Sociology Notes Edited

systematic study of the structure and behavior of the world. Two parts to how we study (observation & experiment)

Belief that people's social backgrounds influence their attitudes, behaviors, & life changes.

Theme of sociology where aim is to:

• a) go beyond superficial
• understandings of social reality
• b) in order to see deeper meanings of social reality

Social patterns through which society is organized

The social relationship & social and physical characteristics of communities to which individuals belong

Term used interchangeably with social inequality

Horizontal and Vertical

Realization that personal troubles are rooted in public issues

Part of sociology that deals with issues involving large-scale social change & social institutions

Part of sociology that deals with social interaction in small settings

Idea used to explain complex situations with many parts

- (Not been empirically tested)

Process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society

Macro

Largely responsible for the sociological perspective as we now know it

socialization and social integration help establish a strong set of social rules that is needed for a stable society

(Said by Emile Durkheim)

Periods of rapid social change (breakdown of social norms)

INFORMAL rules of conduct that govern the behavior of the members of a society

macro theory

a theory that focusses on the interaction of individuals and on how they interpret this interaction

Ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes

1) Supports the status quo

2) Minimizes the way in which social institutions contribute to social inequality

1) Overlooks important issues

b) minimizes the ways in which social institutions are necessary for society's stability

1) Pays little attention to important macro issues as economic inequality 

2) Ignores the importance of emptions and values such as altruism

• Facts are OBJECTIVE
• Opinions are SUBJECTIVE

Based on personal preference

Not influenced by personal preference

• Observation
• Hypothesis
• Experimentation
• Data analysis
• Conclusion

gaining knowledge of outside world through our senses

(Recording any info using scientific tools & data (any info recorded) during an experiment)

• You can "REJECT" the hypothesis
• You can "NOT REJECT" the hypothesis

Validity

Can cause lengthy delays in the research findings

It is a time-consuming process

Accused of protecting established opinions

May not prevent the publication of poor research

Humans have FREE WILL which makes predicting behavior impossible

Media oversimplify complex topics and distort what the best evidence from systematic research seems to be telling us

Includes teachers, parents, gov officials

Does not always mean they give us a true complete picture of social reality

• Traditional ways of thinking about social reality sometimes turns out to be inaccurate & incomplete
• (The US used to believe women were biologically inferior)

• 1) Choosing research topic
• 2) Conducting a literature review
• 3) Formulating a hypothesis

Focus of sociological research usually a person, organization, or geographical region

Non-random sample in which units in the sample are chosen according to one or more characteristics so that the sample resembles these characteristics of the population

may provide rich, detailed information about the people observed

do not involve random samples of the population, their results can't be generalized to the population