Sociological Imagination Essay
Chapter 1
The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction
(August 19-25)
Sociology is the study of human society, and there is the sociology of sports, of religion, of music, of medicine, even a sociology of sociologists.
“Thinking like a sociologist” means applying analytical tools to something you have always done without much conscious thought—like opening this book or taking this class. It requires you to reconsider your assumptions about society and question what you have taken for granted in order to better understand the world around you. In other words, thinking like a sociologist means making the familiar strange.
The Sociological Imagination
Sociological imagination is the ability to see the connections between our …show more content…
personal experience and the larger forces of history.
“The first fruit of this imagination— and the first lesson of the social science that embodies it—is the idea that the individual can understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period, that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances.
“The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise. To recognize this task and this promise is the mark of the classic social analyst.”
What is a Social Institution?
Social institution a complex group of interdependent positions that, together, perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time; also defi ned in a narrow sense as any institution in a society that works to shape the behavior of the groups or people within it.
The Sociology of Sociology
Auguste Comte
Harriet Martineau
Classical Sociological Theory
Karl Marx
Max Weber
Verstehen German: understanding. The concept of Verstehen forms the object of inquiry for interpretive sociology—to study how social actors understand their actions and the social world through experience.
Émile Durkheim
Anomie a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be predictable; too little social regulation; normlessness.
Positivist sociology a strain within sociology that believes the social world can be described and predicted by certain describable relationships (akin to a social physics).
Georg Simmel
American Sociology
W. E. B. Dubois
Double consciousness a concept conceived by W. E. B. DuBois to describe the two behavioral scripts, one for moving through the world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, which are constantly maintained by African Americans.
The double consciousness is a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity”
Jane Addams
Modern Sociological Theories
Functionalism the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running.
Functionalists view social inequality as a “device by which societies ensure that the most important positions are conscientiously fi lled by the most qualifi ed persons”
Organicism theory is the notion that society is like a living organism, each part of which serves an important role in keeping society together. The state or government was seen to be the brain; industry was the muscular system; media and mass communications were the nervous system; and so on.
Conflict theory the idea that confl ict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society in general.
Feminist theorists emphasize equality between men and women and want to see women’s lives and experiences represented in sociological studies.
Early feminist theory focused on defining concepts such as sex and gender, and on challenging conventional wisdom by questioning the meanings usually assigned to these concepts.
In addition to defi ning sex and gender, much feminist research focuses on inequalities based on gender categories. Feminist theorists have studied women’s experiences at home and in the workplace. They have also researched gender inequality in social institutions such as schools, the family, and the government. In each case, feminist sociologists remain interested in how power relationships are defi ned, shaped, and reproduced on the basis of gender differences.
Symbolic interactionism a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people’s actions.
Symbolic interactionism eschewed big theories of society (macrosociology) and instead focused on how face-to-face interactions create the social world (microsociology)
Postmodernism a condition characterized by a questioning of the notion of progress and history, the replacement of narrative within pastiche, and multiple, perhaps even confl icting, identities resulting from disjointed affiliations.
Social construction an entity that exists because people behave as if it exists and whose existence is perpetuated as people and social institutions act in accordance with the widely agreed-upon formal rules or informal norms of behavior associated with that entity.
Midrange theory a theory that attempts to predict how certain social institutions tend to function
The key to mid range theory is that it generates falsifi able hypotheses—predictions that can be tested by analyzing the real world.
Sociology and Its Cousins
History
Sociology, by contrast, is generally not concerned with the uniqueness of phenomena but rather with commonalities that can be abstracted across cases. This is called a nomothetic approach (from the Greek root meaning “custom”—norm or pattern).
Anthropology
The field of anthropology is split between physical anthropologists, who resemble biologists more than sociologists, and cultural anthropologists, who study human relations similarly to the way sociologists do. Traditionally, the distinction was that sociologists studied “us” (Western society and culture), whereas anthropologists studied “them” (other societies or cultures).
What then distinguishes sociology from cultural anthropology? Nothing, some would argue. However, although certain aspects of sociology are almost indistinguishable from those of cultural anthropology, sociology as a whole has a wider array of methods to answer questions, such as experimentation and statistical data analysis. Sociology also tends more toward comparative case study, whereas anthropology is more like history in its focus on particular circumstances.
Sociology focuses on social structures and group interactions, while psychology focuses on the urges, instincts, and mind of the individual.
Microsociology and Macrosociology
Microsociology seeks to understand local interactional contexts; its methods of choice are ethnographic, generally including participant observation and in-depth interviews.
