SOC 100 - Midterm 1

Sociology

* study of human beings and relationships between one another
* at least two people
* very broad
* understanding of social phenomena
* research and research methods
* explanations and things about who we are that isn’t obvious

strange in the familliar

instead of assuming that people’s actions are determined by personal choice, looking for the ways that society shapes those choices

general in the particular

the broader social patterns that are reflected in the actions of individuals

norms

society’s expectations for how we are supposed to act, think, and look.

normative

behaviours, appearances, and thoughts that correspond to society’s norms

micro level

the level of individuals experiences and choices

macro level

the level of broader social choices

agency

people’s capacity to make choices, which then have an impact on other people and on the society in which they live in.

why are you a student?

* personal choice? friends/family?
* to what degree are you?
* where does society end?

sociologists study interconnections between

* society → macrolevel and microlevel → broader social forcers and individual experiences and personal choices
* victims of social choices
* how to differentiate a person from society - pressures are different now to make choices

sociological imagination

* the ability to perceive the interconnections between individual experiences and larger social forces
* how to distinguish people from the society they live in
* action rather than thinking
* C. Wright Mills Book - purposed of THINKING and DOING
* dogma to evidence based society

eating lunch at school

* the change to eating lunch at school occurred because economic and social factors changed the lives of the parents, thus making changes in school practices necessary
* 1/8 children go to school hungry, so they build lunch programs

Sociology is

* systematic study of society (scientific approach)
* system of connections between people
* the goal is objectivity (no bias)
* searching for patterns of behaviour
* human beings want to conform
* practices are the groups we are born into

origins of Sociology

* precursors (Aristotle)
* french revolution
* emphasis on:
* reason
* equality
* progress
* auguste comte
* social relations:
* cannot be reduced to an individual
* are a complex web of interconnectedness
* 20th century: distinct disciplinary boundaries
* 21st century: post-disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity

aristotle

* how societies operate and power people
* the more people exist for labour, the less they are there for survival, but more for luxury

french revolution and enlightment

* wanting a better life, but also overthrowing the national order. beheading the king changed the order and thinking of the universe
* science rather than religion
* enlightenment: middle ages when people questioned the catholic church; rigorous scientific, political, and philosophical discourse that characterized Europe

nepotism

getting privilege due to a family member

august comte

* coins “sociology”
* emerges from philosophy, economics, history, psychology, and law
* science can be used to understand society and social change
* society is progressing
* social physics
* social statics and dynamics

social statics

forms of social organization

social dynamics

processes of social change

sociological imagination toolkit

* empirical research methods
* sociological theorizing
* critical thinking

empirical research methods

* reliable knowledge: need to understand social relations; the basis of social action
* data collection that produces verifiable findings and is carried out using systematic procedures
* direction observation to verifiable knowledge

sociological theorizing

* the data collected using empirical methods are explained using sociological theories
* theories are developed for different purposes, which correlates to the approaches of theorizing: Positivist, Interpretive, Critical

theory

* set of propositions intended to explain a fact of phenomenon
* a framework for a study
* act as a worldview se we can engage in a study
* not an opinion

low order thinking

thinking based on memory, recall, and paraphrasing

high order thinking

extrapolate conflict information from one domain and apply it to another

classical sociological theories

sociological theories developed in the early years of discipline and form the foundation for subsequent theorizing

contemporary sociological theories

sociological theories developed since the mid-20th century

positivist approach

* emile durkheim
* a science approach of reasoning - explanation and prediction
* examines relationships between variables in an effort to learn more about how society works
* emphasize the cultural and historical specificity of all processes
* science and society
* laws and social facts
* statistical modelling

laws - positivist

governing society and that’s how society was outside of the person

social facts

things that are independent of us and cause us to act the way we do

statistical modelling

contemporary science, hypothesizing a conclusion from two variables

potivism

an approach to the study of society that relies specifically on empirical scientific evidence, such as controlled experiments and statistics; very useful, but flawed

interpretive approach

* max weber
* how people come to understanding themselves, others, and the world around them.
* how the role of culture plays in creating people and societies and how people, societies; how people come to think about their positions within the culture
* empathetic understanding
* qualitative vs scientific approach
* science should be positivistic

critical approach

* Micheal Foucalt and Karl Marx
* how power plays a role in social processes, the reason that some people’s understandings of the world become dominant; then ties the knowledge to emancipation
* marginalization
* possibilities of empancipation
* Marx Power
* progress, dismantle power to create an imagined utopian future; the problem is how we organize policies and allow some people to succeed and others dont’t
* Foucalt Power
* power cannot be overcome, it just switches location. who deserves power and who doesn’t; no utopian ideal because there is no ending power

core theoretical frameworks

* a perspective is an operating system; a worldview; orientates us to the world
* functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, interactionist perspective, feminist perspective, and postmodern perspective

