AQA A-level Sociology - Theory and Research Methods

Research Methods

  • Sociological research aims to:
    • Collect data.
    • Learn about society.
    • Develop knowledge.
    • Establish cause and effect relationships.
    • Advise on social policy.
    • Change the law.
    • Make money.
    • Become famous.
    • Hold the powerful to account.
  • Choice of research topic is influenced by:
    • Theoretical position.
    • Values of society.
    • Prior research and data.
    • Funding.
  • Primary data: gathered by the researcher themselves (e.g., questionnaires, interviews, observations, experiments).
  • Secondary data: collected by someone else (e.g., government statistics, existing research papers, documents).
  • Qualitative data: non-numerical, descriptive information to understand social phenomena.
  • Quantitative data: numerical information to identify patterns and relationships.
  • Theoretical Perspectives:
    • Structuralists: Macro approach, prefer quantitative, positivist research.
    • Social Action Theorists: Micro approach, prefer qualitative, interpretivist research methods.
  • Positivism: views social phenomena as objective facts studied scientifically using quantitative methods to discover general laws and patterns. Aims to generate social facts.
  • Interpretivism: emphasizes understanding subjective meanings and interpretations. Focuses on Verstehen (empathetic understanding).
  • Choosing a method considers PET:
    • Practical (time, cost, access).
    • Ethical (harm, consent, deceit).
    • Theoretical (validity, reliability, representativeness).
  • Sampling: A small group of people who are representative of a large group.
    • Types of Sampling: Random, Systematic, Stratified, Quarter, or Opportunity.
Primary Research Methods - Experiments
  • Lab experiments: Conducted in artificial settings with controlled variables.
  • Field experiments: Take place in a natural, real-world setting.
Primary Research Methods - Questionnaires
  • Questionnaires: Written or electronic surveys.
    • Closed questions: Set responses for easy analysis.
    • Open questions: Free responses for in-depth thoughts.
Primary Research Methods - Interviews
  • Interviews: Data collection through direct verbal interaction.
    • Structured/formal: Strict questions.
    • Unstructured/informal: Flexible, conversational.
    • Semi-structured: Set questions with room for probing.
    • Group: Discussions on certain topics.
Primary Research Methods - Observation
  • Observation: Watching and recording actions in a social setting.
    • Participant: Immersing in the group's lifestyle.
    • Non-participant: Detached observation.
    • Overt: Participants know they are being observed.
    • Covert: Researcher conceals their research purpose.
Secondary Research Methods - Official Statistics
  • Official statistics: quantitative data collected by governments or official agencies.
    • Hard statistics: legally required to be documented.
    • Soft statistics: less reliable and questionable validity.
Secondary Research Methods - Documents
  • Documents: written texts, media products, etc., that tell us something about society.
    • Public documents: records from organizations.
    • Personal documents: private writings.
    • Historical documents: personal and public records for studying social evolution.
  • Analyzing using Scott's criteria: credibility, representativeness, authenticity, and meaning.
Secondary Research Methods - Content Analysis
  • Content analysis: analyzing content of communication (media, documents, etc.).
    • Formal: Content is counted and classified.
    • Thematic: Examines the message behind a particular topic.
    • Textual: Detailed analysis of small pieces of text.

