Comprehensive Sociology Study Guide: Key Concepts, Theories, and Research Methods

What are 4 explanations that make sociology research hard?

1) social life is complex (people are aware they are being studied.

2) must be transparent (must explain how researchers collect + analyze data)

3) Replication (researchers should be able to repeat the study and get similar results

4) Knowledge is provisional (sociology is always changing)

4) research is iterative (researchers need to refine their understanding over time as studying is not a one time event)

What is 3rd step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

3) review the literature , read what is already known find the gaps

What is 4th step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

4) formulate the hypothesis based on your theory

What is 5th step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

5) create a research method

What is 6th step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

6) identify population and sample or random sampling

What is the 7th step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

7) define variables carefully through asking about operational definition, validity, and realibility?

What is the 8th step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

8) collect and analyze data, using surveys, interviews, etc. analyzing result and sharing findings

What is the Hawthorne effect?

The Hawthorne effect is when people know that they are being studied they might be change behavior

What did Max Weber believe in?

Max Weber believed that people beliefs and values play a powerful role in shaping society that religion drove social changes. ex: finical success was a marker of gods approval

What is sociology?

it is the systematic study of society and social interaction.

What is sociological imagination (Mills)?

the ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people, as well as to history in general and societal structures in particular.

What does sociological imagination reveal?

It reveals that individual experiences are connected to and influenced by society

What does sociological imagination connect to?

It connects to micro(personal) and macro(society) levels and it connects to personal troubles(individual) many people experience the same trouble so it becomes public issue

What is a society?

A society is made up of people who share a culture (shared beliefs, values, norms) AND territory(where they live, live in the same area)

T/F: Can a society exist without culture?

False

Each person in a society has what?

A social location

What is social location?

It is where you fit within the social structure which is based on race, age, gender, age

What does social location affect?

Social location affects how people see you

What is social structure?

It is the invisible framework (rules, roles, institutions) surrounds us (we don't usually pay attention to). It organizes and shapes relationships, roles, and interactions between people and groups.

What does social structure help us explain?

It helps us explain why we act differently in class, work, church, or with friends. Because social structure exists, people share a society and where you fall in the social structure is your social location

What is an example of social structure?

School system: Students, teachers, and administrators have defined roles that shape how education happens. So social structure explains why people act differently in different setting.

What does social structure do?

It includes institutions (like family, education, government, religion, economy).

It sets norms, rules, and expectations for behavior.

It influences how people interact and what roles they play.

What two levels do sociologist study society at?

Macro sociology (large-scale patters) looking at bigger pictures and Micro sociology (everyday interactions) between individuals.

T/F: Can maco and micro sociology be connected?

True: large social systems shape everyday individual interactions and everyday individual interaction share large systems.

What does micro-sociology help us understand?

symbolic interactionism; helps understand how meanings, symbols, identity

What does macro-sociology help us understand?

structural functionalism and conflict theory; shows how social forces shape behavior. also Social structure, institutions, inequality

What is the Scientific method

the application of systematic methods to understand and to obtain knowledge

What the 3 goals of science in sociology?

1) to explain why something happens, 2) to make generalizations (generalize by studying representing group) 3) to make predictions of will may happen in the future

What are the three types of sociology?

1) Basic Sociology (most common)

2) Applied Sociology

3) Public

What is basic sociology?

Basic sociology is the most common type that builds knowledge about how society works just focusing on finding evidence not solution

What is applied sociology?

Applied sociology uses sociological knowledge to solve problems to improve something so turning evidence into actions

What is public sociology?

Public sociology uses sociology to inform and benefit the public using sociological imagination so sociology to the people

What does science help sociologist move beyond from?

Sociologists use science to move beyond common science

What type of science do sociologist use so that it can be tested?

Theory and hypothesis

What is a theory

A theory is a general explanation of and why social patterns exist helping explain relationship between 2 or more concepts (ex: a theory explaining how poverty affects education outcomes)

What is a hypothesis

A hypothesis is a testable prediction based on a theory about 2 or more variables relate

What are the 2 types of variable?

