SOC150 MIDTERM

Subjectivity

value-judgments, expressions of emotion, metaphors, intuitive leaps

sig to research:

1.the only things that exist in society are human individuals and their actions; when we talk about patterns of actions as if they were things (e.g. "the Catholic Church", "the Canadian government") we are speaking metaphorically not literally

2.to properly know and understand social action we must study the meanings that motivate that action for the concrete individuals who carry it out.

Objectivity

empirical observations and measurements; logically necessary inferences

sig to research:

1.collective ways of acting, called "social facts", exist , independently of the individuals who carry them out

2.we should study social facts entirely by their properties,without privileging the meanings those actions have for the individuals who perform them.

Concept

Highly abstract classification of a group or class of phenomena

Represents generally agreed upon social constructs/categories

sig to research:

need to decide upon a broad group of interest initially before honing in your research into dimensionality

Conceptualization

involves writing out clear, concise definitions for our key concepts.

sig to research:

only mean as much as you ascribe them to mean, therefore important to define all of them in your research and exactly what they mean to you as definitions often conflict

Variables

Any measurable concept with characteristics that change from one person, time, situation, or society to another, must be changeable, valid and reliable to produce high quality research.

sig to research:

important to establish the * in order to decide how to effectively measure data that can answer your research question.

Sociological Imagination

aka sociological perspective created by C.W. Mills, involves seeing the general in the specific- By this we mean that sociologists identify general patterns from the behaviour of individuals.

Sig to research:

Allows us to recognize the ways in which different categories of people are effected differently by society. Important to know while creating a research question, why does this pattern exist primarily in this specific group?

Reflexivity

a researcher's awareness or analytical focus on their own position, as it impacts the work they conduct and subjects they study

Sig to research:

recognizing the ways in which your positionality as a researcher may scew the results of your research ie. lack of cultural understanding or predisposition to correlations in other research

Reliability

the degree to which a measurement instrument gives the same results each time that it is used, assuming that the underlying thing being measured does not change

sig to research:

ensures that your data/ sample pool of participants isn't over representing a specific person

Validity

the degree to which an instrument, such as a survey question, measures what it is intended to measure

sig to research:

correlation doesn't equal causation- need to make sure that you're measuring the relationship between the variables in a proper way otherwise your claims are hollow

Social Inequality

unequal access to rewards or opportunities for individuals within a group, or groups within a society

sig to research:

often the basis of research, sociologists often question how this comes about/effects certain populations

Theory

a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something

sig to research:

seeing, understanding and planning

making generalizations

relating new situations to old ones in order to discern patterns and figure out what is likely to happen

the thinking that comes before data collection

Opinion

have no necessary basis in social reality or fact; they are ideas, claims and/or feelings about the social world

Facts

something that is indisputably the case

significant to research process:

important part of the cycle of inquiry, comes after theory and logical reasoning

Cycle of Inquiry

1. logic (theory/explanation)

2. observation/gathering facts

sig to research:

the way in which science comes about, important to use _ in order to ensure that sociological findings stem from theory but are empirical

Sampling

primary data collection, is a subset which we hope accurately represents members of the population

Probability sample

broader category of sampling which allow you to calculate how likely it is for a person to be selected

include:

simple random sampling

systematic sampling

quota sampling

simple random sampling

a sample where every person has an equal chance of being selected, a form of probability sample

systematic sampling

recognizing that the population is put into a specific scheme and selecting people at certain intervals ie. every third person, this ensures that a broad spectrum of people are represented in your sample

quota sampling

A technique where the sample is designed to match the percentage of certain named groupings in the general population studied ie. 200 people from one class and 300 people from another

allows the researchers to sample a subgroup that is of great interest to the study. If a study aims to investigate a trait or a characteristic of a certain subgroup, this type of sampling is the ideal technique.

convenience

a type of non-probability like sample, which relies on people that are convenient to you.

snowball

gaining access to a population through one participant and relying on referral to other participants, a from of non-probability sampling

manifest function

the intended function or purpose for which something is built or created

latent function

the unintended (and often unforeseen) consequences or functions

operationalization

turning a concept into a variable and then into something that can be measured (ie. turning a theory into a study)

the research process

a general sequence of steps that can be followed when designing and conducting research

epistemology

the nature of knowledge, how do you know what you know? where does your information come from, and is it reliable?

values

a reflection of our position in society

research methods

qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods - should be determined by your research question

quantitative research method

A technique in which researchers collect and report data numerically. Usually for answering research questions that start with WHAT, WILL and/or DO/DOES!

sig to research:

the ways in which you structure your research depending on your research question

qualitative research method

A technique in which researchers collect and report data using "thick description" - Clifford Geertz. Usually for answering research questions that start with HOW and WHY!

sig to research:

the ways in which you structure your research depending on your research question

experiment

a research method in which there is a carefully designed environment in which a researcher studies the impact of isolated variables on subjects' attitudes or behaviour.

Can be replicated several times but there is a problem of reactivity.

survey

a research method in which number of respondents are asked identical questions through a systematic questionnaire or interview, the most associated research method with sociology.

field research

a research method that involves the study of social life in its natural setting: observing and interviewing people where they live, work, and play

secondary data analysis

a research method that uses existing material and analyzes data originally collected by others

internal validity

whether the effects observed in a study are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor. In-other-words there is a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variable.

More important of the two forms of validity

external validity

refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other settings (ecological validity), other people (population validity) and over time (historical validity).

academic theory

aims to develop methodical inquiry as an extension of natural human activity

aims to make sense of /predict events in the social world

helps to capture fundamental qualities of human life

everyday philosophizing

inquiry as a natural human activity

acknowledges the utility of knowledge required to get through everyday life

helps predict future events in personal life

inaccurate observations

one of the problems with everyday philosophizing, the way that we remember things can be false

overgeneralization

one of the problems with everyday philosophizing, using stereotypes to explain what happened

selective observation

one of the problems with everyday philosophizing, looking for things to happen in a certain way

illogical reasoning

issues of correlation and causality, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

infinite regress

a sequence of reasoning or justification which can never come to an end, each component part of a theory may have multiple causes and consequences.You cannot capture everything in a theory.

agency

the capacity of an individual to act according to their will

sig to research:

important to understand that although individuals have this, society acts in different ways t different groups of individuals

standpoint theory

The view that any interpretation of social issues will be subjective, influenced by the particular standpoint, or perspective, of the researcher. Idea redefined by Dorothy Smith. ie. a lot of research is patriarchal and this needs to b recognized as not objective

Positionality

personal motivations and available information.

social order model

a way of basing theories, make certain assumptions about the way the world works and how things change (an interesting idea, in theory)

conflict model

disputes the arguments in the social order model (an interesting idea in theory), ejects the assumption that the preservation of social order serves us all by protecting against the threat of chaos. Instead, its basic premise is that our present society is organized around fundamental inequalities that can be overcome only by a substantial trans-formation of social relations.

functionalist

a school of thought in the social order model, Thomas Hobbes, Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and W.W. Rostow, model presumes that a well-regulated society serves the interests of all by protecting us against the threat of savagery that lies within us and throughout humankind.

The foundation for many strands of Marxist, feminist, postmodernist, anti-racist, and lesbian-gay liberationist theories.