Macrosociology generally concerned with social dynamics at a higher level of analysis—that is, across the breadth of a society.
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Quiz Questions
Postmodernists argue that there is no single version of history that is correct. Different things have different meanings for individuals and groups within society (p. 31).
Feminist research focuses on inequalities based on gender categories. Feminist theorists have explored women's experiences at home and in the workplace as well as gender inequalities in social institutions (p. 30).
Auguste Comte called for the development of "social physics." He believed we could understand societies through equations (p. 16).
Using your sociological imagination allows you to recognize how the social world works and why. It also allows you to see connections between your personal life and larger forces of history (p. 4).
Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and other sociologists in the Chicago School explored how the social environment shapes the individual (p. 25).
W.E.B. DuBois theorized that the newfound freedom of the slaves resulted in the breakdown of norms. He argued that this anomie was a factor in the high crime rates among African Americans in the South (p. 26)
Recall that W.E.B. Du Bois's concept of double consciousness involves taking the external opinions of an often racially prejudiced onlooker into consideration (p. 26).
Psychologists often address many of the same questions as sociologists. Generally, though, psychologists focus on the individual while sociologists examine group-level dynamics and social structures (p. 36).
Karl Marx's theory that social change has been sparked by class conflict is called historical materialism (p. 20).
Lines between academic disciplines are often blurred. However, sociology generally focuses on making comparisons across cases (p. 32)
Sociology is distinct from other academic disciplines in its attempt to detect patterns in how different societies respond to similar phenomena.
Peoples' social identity involves how they define themselves in relation to groups they associate with or disassociate themselves from. Social identity can also be thought of as a grand narrative comprised of many individual stories (p. 13).
Interpretive sociologists focus on meaning and understand experiences. Their research is premised on the importance of the social situation (p. 38).
The focus on what social phenomena means to individuals is interpretive sociology.
A social institution is a complex group of interdependent positions that perform a role. It is not monolithic; we construct, reinforce, and change our social institutions every day through the meanings we ascribe to them and through our actions (p. 13).
As sociologists think critically about the world around them, they question things they have always done without thinking (p. 4).
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Chapter 2
Methods
As social scientists, we have a set of standard approaches that we follow in investigating our questions. We call these rules research methods. They’re the tools we use to describe, explore, and explain various social phenomena in an ethical fashion.
Research methods are approaches that social scientists use for investigating the answers to questions.
Quantitative methods are methods that seek to obtain information about the social world that is already in or can be converted to numeric form.
This methodology then uses statistical analysis to describe the social world that those data represent. Some of this analysis attempts to mimic the scientifi c method of using treatment and control (or placebo) groups to determine how changes in one factor affect another social outcome, while factoring out every other simultaneous event.
Qualitative methods are methods that attempt to collect information about the social world that cannot be readily converted to numeric form.
The information gathered with this approach is often used to document the meanings that actions engender in social participants or to describe the mecha- nisms by which social processes occur. Qualitative data are collected in a host of ways, from spending time with people and recording what they say and do (participant observation) to interviewing them in an open-ended manner to reviewing archives.
Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches provide ways to establish a causal relationship between social elements. Researchers using quan- titative approaches, by eliminating all other possibilities through their study’s design, hope to state with some certainty that one condition causes another. Qualitative methodology describes social processes in such detail as to rule out competing possibilities.
Research 101
The general goal of sociology is to allow us to see how our individual lives are intimately related to (and, in turn, affect) the social forces that exist beyond us.
Deductive approach is a research approach that starts with a theory, forms a hypothesis, makes empirical observations, and then analyzes the data to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory.
Inductive approach is a research approach that starts with empirical observations and then works to form a theory.
Causality versus Correlation
Correlation or association is the simultaneous variation in two variables.
Causality is the notion that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another.
To establish causality, three factors are needed: correlation, time order, and ruling out alternative explanations.
The Problem of Reverse Causality
Reverse causality is a situation in which the researcher believes that A results in a change in B, but B, in fact, is causing A.
Variables
Dependent variable is the outcome that the researcher is trying to explain.
Independent variable is a measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the dependent variable.
Because it’s possible to have more than one independent variable, we will call the most important one the key independent variable.
The difference between the independent and the dependent is that change in your dependent variable depends on change in your independent variable. Knowing which variable is which is important for complying with mandates for establishing causality.
Hypothesis is a proposed relationship between two variables.
The direction of the relationship refers to whether your variables move in the same direction (positive) or in opposite directions (negative).
