Chapter 1

Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and
Method
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• LO 1.1 Explain how the sociological perspective helps us understand that society shapes our individual lives.
• LO 1.2 State several reasons that a global perspective is important in today’s world.
• LO 1.3 Identify the advantages of sociological thinking for developing public policy, for encouraging personal growth, and for advancing in a career.
• LO 1.4 Link the origins of sociology to historical social changes. • LO 1.5 Summarize sociology’s major theoretical approaches. Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and
Method
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• LO 1.6 Describe sociology’s three research orientations. • LO 1.7 Identify the importance of gender in sociological research. • LO 1.8 Discuss the importance of ethics to sociological research. • LO 1.9 Explain why a researcher might choose each of sociology’s research methods.
• LO 1.10 Recall the ten important steps in carrying out sociological research.

The Power of Society
Do we simply
“pick” our marriage partners?

The Sociological Perspective

Sociologists look for general patterns in the behavior of particular individuals.

Society shapes what people think and do in patterned ways in everyday life.

Marginality, crisis, and rapid change enhance the ability to see sociologically. LO 1.1 Explain how the sociological perspective helps us understand that society shapes our individual lives.

The Sociological Perspective: Seeing
Society in Our Everyday Life
Durkheim
• Suicide study findings and analysis still hold true in current research studies.
• Differences between those who commit suicide and those who do not is social integration. Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life

Sociological imagination (Mills)
• Society, not people, is main cause of poverty and other social problems.
• Sociological imagination turns personal problems into public issues to mitigate change.

Seeing Sociologically: Marginality and Crisis
• Greater marginality is related to better ability to use the sociological perspective. • Crisis or rapid change encourages use of sociological perspective
(Mills).

The Importance of a Global Perspective:
What Is…?
Global
perspective
• Study of the larger world and our society’s place in it

Global perspective importance
• Sociology shows that our place in society profoundly affects our life experiences. LO 1.2 State several reasons that a global perspective is important in today’s world.

The Importance of a Global Perspective:
Understanding Categories
Middleincome
countries
Highincome
countries

Lowincome countries Broad categories of level of economic development

The Importance of a Global Perspective
Societies are increasingly interconnected through technology, economics, and immigration.

Many social problems that we face in the
United States are more serious elsewhere.

Where we live shapes the lives we lead.

Why is it important? Thinking globally is a good way to learn more about ourselves. Applying the Sociological Perspective:
Sociology and Public Policy

LO 1.3 Identify the advantages of sociological thinking for developing public policy, for encouraging personal growth, and for advancing in a career.

Applying the Sociological Perspective:
Sociology and Personal Growth

Careers: The “Sociology Advantage”
A sociology background
• Excellent preparation for working world
• Important preparation careers in teaching and research in sociology and a wide range of other professional positions
• Required preparation for clinical sociologists

In what ways does having “people skills” help police officers perform their jobs?

Social Change and Development of
Sociology

In 18th and
19th
Century
Europe

• Rise of factorybased, industrial economy • Explosive growth of cities
• New ideas about democracy, political rights, and individualism

LO 1.4 Link the origins of sociology to historical social changes.

Science and Sociology
Auguste Comte (1798–1857)
•Was French social thinker who coined the term “sociology” in
1838
•Introduced approach called positivism •Saw sociology as product of three historical stages

Stages
Theological
Metaphysical
Scientific

Sociological Theory: What Is…?

Theory
• Statement of how and why specific facts are related

Theoretical approach • Basic image of society that guides thinking and research LO 1.5 Summarize sociology’s major theoretical approaches.

The Structural-Functional Approach

• Macro-level orientation • Societal parts integrated to promote solidarity and stability

The basics

Key elements • Social structure
• Social function
• Manifest functions • Latent functions

• Comte, Durkheim,
Spencer

Theorists

Social-Conflict Approach: What Is…?

Social-conflict approach Genderconflict theory

Race-conflict theory • Sees society as arena of inequality that generates conflict and change • Focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men • Focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories Social-Conflict Approach
• Factors such as race, sex, class, and age are linked to social inequality. • Dominant group versus disadvantaged group relations vary. The basics

Key elements • Social structure promotes the operation of society as a whole rejected. • Society structured in ways to benefit a few at the expense of the majority.

• Karl Marx and
W.E.B Du Bois

Theorists

Social-Conflict Approach

Feminism and the Gender-Conflict Approach
The basics
•Gender-conflict theory:
Focus on inequality and conflict between women and men •Feminism: Advocacy of social equality for women and men linked to gender-conflict theory Theorists
•Harriet Martineau
•Jane Addams

We can use the sociological perspective to look at sociology itself. Jane Addams was an early sociologist in the United States who founded Hull House, a Chicago settlement house where she spent many hours helping young people.

LO 1.7 Identify the importance of gender in sociological research.

The Race-Conflict Approach

• Focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories
• Suggests racial conflict still issue in the U.S.

The basics

Theorists
• Ida Wells Barnett
• W.E.B. Du Bois

Social-Conflict Theories

Symbolic-Interaction Paradigm
• Focuses on social interactions in specific situations
• Views society as the product of everyday interactions of individuals The basics

Key elements • Society is shared, dynamic constructed reality developed through interaction. • Weber
• Mead

Theorists

Sports: Playing the Theory Game
•

Structural-functional:
Recreation and help social relationship building.