Sociological Debates

Is Sociology a Science?
  • Science Components: Empirical, testable, theoretical, objective
  • Positivism: Sociology can and should be considered a science.
    • Patterns can be used to create social facts.
    • Social facts can be verified using inductive logic, and then you can collect data and then form a conclusion.
  • Interpretivism: Sociology cannot and shouldn't be considered a science.
    • Sociology is about meanings which are unobservable, which are qualitative methods, and causality is impossible to determine. There are too many extraneous variables, which are external influences, so you can't isolate one thing.
  • Falsification: Sociology could be considered a science.
    • Science must be falsifiable, which is a swan analogy, which is deductive reasoning and prove a hypothesis wrong.
  • Paradigms: Sociology could be considered a science.
    • Sociology doesn't have a shared paradigm however and therefore by its definition it's not scientific but Kung believed it could be in a given time because again sociology is only a new concept really.
  • Realism: Sociology could be considered a science, yet it depends on how you define a science.
    • If we're looking at a closed system, sociology is not a science, but if you look at it open, sociology could be a science.
Should Sociology Influence Social Policy?
  • Social policy: governmental actions and programs designed to address societal needs and improve well-being.
  • Functionalists: Social policy maintains social order.
  • Social Democrats: Social policy reduces inequality and promotes social justice.
  • Marxists: Social policies serve the interests of the ruling class and maintain capitalism.
  • Feminists: Social policy often reinforces patriarchy.
  • New Right: Social policy promotes individual responsibility, free market principles, and traditional family values.
What Role Should Values Play in Sociological Research?
  • Value freedom: research should not be influenced by researchers’ beliefs and ideas and they should remain objective.
  • Value relevance: we cannot avoid having our values influenced in some way, for example our choice of topic of research, but these must not influence the research conducted.
  • Value laden: we cannot escape our values and we shouldn't try to neither.
  • Value committed: sociologists must pick and be committed to a side they should help the underdogs in society.

Sociological Theories

Functionalism
  • Society as a system: Organic analogy, institutions function like organs, maintaining social order.
  • Value consensus and social order: shared values, norms, and beliefs.
  • Socialization and social control: mechanisms for conformity.
  • AGIL (Adaptation, Goal attainment, Integration, Latency): basic needs that maintain society.
    * Adaptation - economy and how the society secures resources and distributes them effectively.
    * Goal attainment - politics and how society needs to set goals and allocate resources to achieve them.
    * Integration - religion, education, the media, and how the different parts of the system must be integrated together to pursue shared goals.
    * Latency - kinship and how the family provides social and tension management.
  • How do societies change?: structural differentiation, dynamic equilibrium.
Feminism
  • Basic features:
    • Inequalities between men and women based on power and status.
    • Gender roles and inequalities are generally socially constructed.
    • Patriarchy.
  • Structures of patriarchy (Warby): state, paid work, domestic labor, sexuality, violence, culture.
  • Liberal Feminism: as humans, women should have the same rights and freedoms as men.
  • Radical feminism: women's main enemy are men and that all men benefit from the patriarchy.
  • Marxist feminism: capitalism is patriarchal, and consequently, it is the cause of women's oppression.
  • Difference feminism: do not see women as a single homogenous group who all share the same issues and problems.
  • Dual System feminism: seeks to combine Marxist and radical feminist ideas.
Social Action Theory
  • Emphasizes individuals as active agents who shape society through interactions and meanings.
  • Verber: Objective structural factors and Subjective meanings that individuals attach their actions.
  • Mead and Symbolic Interactionism: Meaning through social interactions, particularly language and gestures.
  • Cooley and the Looking Glass Self: Individuals form self-concept based on perceptions of how others see them.
  • Goffman and the Dramaturgical Model/Approach: Compares social interactions to theatrical performance.
  • Gidden's and Structuration Theory: Bridging the gap between structure and agency, rules and institutions.
Postmodernism
  • Challenges traditional grand narratives and the universal truths.
  • Foucault: Power and knowledge are intertwined.
  • Bourdieu: Reality is replaced with simulations, which are copies with no original.
  • Giddens: Modernity and how individuals reflect on identities, etc.
  • Beck: Risk society where concern is managing risks created by modernization itself, manufactured risks.
  • Leotard: Rejection of meta-narratives.
Marxism
  • A theory that views society as shaped by class conflict and economic relations
  • Materialism: Humans are beings with material needs such as food, clothing, and shelter meaning laborers are vital.
  • Class: The bourgeoisie or capitalist class, and the proletariat or worker class.
  • Consciousness: develop a consciousness of its own political and economic interests.
  • Ideology: The dominant ideas in society are therefore the ideas of the economically dominant class.
  • Alienation: result of our loss of control over labour and its products and therefore our separation from our true nature.
  • The State: The state exists to protect the interests of the ruling class. They use the state as a weapon in the class struggle to protect their property, suppress opposition and prevent revolution.