Unit 1: Sociological

Perspectives Ch 1: An Invitation to SociologyCh 2: Sociologists Doing Research

Ch 1 – An Invitation to Sociology

• The nature of sociology

• Sociology is the scientific study of _______ _______. Social structure is the patterned interaction of people in _______________.

• A perspective is a particular ___________. The sociological perspective looks at the behavior of groups NOT _____________.

• So sociologists look at the _________ __________ shared by members of a group or society.

• They attempt to explain events w/o relying on personal factors – they look for ______________.

• They don’t speak of an individual, but of ______.

• Group behavior vs. individual behavior

• Sociologists assume that social relationships aren’t determined by the particular _________________________ involved.

• The mixing of the individuals creates a new whole w/ new _____________.

• People’s behavior w/in a group setting can’t be ____________ from their personal characteristics.

• Groups range in size from a family to an entire society. No matter its size, all groups encourage _____________.

• It occurs partly b/c members are taught to ______ their groups’ ways. Members may truly value their groups’ ways or just be giving in to ________ ____________.

• Sociological imagination

• The ability of individuals to see the relationship b/w events in their ________ _____ + the events of their ________.

• It helps us to understand the effects of events, such as ______________, on our daily lives + challenges conventional social wisdom (ideas that people _____ are true).

• This enables us to better make our _____________ rather than merely ________.

End Section 1

• Sociology’s origins in Europe

• Began during the ________________ in late 19th century Europe. There was a great social upheaval + large #s of people were moving from _______ to _______.

• Some intellectuals were concerned by the sudden changes. They looked for ways to ____________. These ideas led to the rise of sociology.

• Auguste Comte (France):• “The __________ of Sociology”.• Explained his theories in Positive Philosophy.• Concerned w/ the ___________________.

Believed that for society to advance, social behavior had to be studied _________. He attempted to create a science to do this which he called “sociology”.

• Positivism is the belief that knowledge should be derived from ____________ ____________.

• He distinguished b/w social statics which is the study of social ______ + social dynamics which is the study of social _________.

• Harriet Martineau (England):• Translated Comte’s book into ________.• Contributed to research methods +

___________ theory.• Saw a link b/w ______ + the oppression

of women. Believed that women’s lack of economic power helped keep them _____________________.

• Herbert Spencer (England):• Introduced the idea of Social Darwinism

which claims that in order for society to ______, the strongest, most fit members of society should be allowed to flourish + the ______, least fit should be allowed to die – based on the ideas of Charles Darwin.

• So he opposed ________________.• Viewed positively by _____________ b/c he

justified their exploitation of the poor.

• Karl Marx (Germany):• Believed that social scientists should try

to __________________, not just study it.• Stated that throughout history, societies

have always been divided into _________ _________: __________ vs. __________

(haves, middle-class) (have-nots, poor)

• The Bourgeoisie is the class that _____ the means of production. An individual w/in that class is a capitalist. The Proletariat was the __________________.

• The Industrial Revolution _____________ b/w the classes. He believed the Proletariat would rise up + overthrow the Bourgeoisie + work for ________________ for all. This would lead to the gov.’t dissolving + a classless society - _________. He thought it would take numerous revolutions for this to happen.

• Emile Durkheim (France):• Claimed that society exists b/c of a broad

consensus (agreement). • Believed in _____________ times, societies

were based on mechanical solidarity (social dependency based on widespread consensus of values + beliefs, _________________, + dependence on tradition + family).

• Believed ____________ societies are based on organic solidarity (social interdependency based on a high degree of ____________ in roles).

• Max Weber (Germany):• Claimed humans act based on their understanding

of a _________. He believed an understanding of the _______________ of people in groups can be best accomplished through the method of verstehen (understanding social behavior of others by putting yourself in the _____________________).

• Thought the key influence in industrialization was rationalization (the mind-set emphasizing _______, reason + ________) instead of tradition, emotion, + superstition prevalent in preindustrialized societies.

• Sociology develops in the US

• The greatest development of sociology has taken place in the ____ + most sociologists are from the ______.

• Jane Addams• Focused on the problems caused

by the ________________ among the social classes. Co-founded the ____ _____ in Chicago, a place for people (the ill, aged, poor, immigrants, etc) who needed assistance.

• Also active in ________________ + peace movements.