Hypothesis Testing
Operationalization is the process of assigning a precise method for measuring a term being examined for use in a particular study.
Validity, Reliability, and Generalizability
Validity is the extent to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure.
Reliability is the likelihood of obtaining consistent results using the same measure.
Generalizability is the extent to which we can claim our findings inform us about a group larger than the one we studied.
Role of the Researcher
Placebo is a simulated treatment given to a control group in an experimental study to factor out the effect of merely being in an experiment from the effect of the actual treatment under consideration.
Double-blind study is an experimental study where neither the subjects nor the researchers know who is in the treatment group and who is in the control (placebo) group.
“White coat” effects—that is, the effects that researchers have on the very processes and relationships they are studying by virtue of being there.
Reflexivity is analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and effect on, our research.
Power: In the Eyes of the Researcher, We’re Not All Equal
Feminist methodology is a set of systems or methods that treat women's experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources, that promote social science for women (think public sociology, but for a specific half of the public), and that take into account the researcher as much as the overt subject matter.
What do feminist research methods look like? First, it’s important to understand that there is no one feminist research method, just as there is no single school of feminism. Feminist researchers use the same techniques for gathering data as other sociologists, but they employ those techniques in ways that differ significantly from traditional methods.
The feminist part doesn’t lie in the method per se, or necessarily in having women as subjects. Rather, Harding proposes three ways to make research distinctly feminist. First, treat women’s experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources. Second, engage in social science that may bring about policy changes to help improve women’s lives. Third, take into account the researcher as much as the overt subject matter.
The point of adopting feminist methods isn’t to exclude men or male perspectives: It’s not instead of; it’s in addition to. It means taking all subjects seriously rather than privileging one type of data, experience, or worldview over another.
Creating and Testing Theory
Good research is usually guided by theory, but there are different types of theories.
Because positivists are concerned with the factors that infl uence social life, they tend to rely more heavily on quantitative measures. If, however, you’re more concerned with the meanings actors attach to their behavior, as interpretive sociologists are, then you’ll likely be drawn to more qualitative measures.
Ultimately, the distinction between quantitative and qualitative methods is a false dichotomy: The most important thing is to determine what you want to learn and then contemplate the best possible way to collect the empirical data that would answer your question—that is, deploy whatever tool or set of tools is called for by the present research problem.
Population is an entire group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples may be drawn.
Sample is the subset of the population from which you are actually collecting data.
Case study is an intensive investigation of one particular unit of analysis in order to describe it or uncover its mechanisms.
Data Collection
Social science research is largely about collecting empirical evi- dence to generate or test empirical claims.
Participate Observation
Participant observation is a qualitative research method that seeks to uncover the meanings people give their behavior by observing social actions in practice.
What this usually entails is “hanging out” and documenting people’s practices in a given society. Some participant observation focuses more heavily on the participating, and some concentrates on the observing, depending on the interests of the researcher and the appropriateness of actually “participating” in the given setting.
Interviews
Interviews are another form of gathering qualitative data.
Other researchers may rely on semi structured or structured interviews—that is, interviews in which the researchers have more than just a set of topics to cover in no preset order; rather, the researchers develop a specifi c set of questions to address with all respondents in a relatively fi xed sequence. If an interview becomes very structured, it falls into the next category: survey research.
Survey Research
Survey is an ordered series of questions intended to elicit information from respondents.
Surveys may be done anonymously and distributed widely, so you reach a much larger sample than if you relied solely on interviews.
Surveys can also be done in person or over the phone. This method of survey design differs from interviews in that a set questionnaire exists. Surveys are generally converted into quantitative data for statistical analysis—everything from simple estimates (How many gay policemen are there in America?) to comparisons of averages across groups (What proportion of gay policemen support abortion rights, and what proportion of retired female plumbers do?) to complex techniques such as multiple regression, where one measured factor (such as education level) is held constant, or statistically removed from the picture, to pin down the effect of another factor (such as total family income) on, say, reported levels of happiness.
Historical Methods
Historical methods is the research that collects data from written reports, newspaper articles, journals, transcripts, television programs, diaries, artwork, and other artifacts that date to a prior time period under study.
Comparative Research
Sometimes sociologists compare two or more historical societies; we call this “comparative historical” research.
Comparative research is a methodology by which two or more entities (such as countries), which are similar in many dimensions but differ on one in question, are compared to learn about the dimension that differs between them.
