Sociology: Foundational Terms, Work of Sociologists, Thinking Like a Sociologist, Sociological Theory, Research Methods

Anthropology

Differences between societies and cultures

Communication study

How humans communicate with each other

Economics

How wealth is produced and accumulated

Geography

How geographic space is used and influences cultures

Political science

How public policy is created and the role of government

Psychology

How the mind works and its relationship to behavior

Sociology

The study of the social world and human behavior

Sociological imagination

Ability to see connections between individual lives and broader social issues

Social structure

Ordered set of recurring patterns of behavior and institutions

Micro level

Recurring patterns of behavior at the level of interaction

Meso level

Patterns of behavior above the level of face-to-face interactions

Social constructions

Elements of the social world that are products of culture and upheld by people and institutions

Institutions

Enduring and stable sets of expectations and behaviors based on shared values

Agency

Individual's capacity to think and act independently

Conflict theory

Explanation of social inequalities and power relations

Structural functionalism

Study of how complex societies work and maintain order

Symbolic interactionism

Focus on individual meaning and interactions in society

Feminist theory

Focus on gender oppression and inequalities

Postmodernism

Emphasis on diversity, complexity, and uncertainty in the social world

Probability sampling

Random selection of participants for representative sample

Nonprobability sampling

Selective selection of participants based on research topic

Variables

Measures of concepts that can change

Hypothesis

Prediction of relationship between variables

Surveys and questionnaires

Methods of collecting data through predetermined questions

Interviews and focus groups

Methods of collecting qualitative data through conversations

Field research

Immersive method of studying specific settings and behaviors

Experimental design

Method of testing causal relationships between variables

Reliability

Consistency of a measure of a concept

Validity

Accuracy of a measure of a concept

Anomie

Negative state produced by absent or poorly-defined norms

Manifest

Visible and intended purpose of social structures

Latent

Invisible and unintended purpose of social structures

Dysfunctional

Elements of social structures that create instability

Patriarchy

System of male domination over women

Simulacra

Images or representations that replace reality

Hyperreality

Social reality where images and simulations become reality

Variable

The measures of a concept that can change

Qualitative

Data in the form of words

Quantitative Research

Research that provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales.

control group

the group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

experimental group

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

probably sampling

With this sampling everyone has an equal likelihood of being selected

non-probability sampling

Sampling where the researcher is being selective

Bourgeoisie

Ownwers and people who earn profit

proliterait

working class people and does not earn profit

Karl Max theory

Conflict theory

Max webber and George hurrbert

Symbolic interactionism

Positivism

The approach to studying our social world in connection to the principles of natural science

Front stage

what the audience sees, the part of ourselves that we present to others

backstage

Where you can act yourself

Impression management

the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen