SOC 101 - Lecture Notes - Day 1

8/2/2019 SOC 101 - Lecture Notes - Day 1

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What Is Sociology?

Sociology: the systematic study of human society


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The Sociological Perspective

Seeing the general in theparticular

Seeing the strange in thefamiliar

Seeing society in our everydaychoices Marginality and crisis


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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


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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

Careers Wide application in many fields, including your

own


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Origins of Sociology

Historical Change (17 th - 19 th Centuries) Industrial Revolution The growth of cities Political changes, such as the French

Revolution The world became a smaller place!

Science and Sociology Positivism : a scientific approach to knowledge

based on positive facts as opposed to

speculation


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Sociological Theory

Theory : a statement of how and why specific facts are related.

The goal of sociological theory is to explainsocial 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?


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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 theoperation of society as a whole


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Social Functions

Manifest functions: the recognized andintended 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?


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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 oninequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories


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Symbolic Interactionism

Sees society as the product of the everydayinteractions of individuals.

Micro-level orientation: focuses on patterns of

social behavior within specific settings (asopposed to macro-level , which focuses onbroad social structures that shape society as awhole)

Attempts to explain how individuals experience society.


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Critical Review

Structural functionalism tends to ignoreinequalities in areas of race, class, and gender

Conflict theories tend to ignore social unity andshared values; they are also overtly political,which compromises their scientific value

Both approaches are very broad and canoverlook the individual

Symbolic interactionism overlooks the influenceof larger social structures


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Critical Review

What we see is that these theories are notmutually exclusive. The weaknesses of eachtheory 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.


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Three Ways to Do Sociology

Scientific Sociology: research basedupon empirical evidence , or facts we

verify with our senses. Scientific sociology challenges some

assumptions of common sense.


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Social Science

Concept: a mental construct that representssome 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 thevalue of a variable in a specific case.

Example: Income or Family Size


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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.


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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 calleda spurious correlation.


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Objectivity

The guiding principle of

scientific study: we must bededicated to finding truth asit is , not simply offeringwhat we think it should be.


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Other Models

Critical Sociology : the study of society that focuses on the need for social change.

The philosophers have only interpreted theworld; the point is to change it. Marx Interpretative Sociology : the study of society

that focuses on the meanings people attach totheir social world .

Human beings do not simply act; they engagein meaningful action.


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Research & Theory

Structural-functionalism is linked with positivistor scientific theory. The researcher is a neutralobserver.

Conflict approaches are linked with criticalsociology. The researcher is an activist.

Symbolic-interaction is linked with interpretativesociology. The researcher is a participant.


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Bias & Ethics

Researches should be aware of how possiblebiases can affect their work.

Example: asking only men about a certain topicwon't give you a fair picture of what all peoplethink, since women have been excluded

Researchers must take extensive ethical

precautions, and obtain informed consent fromthose participating in their studies.


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Research Methods

A systematic plan for conducting research. Experiment: a research method for investigating cause-and-

effect 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.


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Other Methods

Surveys : a research method in which subjectsrespond to a series of statements or questions in aquestionnaire or an interview .

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

Participant observation : a research method by whichresearchers 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 newconclusions.


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Ten Step Research

What is your topic? What have others

already learned? What, exactly, are

your questions?

What will you need tocarry out research? Ethical concerns?

What method will youuse?

How will you record

the data? What does the data

tell you?

What are your conclusions? How can you share

what you learned?

Documents

SOC 101 - Lecture Notes - Day 1