SOC150 LEC 1

theories

systematic explanations of a natural or social behavior, event, or other phenomenon)(theory to be valid needs to fit the available evidence, or data, obtained from observations)

theoretical level

abstract concepts that relate to a phenomena, generating or building theory

empirical level

testing or refining theory))

levels of analysis

micro level(smallest levels of interactions)(one on one)

meso level(usually for investigating groups)(interactions)

macro level(examine social structures and institutions)(large-scale patterns)(globalization)

operational definitions

define concepts in terms of how we will actually measure them when collecting our data

conceptualization

clearly define our underlying concepts

reification

assumption that an abstract concept exists in some concrete, tangible way

mediation

concept stands between and links two other concepts(mediating concept, mediator, linking concept)

moderation

a concept influences or shapes the relationship between two concepts, either weakens or strengthens the relationship)

spuriousness

(relationship between two concepts seemed to exist, but they are actually linked by a third concept, a confounder)

suppressor variable

confounding variable, if not accounted for, makes the relationship seem positive when it's actually negative)

idiographic explanations

explain a single situation in idiosyncratic detail)(not generalizable)(qualitative research)

nomothetic explanations

seek to explain a class of situations)(generalizable)(less precise)(most sociological research seeks to arrive at nomothetic explanations)

parsimony

how economical a theory is, how much of a particular phenomenon it can explain, with how few variables)(Occam's razor, the simplest theory with the fewest variables/assumptions is the best)

structural functionalism

focuses on the interrelations between various parts of society and how each part works with the others to make society function in the that it does)

conflict theory

questions of power, who wins and who loses based on the way society is organized)

symbolic interactionism

how meaning is created and negotiated through social interactions)

paradigms

higher level of abstraction)(more encompassing, ways of viewing the world and understanding the human experience)(frame what we know, what we can know, and how we can know it)

related to paradigm shift

positivism

guided by the principles of objectivity, knowability, and deductive logic)(society should be studied empirically and scientifically)(what can be observed and measured)(Emile Durkheim, Ludwig Wittgenstein)

post positivism

(Karl Popper)(human knowledge amounts to a set of tentative conjectures that can never be proven conclusively, but only disproven)(ultimately impossible to verify the truth, but seeks to reject false beliefs through empirical observation)

critical realists

external reality exists that is independent of a person's thinking

social constructionism

(we create reality ourselves through our interactions and our interpretations of those interactions)(social context and interaction frame and shape these interpretations)

critical theory

(focused on power, inequality, and social change)(express goal of social change)

postmodernism

(reject the notion of any sort of knowable truth)(never really discern the truth)

basic research

(want to know more about a specific topic)(theoretical puzzle/intellectual puzzle)

applied research

(apply findings to change and make progress)

probabilistic relationship

how two variables tend to go together, in some degree of regularity, the level of another variable also makes another variable's levels increase or decrease)