sociology
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44 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 sociology | the systematic study of human society, social groups, and social interactions. |
| empirical research | is based on systematic, unbiased examination of evidence |
| sociological imagination | is the ability to see the realities of our lives in the context of common social structures, or social issues, other than as personal problems |
| karl marx | left 2 legacies, economic determination and the dialectic and viewed poverty and inequiality as human made conditions fostered by private property and capitalis |
| economic determinism | means that economic relationships provide the foundation on which all other social and political arrangements are built |
| dialectic | is the process through which thesis and antithesis the produces a new idea (synthesis), is called |
| emile durkheim | one if major concerns was the balance btwn social regulation and personal freedom. he argued that community standards of morality, which he called the collective conscience, not only confine our behavior but also give u a sense of belonging and integration. |
| max weber | declaration that sociology must be value free |
| values free sociology | argued that sociology should be concerned with what IS and not what OUGHT TO BE |
| structural functionalism | addresses the question of social organization (structure) and how its maintained (function) |
| conflict theory | addresses the points of stress and conflict in society and the ways in which they contribute to social change. *compteting interests, each seeking to secure its own ends* |
| symbolic interactionism | addresses the subjective meanings of human acts and processes by which people come to develop and communicate shared meanings. *interacting individuals and groups* |
| Role | is a set of norms specifying the rights and obligations associated with a position or status |
| social structure | is a recurrent pattern of relationships among groups of ppl, ex: marriage, religion |
| structural functional assumptions | stability, harmony and evolution |
| structural functional theory | functions, dysfunctions |
| functions | positive effects on the stability of society |
| dysfunctions | negative effects on the stability of society |
| conflict theory assumptions | competition, strucural inequality and social change |
| competition | over scarce resources is at the heart of all social relationships |
| structural inequality | is built into all social structures |
| social change | occurs as a result of conflict rather than through adaptation |
| symbolic interactionism assumptions | symbolic meanings are important to understand behaviors we must learn what it means to the participants. |
| researching society | 2 research goals: accurate description and accurate explanation |
| the research process | STEP 1: stating the problem STEP 2: setting the stage by selection of variables STEP 3: gathering data STEP 4: finding patterns STEP 5: generating theories |
| step one stating the problem | a problem may be stated in the form of a hypothesis |
| step two setting the stage | before gathering data, we have to select variables, define terms, and decide exactly which people to study |
| variables | are measurable characteristics that vary from one individual or group to the next |
| independent variable | is the "cause" in the cause and effect relationship. |
| dependent variable | is the "effect" in the cause and effect relationship |
| operationalizing | refers to the process of deciding exactly how to measure a given variable |
| operational definition | describes the exact procedure by which a variable is measured |
| step 3 gathering data | experiment, survey research, participation observation, sampling, random samples |
| experiment | variables are manipulated to test theories; experimental group, control group |
| sampling | is a systematic selection of representative cases from the larger population |
| random samples | are chosen through a procedure that ensures that every individual in a population has an equal chance of being selected |
| step four finding patterns | analyzing data, look for patterns in data, and a correlation occurs where there is an empirical relationships btwn 2 variables |
| step 5 generating theories | explanations re usually embodied in a theory. |
| theory | is an interrelated set of assumptions that explains observed patterns |
| experimental group | is the group in an experiement that experiences the independent variable |
| control group | is the group in an experiment that does not receive the independent variable |
| survey research | survey research involves asking a relatively large number of people the same set of standardized questions |
| existing data sets | Federal, local, and state governments provide a wealth of information to researchers in the form of already compiled data sets. |
| participant observation | is conducting research by participating, interviewing, and observing "in the field." Strategies include: • Participating • Interviewing • Observing |
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