Independent variable: the cause (ex: family structure), dependent variable: the effect (ex: children delinquency)

True or False: can you can test a theory

False- you cannot test a theory but can you can test a hypothesis

What is 1st step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

1) select a topic, think what are interested in?

What is 2nd step out of the 8 of what an ideal research model steps look like?

2) define the problem, narrow the question to something researchable

What are the 2 types of research methods?

Quantitative and Qualitative

What is Quantitative sociology?

Quantitative research method is a method of gathering data hat can be counted (numbers, surveys, etc) and surveys are the most common type of quanitative and not experience because they are hard to contol. Good for patterns, trends, comparisons.

What are the limitations of quantitative research?

It does not always captivate meaning and you can't control secondary data

What is Qualitative sociology?

Qualitative research method is a method that gathers data that cannot be counted (interviews, observations)

What about population?

think about who you want to study

What about sample?

think about a smaller group representing a population

What about random sampling?

think about everyone in a population has an equal chance to participate

What is operational definition?

Operational definition is thinking about how you measure variables

What is validity?

Validity is thinking about do my variables measure what it is supposed to?

What is reliability definition?

Reliability is thinking about would other researchers get the same result using the same method.

What are the two types of studies?

1) Cross-sectional studies

2) Longitudinal studies

What are Cross-sectional studies?

Cross-sectional studies are a snapshot of one point in time and this type of study is cheaper/quicker ex: surveying students of this year about stress levels.

What are Longitudinal studies?

Longitudinal studies are studies observing multiple point in time and this type of study is expensive but better for causation(1 thing causes another) (ex: surveying students every year for 10 years)

What are the two types of longitudinal studies?

Cohort and Panel

What are cohort studies?

Cohort studies involves a group sharing an experience and is observed over time (ex: studying people in 2005 at different points of their lives) does not involve the same individuals studied every time

What are panel studies?

Panel studies involve studying the SAME individuals repeatedly overtime (ex: interviewing the same families every 5 years)

How is data collected?

Data is collected through questions and interviews and words matter so researcher must avoid jargon

What two types of questions can you ask in surveys?

Close and Open-ended questions

What are close-ended questions?

Close-ended questions have fixed answer choices which are easier to analyze good for quantitative research method

What are open-ended questions?

Open-ended questions lets them answer using their own words which gives richer detail good for qualitative research method

What is causation?

Causation is when 1 variable directly causes a change in another but it must meet3 conditions

What are the three conditions of causation?

1) correlation

2) temporal priority

3) no spurious correlation

What is correlation?

Correlation is where 2 variables are related but does not mean one causes the other (ex: donut sales and graduations does not mean donuts cause graduation)

What is temporal priority?

the cause must happen before the effect

What is spurious correlation?

the relationship of the variables must not be explained by a 3rd variable

What is the subfield that combines big data with algorithmic methods?

Computational Social science combines sociology, big data, and algorithms to analyze social media, text messages, databases, etc.

What is secondary data?

Data that has already been collected and researchers cannot control what is included in the data

What does secondary data create?

Secondary data creates tradeoffs and risk

What is ethnography?

Ethnography is understanding people in their natural settings which includes participant observations and unobtrusive methods and this is important because some groups cannot be studied(poor)

What are unobtrusive methods?

Unobtrusive methods are trying to reduce the hawthorne effect by observing individuals without interaction, content analysis but there is a ethical tension of its better and people should consent being studied

What are the ethical challenges in sociology?

Ethical challenges are unavoidable in social research as it involves controversial topics, vulnerable populations and political limitations (ex: vaccines)

What are examples of ethical concerns in sociology?

Ethical concerns include miss use or misrepresentation of findings, or exploitation of participates

What should researcher do to examine themselves?

Reflexivity asking who am I as a researcher, how does my identity, belief, power affect affect this study to prevent exploitation, baised interpretation, and ethical blind spot

What do researchers depend on and affects them?

Researchers need funding but political decisions affect what gets studied, and what data can be collected

What is politicization of science?

Politicization of science is when science becomes political and researchers finding are questioned/rejected or facts are treated as opinions.

When did sociology emerged?

In the mid-1800s because society was rapidly changing

What was causing society to change in the mid-1800s?

The industrial revolution(,assive poverty, inequality), global exploration and imperialism,

Enlightenment and political revolution(who has power) where sociologist were starting to view the world differently, ask more about society really means)

Who was reacting and responding to these society changes of the mid-1800s?

Early Sociologist/Thinkers:

1) Auguste Comte

2) Herbert Spencer

3) Karl Marx

4) Émile Durkheim

5) Max Weber

Who created the term sociology and positivism?

Auguste Comte created the term sociology and positivism.

What does positivism mean?

Positivism means applying the scientific method to the social world or the approach that society should be studied using scientific methods to discover general laws of behavior.

What did Auguste Comte believe?

Auguste Comte believed that sociology should be used to improve society and discover social principles so he was an activist for social change

Who created the term "survival of the fittest"?

Herbert Spencer and survival of the fittest means individuals and groups who succeed do so because they are better adapted to their environment. An ex: poverty were not problems caused by society but results of individual ability and effort.

What did Herbert Spencer believe?

Herbert Spencer believed we should interefere with society only the "fittest"(rich) would survive, ex: did not support in government assistance bc you are disrupting the natural process of social evolution or ex: poor people are poor because they're weak or lazy

What did Herbert Spencer support?

Herbert Spencer supported "social darwinism

What does social darwinism mean?

Social Dawinism is the believe that social inequality(problems) are natural; only the successfull people survive and rise appling the idea of "survual of the fittest" ,

What did Karl Marx believe in?

Karl Marx believed that the main driver of social change is class conflict (society is divided into Bourgeoisie vs Proletariat) conflict over power and resources that connects with conflict theory . wanted a society with no class

What are Bourgeoisie and Proletariat?

Bourgeoisie (owners) and Proletariat (workers)

What did Emile Durkheim believe?

Emile Durkheim believed that social forces influence how indivualds think and behave. Focused on sucide not personal but follow rates follw a social pattern. ex: elder white men in rual areas

What are social facts?

Social facts are patterns or rules, he laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals created by society expressed through culture that affect individuals. ex: c-section scheduled on tues not about induival perference but of the hospitals-they come from society, not from personal choice. pressure to follow it

What idea did Durkheim introduce?

The idea od anomie(isolation, lack of purpose) occur when social norms break losing sense of social structure

What did Durkheim show?

Durkheim showed that social intergreation which is being connected to family, community, soceity

What idea did Max Weber develope?

Max Weber created the theory that of Protestant ethic which is a belief system emphasizing hard work, discipline, and saving success would signal divine approval and helped create modern capitalism(buying, selling, investing for profit) grow and succeed.

What is the result of following the protestant ethic?

The result of economic growth from following protestant ethnic is the term spirit of capitalism which is the peoples mindset that values reinvesting money, growing economic systems. This "spirit" comes from people following the Protestant ethic

What did society look like in the 1800s?

Sex roles were greatly defined(women at home, men at work), racism existed so this shaped who became a sociologist and whose work was taken seriously.

What 3 early sociologists whose reform-focused work was ignored pushing toward sociology to help people?

Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams and W.E.B. Du Bois,

Whose work was ignored due to social conditions of being a women?

Harriet Martineau who published society in America before Durkheim(society shapes individuals) and also focused on how society influences personal choices and womens rights but her work was ignored because she was a women. Connects back to Marx(who has power) that is shaped by your social location.

What did Jane Adams believe and a leader of?

Jane Addams worked with poor immigrants and was a leader in women's rights movement believing sociology should be used to improve society not just study it (social reform(changing) vs. theory(just study)) her work was not taken seriously as "real sociology."

Who was the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard?

W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard publishing a book nearly every year from 1886-1914 about relationships between black vs. white and how social and conditions shaped Black life but his work was ignored for decades because he was Black. -Connects to Marx(power and inequality).

What did sociology began to shift into?

overtime sociology began to shift towards abstract theory (focusing on models, concepts, thinking about society not helping people in society)

What did the shift of sociology towards abstract theory create?

It created tension of objectivity (we should remain neutral and just focus on theory) and values (we should work to improve society) still an on going debate whether choosing to study something already involve values so we are neutral.