functionalist perspective

* how social order is maintained
* positivist approach
* society is like a living organism (seeking homeostasis)
* society is stable, orderly system organized around societal consensus about shared norms/values
* no hierarchy in society
* society functions when people play their roles
* only interests functions in society, not personal identifiers
* purpose of sociology was to study social facts
* five traditional institutions in society: economy, family, politics, education, and religion - all are interconnected
* manifest and latent structures are important

social facts

observable social phenomena external to individuals that exercise power over them

material social facts

social facts that have tangible reality, such as the education system and the government

non-material social facts

social facts that are intangible, such as morals, norms and values

mechanical solidarity

the social bonds that exist in preindustrial societies based on similarities in people. can be through collective consciousness

organic solidarity

the social bonds that exist in industrial societies based on the different roles that people play in the division of labor

anomie

a state wherein social norms deteriorate, processes of social control decline, and institutions become dysfunctional. here, people are unregulated and problematic behaviours can emerge

manifest

an intended function of one of society’s structures; an institution is intended to fulfill - education, acquiring knowledge

latent

an unintended positive function of one of society’s structures; unintended but still a positive outcome - socialization, obedience, differing authority, employee and employer relationships, competition, learning, and rationalizing equality

latent dysfunction

an unintended negative function of one of society’s structures

conflict perspective

* critical - power and emancipation
* society is characterized by social inequality
* social life is continuous power struggle for control of resources (capitalist society)
* social arrangements benefit some at the expense of others
* society is divided into strata - people competing in society for resources; small group at the top of the social hierarchy and a large group at the bottom
* marx conflict perspective
* competition
* modes of production: all societies act as a modality, everyone is governed by ways of doing things, some modalities distribute through status, but capitalistic modality distributes resources through marketplaces; how we produce the things we need to survive and how do we access them
* bourgeoisie vs proletariat - powerful vs less powerful; makes conditions unequal, tension between employer and employee, pins groups together
* surplus value, alienation, polarization, praxis
* prevent revolution by small changes over time
* economic and political freedom

surplus value

products are sold for more money than what they cost to produce

alienation

the detachment that exists between the worker and their labor as perpetuated under capitalism

polarization

the gap between have and have nots is growing

praxis

the responsibility that scholars have to provide subordinated and marginalized groups in society with the knowledge they need to be able to end their powerlessness

interactionist perspective

* interpretive approach
* MICRO perspective
* as we communicate with others, we attribute meaning to our experiences and develop perceptions, understandings, and reactions to ourselves, others, and the world.
* social psychology: significant others and generalized other
* impressions management
* total institutions
* all behaviours are learned: socialization
* society is the sum of these interactions
* opens up possibilities for social freedom

impressions management

the process by which we control our appearances, words, and actions so they correspond to the specific roles we are playing

total institutions

an isolated social system in which certain individuals are housed, looked after, and socialized apart from a wider society

feminist perspective

* emily stowe: canada’s first female doctor
* Harriet Martineau is the scholar most commonly recognized as female founder of sociology
* introduces a moral component to social analyses
* uses theory and research to critique social inequality
* feminist theories are labelled liberal, radical, etc…
* draws attention to the darker side of society
* micro TO macro level
* critical approach
* gender is necessary category to explain inequalities, don’t assume men and women should be treated equally
* belief about gender and sex socially created
* no monolithic

feminism

the system of ideas and political practices based on the principle that women are human beings equal to men

androcentric

male centered, failing to account for women’s experiences

postmodern perspective

* controversial critical perspective
* Post WWII era
* our lives changed since the war
* manufacturing products to producing ideas and images
* knowledge society
* transition led to skeptical and affirmative
* contemporary distinctions: postmodernism and poststructuralism
* discourse
* rejection of metanarratives - totalizing explanations that are presented as true AND should not be challenged; crisis of knowing and doing

skeptical

social change created conditions of chaos and meaninglessness

affirmative

overarching theories/worldviews cannot explain society; therefore crisis in “what we can know”; focus on the local and specific and asking questions of knowledge

postmodernism

a historical period

postructuralism

“knowing” is in crisis

discourse

ways of talking about a social phenomenon, or bodies of knowledge about that phenomenon

why sociological research is important

* can’t do or know anything without it
* “common sense” knowledge compared to “scientific” knowledge
* common sense ideas and observations may serve you well in your immediate experience, scientific ways of knowing can better help you understand how your views are shaped by complex social relationships and operations in society
* “scientific” knowledge uses empirical methods; there are systematic procedures
* designs to carry out research are organized, methodical, and standardized
* developing new knowledge through various approaches
* sociology is a social science - humans change from moment to moment

sociological reasoning

* combines empirical methods with theory
* concept, variable, deduction, induction

concept

an abstract idea expressed as a word or phase. ex: social class

variable

a categorical concept for properties of people or things; ex: “single” is one of the categories in the variable “marital status”

deduction

general to specific instances of gravity; presupposes you have some motion of what it already is; a theory-driven approach that typically concludes with generalizations based on research findings

induction

specific to the general; a data-driven approach that begins with observations and ends in theory construction

goals of sociological research

* explore: help understand more about an area that is not well established
* describe: describes features and characteristics of a group, event, activity, or situation.
* explain: clarifies aspects of a particular social phenomenon
* evaluate: assess the need for or effectiveness of a social program.
* empower: examines social settings and conditions to identify key issues and involves stakeholders for the purpose of improvement

program evaluation

interests in whether a program is working as intended

action research

generates knowledge about an area of interest to bring about social change. it starts with observations, followed by actions, than an evaluation.