• Won the _______________ (1931).• W.E.B. DuBois

• Black educator + ____________ for the rights of blacks in America + abroad.

• Helped found the __________.End Section 2

• Perspective • Your perspective is the way you _______ the meaning of an image or event. It’s influenced by your ______________. It draws your attention to some things + ________ it to others.

• A theoretical perspective is a set of assumptions ______________. It helps its supporters ________ their research.

• ________ theoretical perspectives usually exist at the same time.

• Sociology has 3 major theoretical perspectives:

• ____________• ________________• ____________________

• Functionalism • An approach that emphasizes the __________ made by each part of society.

• Parts of society include ________, economy, _________, etc…

• Functionalists see the parts of a society as an ______________ – a change in one part leads to changes in other parts. For example, a major change in the economy leads to changes in the ________.

• Assumes that societies tend to return to a state of _______ after some upheaval has occurred.

• Believes that there is a consensus on ____ (Ex. Most Americans agree on the desirability of democracy + equal opportunity) which promotes a high degree of _______________.

• Believes that most aspects of a society exist to promote a society’s __________ + ________ (Ex. gov.’ts, families, religions, etc…).

• A function is a ___________ made by some part of a society.

• Manifest functions are __________ + _________ contributions of an aspect of society.

• Ex. Schools educate students.• Latent functions are ___________ +

_________ contributions of an aspect of society.

• Ex. Schools help develop ____________.

• Not all elements of society make _________ contributions. Dysfunction refers to the __________ consequences of an aspect of society.

• Ex. Gov.’ts can be very ___________.

• Conflict perspective

• An approach that emphasizes the role of _______, competition, _______, + constraint w/in a society.

• Basically the ______ beliefs of functionalism.• Focuses on the ____________ among various

groups in a society or b/w societies.• Believe that groups + societies

compete in an attempt to preserve + promote their own special ________________.

• It’s all a contest w/ the main ? being, “_____ ______________?”

• Those w/ the most power (ability to ________________ of others) get the largest share of whatever a society considers to be __________.

• Believe that social change occurs as the _______________ among conflicting groups shifts.

• Symbolic interactionism

• An approach that focuses on the __________ among people based on mutually understood __________.

• Believe that groups exist only b/c their members _______ each other’s __________.

• A symbol is something chosen to __________ something else. It can be an object, ______, gesture, facial expression, sound, etc…

• Often it is something _________ used to represent something that is ______ ____________.

• Believe that we learn the meaning of a symbol from the way we see others ________ to it + that once we learn the meanings of symbols, we base our ______ (or interaction) on them. We then use the meanings of symbols to imagine how others will _________ to our behavior.

End Section 3

Ch 2 – Sociologists Doing Research • How do

sociologists conduct research?

• Like other scientists, sociologists gain knowledge by doing ____________.

• Unlike most other scientists, sociologists are very ________ in their ability to set up ___________________ to replicate real-life conditions.

• Sometimes it’s impossible to __________ the necessary conditions + sometimes even if they could, there are __________ preventing them from doing so.

• There are 2 methods of research sociologists use:

• ____________ – data based on #s. Makes up about ______% of research published in major sociological journals.

• _________ – data based on narratives + descriptions.

• Quantitative research

• A survey is a research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a ___________ of ?’s.

• Most ____________ research method in sociology.• Ideal for studying ________ #s of people.• B/c they can’t study an entire population (a group of

people w/ certain ____________________), they must select a sample (a relatively ________ out of the total population under study).

• A sample must be representative of the ________________. A representative sample is one that accurately reflects the ______________ of the population as a whole. There are 2 ways to ensure the sample is representative of the population:

1. Take a purely __________________.

2. ______________ pick individuals who represent all of the various ________ in the population being studied.

• May be a questionnaire or an __________. Closed-ended questions are those w/ a limited, fixed set of ______ + open-ended questions are answered in the participants’ own words. See p. 40 for examples.

Closed-ended Survey Research

Advantages Disadvantages• Closed-ended

answers can be more precisely __________.

• Responses can be easily __________.

• Statistical techniques can be used to ______ _______ of the data.

• A ______ of responses can be collected.

• Surveys are ________ to produce +

distribute.• Responses are

______ to preset answers.

• Many people don’t respond to surveys, resulting in low cost _______________.

• The way a question is stated may _________ the answer given.