•

Social-conflict: Social inequality exists in sports.

•

Gender-conflict: Gender equality is not evident, especially in earnings and prestige. •

Race-conflict: Racial conflict still exists.

•

Symbolic-interaction:
Understanding varies by each player. “Stacking” in Professional Baseball:
Does race play a part in professional sports? Applying Theory

Three Ways to do Sociology

All sociologists want to learn about the social world.

Three ways to do sociological research
• Positivist sociology
• Interpretive sociology
• Critical sociology

LO 1.6 Describe sociology’s three research orientations.

Positivist Sociology: What Is…?
Positivist
sociology

Empirical evidence • Study of society based on scientific observation of social behavior • Information we can verify with our senses

Science
• Logical system that develops knowledge from direct, systematic observation

Concepts and Variables: What Is…?

Concept
• Mental construct; represents some part of the world in a simplified form Variable
• Concept that changes from case to case

Measurement: What Is…?

Measurement

Variable operationalization • Procedure for determining the value of a variable in a specific case

• Specifying exactly what is to be measured before assigning variable value Statistics: What Is…?

Descriptive statistics • State what is
“average” for a large population

Most commonly used descriptive statistics • Mean
• Median
• Mode

Reliability and Validity: What Is…?
Reliability
• Consistency in measurement • Process must yield the same results when repeated Validity
• Measuring exactly what you intend to measure Correlation and Cause

Correlation

Cause and effect

• Relationship in which two (or more) variables change together

• Relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another The Ideal of Objectivity
• Objectivity
– Personal neutrality

• Value-relevant research – Topics the researcher cares about

• Value-free research
– Dedication to finding truth as it is, rather than as we think it should be

Investigators should try to be objective in work.

Interpretive Sociology: What Is…?

Interpretive sociology
• Study of society that focuses on discovering the meanings people attach to their social world

Scientific Versus Interpretive Sociology
• Scientific sociology focuses on action.

• Interpretive sociology focuses on meaning.

• Scientific sociology sees an objective reality. • Interpretive sociology sees reality.

• Scientific sociology favors quantitative data. • Interpretive sociology favors qualitative data. Weber’s Concept of Verstehen

Interpretive sociologist’s role
German word for
“understanding”

• Observe what people do
• Share in their world of meaning • Appreciate why they act as they do

Critical Sociology: What Is…?
Critical sociology
• Focuses on the need for social change
• Asks moral and political questions
• Rejects Weber’s goal of value-free sociology
• Emphasizes sociologists social activism in pursuit of greater social equality

Sociology as Politics

Scientific sociologists Critical sociologists • Object to taking sides in this way
• Claims critical sociology

• All research is political in that it either calls for change or does not

Summing Up

Research Orientation and Theory
• Gender can affect sociological research in five ways – Androcentricity, over-generalizing, gender blindness, double standards, and interference
LO 1.7 Identify the importance of gender in sociological research.

If you ask only male subjects about their attitudes or actions, you may be able to support conclusions about “men” but not more generally about
“people.”

Research Ethics

Sociologists must be aware that research can harm as well as help subjects and communities. LO 1.8 Discuss the importance of ethics to sociological research.

American
Sociological
Association
• Established formal guidelines for conducting research

Research Methods: What Is…?

Research methods
• Systematic plan for doing research

Four methods of sociological investigation
• Experiments
• Surveys
• Participant observation
• Existing sources

LO 1.9 Explain why a researcher might choose each of sociology’s research methods.

Research Methods: What Is…?

Experiment

Hypothesis

• Research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions

• Statement of a possible relationship between two (or more) variables

Steps of the Experiment

State which variable is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable Measure the initial value of the dependent variable

Measure the dependent variable again to see what change, if any, took place. If the expected change took place, the experiment supports the hypothesis; if not, the hypothesis must be modified. Expose the dependent variable to the independent variable (the “cause” or “treatment”)

Asking Questions: Survey Research
• Survey
– Subjects respond to series of statements or question on questionnaire or interview

• Population
– Any set of people or events from which the sample is selected and to which the study results will generalize.

• Sample
– Group of people or events drawn from a population.

Focus groups are a type of survey in which a small number of people representing a target population are asked for their opinions about some issue or product.

In the Field: Participant Observation
• Participant observation
– Systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities. • Cultural anthropologists
– Using “fieldwork” to study societies
– Making most participant observation exploratory and descriptive

Participant observation is a method of sociological research that allows a researcher to investigate people as they go about their everyday lives in some “natural” setting.

Using Available Data: Existing Sources

Sociologists make use of existing sources of data. Weakness

• U.S. Census Bureau
• United Nations
• World Bank

• Data form incompatibility • Data accuracy

Putting It All Together: Ten Steps in
Sociological Research
What is your topic?
What have others already learned?
What, exactly, are your questions?
What will you need to carry out research?
Might the research cause harm?
LO 1.10 Recall the ten important steps in carrying out sociological research.

Putting It All Together: Ten Steps in
Sociological Research
What method will you use?
How will you record the data?
What do the data tell you?
What are your conclusions?
How can you share what you have learned?