participatory action research

a field method involving stakeholders as co-researchers in a colloborative process designed to improve outcomes

the sociological research process

1. research question
2. literature review
3. narrowed focus
4. research design
5. data collection
6. data analysis
7. conclusion
8. report findings

research question

* something that interests you
* something you wish to learn more about

literature review

* what is already known about this topic?
* sociological databases
* you must have other opinions
* find what is known
* find the gaps and limitations
* identified central concepts and framing a research interest in the most relevant theoretical context

narrowed focus

* how can you turn your research question into a doable project?
* operationalize any variables
* consider reliability and validity
* develop a hypothesis
* make your research doable
* develop a hypothesis: express a CAUSAL relationship between variables, and independent and dependent variable
* operationalize variables: defining what you want to look for; variables are defined in a precise manner that is measurable

reliability

consistency in the measure for a variable of interest

validity

a measure is a good indictor of the intended concept - more truthful and accurate the closer it gets to the “bullseye”

research design

* a detailed outline of all of the proposed components of a study
* what specific steps will you take to find an answer to your research question?
* research interest
* objects or subjects of study
* techniques for data collection and analysis
* a good scientist faces method all the time
* fallacy of exclusion

fallacy of exclusion

evidence is intentionally excluded to bias the result. doing research, must tell why you are leaving out some variables and why you are keeping others. leaving these variables out will change the conclusion

data collection

how will you collect your data

data analysis

* compile data into a format that helps you learn more about the research problem
* a detailed outline of all of the proposed components of a study
* statistical software can be used to compute correlation coefficients that quantify the linear relationships between variables
* coding
* SPSS
* NVivo

conclusions

* what does the data tell you?
* revisit the original question
* correlation does not prove causation

report findings

* each subsequent study adds another dimension of knowledge to the general area of interest
* scholars must disseminate their findings
* to be subjected to peer review
* to contribute to the body of knowledge in the area
* academic conferences and journals
* ex: Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Canadian Journal of Sociology

the importance of ethics in research

* historical cases of human mistreatment in research
* humans are mistreated in medical, military, and research contexts
* Milgram: lethal shock to another human when told to do so
* Stanford Prison Experiement
* Tri-Council Policy Statement

Tri-Council Policy Statement

* outlines ethical principles and includes a set of guidelines that regulate research carried out by sociologists as well as researchers from other disciplines
* respect for persons
* the right to decide whether and how they will be involved in research as part of consent
* identities are confidential
* debriefing
* concern for welfare
* prioritization of justice

debriefing

the later disclosure of all relevant details in cases where research participants cannot be told all of the information ahead of time

qualitative methods

describe the quality of a phenomenon using words; methods most often employed to better understand social phenomena using inductive reasoning and non-numerical data

inductive reasoning

a researcher first gathers and analyzes data, then constructs a theory to explain her finding

quantitative methods

count things or test hypotheses to explain a phenomenon; methods usually employed to test hypotheses based on deductive reasoning and numerical data

deductive reasoning

establishes a conclusion to be true by stating two or more true premises that lead to the conclusion being true.; scientific investigation

grounded theory

a systematic strategy for moving from specific observations to general conclusions about discourses, actions, interactions, and practices.

sociological research methods

* experiments
* surveys
* interviews
* secondary data analysis
* ethnography
* observation
* mixed or multiple methods

experiments

* what’s causing this?
* test hypothesis
* random assignment to conditions
* independent and dependent variable
* control group
* lab and field experiments

surveys

* what is your opinion
* respondents answer the survey questions in a questionnaire about their attitudes or behaviours
* use of a representative sample that closely applies to the population of interest

interviews

* what can you tell me about this?
* standardized and unstandardized interviews
* focus groups

secondary data anlysis

* what inferences can be made from this data?
* analyzes data that was created by someone else for a different purpose
* content, discourse, and historical analysis

ethnography

* what is it like being a member of that group?
* various forms of fieldwork to describe everyday behaviour in natural settings; to learn more about a subculture, to assess a social problem within a particular group
* use of multiple methods with that subculture or group; observations, detailed notes, photos, interviews, participating in activities with the group

observation

* systematic and participant observation