Social Sciences

Is Social Science a Science?

  • Depends on the definition of science.
    • Predictive precision: Social science is not a science.
    • Observation, experiments, hypothesis testing, data analysis: Social science is a science.
  • Natural Science vs. Social Science
    • Natural science: Physical world (biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc.).
    • Social science: Human society and social relationships (economics, political science, law, geography, history, etc.).
  • Social science studies society, institutions, histories, and people.

Why Sociology Appeared

  • New social problems arising from the Industrial Revolution necessitated a unique scientific discipline.
  • Shift from pre-industrial to post-industrial society:
    • Farm/cottage to factories.
    • Family work to breadwinners.
    • Small towns to large cities.
    • Large families to small families.
    • Homogeneous to heterogeneous cities.
    • Lower to higher standards of living.
    • Shorter to longer lifespans.

What is Sociology?

  • Examines differences in feelings and actions across social situations.
  • Investigates why individuals in a group behave differently in the same situation.
  • Explores why people with similar behaviors may not feel connected.

Social Groups

  • Collection of individuals who interact formally and informally.
  • Types:
    • Friendship groups (common interests).
    • Work groups (same job type).
    • Educational groups (studying together).
    • Family groups (related by birth/marriage).
    • Peer groups (same age).

Society Structure

  • Individuals are part of small groups.
  • Small groups are part of Institutions.
  • Institutions are part of Society.
  • Society encompasses a totality of relationships that impose rules on behavior.
  • Institutions are stable patterns of group behavior over time.
  • Main institutional groups: family, government, work, culture (media, education, religion).

Sociological Imagination

  • Relation between individual and society.
  • Stepping away from daily routines to gain fresh perspectives.
  • Essential for social scientists to avoid limited personal experiences.

Social Structure

  • Regularities in how people behave in relationships.
  • Long-term, stable relationships (e.g., family, education, economic system).

Social Construction

  • Idea or practice that a group agrees exists and maintains over time.
  • Influenced by culture and history.
  • Example: Determining a baby’s sex influences interaction.

Social Order

  • System of social structures and institutions maintained by its members.
  • Example: Ancient, feudal, capitalist social order.
  • Stable state of society where social structure is accepted.

Socialization

  • Social processes through which children develop awareness of social norms and values, and achieve a sense of self.
  • Examples: waiting room and elevator conformity tests.

Sociology and Commonsense

  • something that isn't mentioned in the transcript

Modern Theoretical Approaches

1. Functionalism (Comte, Durkheim)

  • Auguste Comte:
    • Invented the word sociology.
    • ’Social physics’ – sociology should model itself after physics.
    • Advocated using scientific knowledge to improve society.
  • Émile Durkheim:
    • Established sociology as a scientific discipline.
    • Focused on social facts.
    • Studied how societies are held together: organic solidarity.
    • Organic solidarity:
    • Social cohesion from interdependent parts functioning as a whole.
  • Social constraint:
    • Influence of groups and societies on individual behavior.
  • Division of labor:
    • Specialization of work tasks.
  • Anomie:
    • Social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.
  • Functionalism:
    • Social events explained by their functions.
    • Society as a human body– parts working together.
  • Robert K. Merton:
    • Manifest functions: Intended and recognized functions.
    • Example: Ceremony intended to bring rain.
    • Latent functions: Unintended and unrecognized consequences.
    • Example: Rain dance promotes social cohesion.

2. Marxism (Karl Marx)

  • Karl Marx:
    • Focused on economic issues and their relation to social institutions.
    • Materialist conception of history:
    • Economic factors drive social change and conflict.
    • Capitalism:
    • Economic system based on private ownership for profit.
    • Predicted capitalism would be replaced by a society without class divisions.
  • Conflict theories:
    • Focus on inequalities between groups.
    • Highlight force and power in producing social order.
    • Examples: Marxism and Feminism.

3. Symbolic Interactionism (Weber & Mead)

  • Max Weber:
    • Interested in capitalism; rejected materialist conception of history.
    • Emphasized the role of ideas and values in social change.
    • Symbolic Interactionism:
    • Exchange of information through symbols.
    • We develop our sense of self through interactions with others.

4. Rational Choice Theory

  • Rational choice approach:
    • Self-interest is the best variable to explain society.

5. Postmodern Theory

  • Postmodernism:
    • Society is no longer governed by history or progress.
    • Society is pluralistic and diverse with no grand narrative.
    • Influenced by electronic communication and mass media.

Levels of Analysis:

  • Microsociology:
    • Study of face-to-face interaction (e.g., symbolic interactionism).
  • Macrosociology:
    • Study of large-scale social systems (e.g., functionalism and Marxism).

Week 2 – Sociological Research

  • Visions of sociology as a science.
  • William F. Ogburn:
    • Used statistical methods in social sciences.
    • Introduced "cultural lag."
    • Impact of technology drives social changes.
    • Advocated for statistical research.
  • Robert Park:
    • Focused on interviews and observations.
    • Studied urban life dynamics and interactions.
    • Urban Ecology: Cities function like ecological systems.

Basic Concepts:

  • Primary data: First-hand data collected by the researcher.
  • Secondary data: Data collected by someone else earlier.

Research Methods:

  • Ways of collecting and analyzing data.
    • Fieldwork (participant observation).
    • Survey methods.

Research Approaches:

  • Quantitative Approach Methods: Objective and Statistical data (trends).
  • Qualitative Approach Methods: Interviews and Observations of a person or situation (accounts).

Steps of the Research Process

  1. Define the research problem
    • Lack of information a gap in our understanding = Why are patterns of religious belief changing. Why are women poorly represented in science and technology jobs
  2. Review the Literature
    • Conduct a LR, databases. Reports
  3. Make the problem precise
    • Formulate precise research questions and or hypotheses. What factors contribute to the low representation of women in STEM jobs?
      • H1 Women are less represented in STEM jobs due to educational barriers they face lack of female role models in STEM, and educational materials that perpetuate stereotypes
  4. Work out a design
    • How will | test my Hypothesis? How will | answer my question? What kind of data will | collect and analyse?
    • Quanntative data on employment statistics. salary disparities, enrolment numbers in STEM programs QuaaltaTive data: interviews with women in STEM fields. surveys on perceptions of gender roles in STEM
  5. Carry out the research
    • Find, analyze existing datasets Conducting surveys with female students in STEM programs. interviewing women working in science and technology
  6. Interpret the results
    • Identify trends patterns, and insights. Use statistical analysis for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Evaluate the extent to which the data supports your hypotheses
  7. Report the findings
    • Commpile the research findings into a comprehensive report. journal article, or thesis dissertation Present your results in conferences. poster

Three Main Methods in Sociological Research

  1. Ethnography (fieldwork)
    describe life as it is lived and experienced by people the firsthand study of people using observation, in-depth interviewing, or both
  2. Survey O Population answers to structured questionnaires, in person or mailed information that is less detailed but can be generalized to the population
  3. Experiment O OFten used in the natural sciences psychology and medicine A randomized controlled trial (RCT)

Ethical Concerns

  • Respect for humans. Informed consents.
  • Beneficence: the wefare of the research participant as a goal of any research study
  • Justice making sure that subjects arent exploited,
  • All sociological research involving human subjects must be reviewed for adhering to ethical guidelines

Conclusions

  • Sociological studies rely increasingly on statistical studies that use big data sets
  • qualttative and quantitative methods should be seen as complementary
  • Rigorous ethical principles must be applied to all research involving experiments on humans or human biological material

Socialisation definition