining in their routine activities. Existing sources: you don't have to collect new data; you can re-examine old data and draw new conclusions.

Ten Step Research

What is your topic? What have others already learned? What, exactly, are your questions? What will you need to carry out research? Ethical concerns?

What method will you use? How will you record the data? What does the data tell you? What are your conclusions? How can you share what you learned?