• Secondary analysis is using ______________ _____________ for data collection + research purposes.

• Types of precollected data include ______ ______ (ex. Census information), company records, voting lists, other scientists’ research reports, etc….

• _____________ – rarely used in sociology.

• Qualitative research

• Uses ________________________ data rather than numerical data.

• Most of these methods are types of field research (research that takes place in a natural, ___________, setting).

• Case studies are a research method that involves an ____________ of a single group, incident, or community.

• B/c only a few people are studied, a single case study doesn’t ___________. However, they can generate new hypotheses that researchers can test.

• Most ___________ used field research method.

• Naturalistic observation: research method in which the sociologist observes the subject in a ________________ w/o ____________.

• Researcher must avoid disturbing the people under study b/c they may change their ________ if they are aware of the researcher.

• In the participant observation research method, a researcher becomes a __________________ being studied. The group may or may not be _________ they are being studied.

• Know the chart on p.45!End Section 1

• Causation • The belief that events occur in _________ ways + that 1 event leads to another.

• Social scientists look for the factors that cause social events to happen.

• Social events are usually ______________ to be explained by a single factor. Multiple causation is the belief that an event occurs as a result of several factors working in ______________.

• Ex. What causes crime?• _______________• _______________• _______________• _______________• _______________• Etc…

• Each factor involved in multiple causation is a __________.

• Variable • A characteristic that is __________________.• Different types of variables:

• A variable is either quantitative or qualitative.• Quantitative variable – a characteristic

that can be _____________________.• Qualitative variable – a characteristic that

is defined by its ______________ _________________ (ex: male/female, single/married/divorced/widowed, etc…)

• A variable is also either independent, dependent, or intervening.

• Independent variables – a characteristic that ______________ to occur. These are the variables a researcher can change so they can observe its ______.

• Dependent variables – a characteristic that _________________. These are variables that change b/c of a change in the independent variable.

• Intervening variables – a characteristic that _____________________ b/w an independent + dependent variable.

Types of variables:Types of variables:Ex: You don’t spend much time studying + get a bad grade on your sociology quiz. But Ms. Griggs decides to curve the grades (Dream on!). What are the following variables:

1. Independent variable:

2. Is the independent variable quantitative or qualitative?

3. Dependent variable:

4. Is the dependent variable quantitative or qualitative?

5. Intervening variable:

• Correlations • Sometimes, instead of looking for cause + effect, researchers look for correlations (measures of a ____________ b/w 2 variables or sets of data). ___________ ______________________________.______________________________.

• A positive correlation would occur if both variables or .

• Ex: Grades + IQ • A negative correlation would be if

one variable + the other .• Ex: Grades + absences.

• It’s easier to show a ___________ than a ____________.

• Standards for showing causation

• Standard 1: 2 variables must be ____________.

• Standard 2: All other _________ _______ must be taken into account.

• A spurious correlation is an apparent relationship b/w 2 variables that is actually caused by a __________ that affects both of the other variables.

• Standard 3: A change in the _____________ variable must occur before a change in the _________ variable can occur.

• Sometimes it’s difficult to determine which occurs _____.

End Section 2

• Steps for doing research

• Sociologists use the scientific method which involves the recognition + formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation + experiment, + the formulation + testing of hypotheses.

• The steps are:1. __________ the problem.2. __________ the literature.3. __________ hypotheses.

- A hypothesis is a testable statement of relationships among variables.

4. __________ a research design.5. __________ data.

- Most sociological data is collected by asking people ?s, observing behavior, + analyzing _____________________.

6. __________ data.- Sometimes it can be

____________ in different ways.7. ________ findings + conclusions.

• Ethics in social research

• Although there are principles for conducting research, scientists sometimes fail to live up to these principles – whether ________________ them (Ex. Nazi doctors’ experiments on concentration camp prisoners) or ___________ (Ex. The Stanford Prison Experiment).

• Usually, sociologists routinely protect the rights of research subjects + avoid ___________ or harming them.

• Conducting ethical research means showing _________; using superior research standards; reporting findings + methods ___________; + protecting the rights, privacy, integrity, dignity, + freedom of ____________________.

• The ___________________________ has published guidelines for conducting research (It’s in the appendix of your textbook).

• The researcher must balance the interests of those being _________ against the need for accurate, timely ________. End Section

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