The general approach to comparative research is to find cases that match on many potentially relevant dimensions but vary on just one, allowing researchers to observe the effect of that particular dimension. Although all social science research makes inferences based implicit or explicit comparison, comparative research usually refers to cross national studies.
Experimentation
Experimental methods are methods that seek to alter the social landscape in a very specific way for a given sample of individuals and then track what results that change yields; often involve comparisons to a control group that did not experience such an intervention.
Content Analysis
Content analysis is a systematic analysis of the content rather than the structure of a communication, such as a written work, speech, or film.
Manifest content refers to what we can observe.
Latent content refers to what is implied but not stated outright.
Ethics of Social Research
A few golden rules exist in research. The first is “Do no harm.” We tell research subjects that by participating in the study, they will encounter no more harm than they are likely to experience in everyday life. The second rule is informed consent. Subjects have the right to know they are participating in a study and what the study will consist of. The third rule is voluntary participation, which usually goes hand in hand with informed consent. People have the right to decided if they want to participate in your study. They can also stop participating at any point with no penalty.
Public sociology is the practice of sociological research, teaching, and service that seeks to engage a wide audience for a normative, productive end.
Conclusion
Sociology is a field that deploys a variety of methodologies from survey research to participant observation to historical approaches. Sociology is a science in which you can’t complete controlled experiments--the treatment and control group stable of most bench science
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Quiz Questions
Sandra Harding proposes three ways to conduct feminist research. First, treat women's experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources. Second, engage in social science that may bring about policy changes to help improve women's lives. Third, take the role of the researcher into account. Overall, there is no single feminist research method (p. 55).
A researcher observes that most women entering a café choose to sit near other occupied tables, whereas most men choose a table that is farther away from other customers. The researcher then theorizes that women like to feel part of a larger group of people, whereas men are more comfortable being alone. This is an example of which kind of research approach? inductive reasoning (An inductive approach starts with empirical observations and then moves toward formulation of a theory (p. 45))
In social research, the term "protected populations" refers to segments of the population that a researcher may need special approval to study. (Protected populations are segments of the population that a researcher may need special approval to study, often because they are particularly vulnerable. This includes children and also incarcerated populations, people with disabilities, and others (p. 68).)
Which of the following is an example of a panel survey? a study of 1,000 high school seniors who are then contacted every 2 years for a 10-year period to participate in a follow-up survey (A panel survey is a survey that tracks the same respondents, households, or other social units over time. It is also known as a longitudinal study (p. 63).)
In his experiment, Duncan Watts created a website where respondents could rate songs. His sample size was 14,341 respondents. If Watts selected a new sample of 14,341 different respondents and their average ratings of each song were significantly different than the first sample, what problem would Watts's research suffer from? low reliability (Reliability refers to how likely you are to obtain the same result using the same measure if you conduct the study again (p. 52).)
What three factors are needed to establish causation? correlation, time order, and ruling out alternative explanations (Causality is the notion that a change in one factor results in the change of another factor. To establish causality, three factors are needed: correlation, time order, and ruling out alternative explanations (p. 48).)
Which of the following data collection methods are commonly used in social research? historical methods, participant observation, interviews (There are many ways that sociologists collect data. These include, but are not limited to, surveys, interviews, participant observation, historical methods, experiments, content analysis, and comparative research. Also note that while sociologists do conduct experiments, they are rarely (if ever) conducted in labs (p. 58))
Amber is conducting research on the negative portrayal of Hispanics in the media. She searches through newspapers to document instances of discriminatory language toward Hispanics. What type of research is Amber conducting? content analysis (Content analysis examines the content rather than the structure of communication (p. 67).)
Moderating variables affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variables (p. 51).
What is the meaning of the term reflexivity with regard to social research? being aware of the effects that researchers have on the processes and relationships they are studying (Reflexive researchers analyze and critically consider their role in, and their effect on, their own research (p. 52).)
A thermometer that consistently gives readings that are five degrees cooler than the actual temperature is reliable but not valid. (Reliability is consistency in measurement. A thermometer can be reliable but not valid. In other words, it can provide consistent temperatures, though they may be consistently incorrect (p. 51).)
Hypothesis: Children in families that eat dinner together at least four times per week experience fewer behavior problems in school. In this hypothesis, what is the dependent variable? how often children misbehave in school (A dependent variable is the outcome that a researcher is trying to explain (p. 50).)
In social research, a hypothesis is defined as a proposed relationship between two variables. (Hypotheses propose relationships between two variables. They usually include the direction of the relationship; in other words, they usually include whether the variables move in the same direction (positive) or in opposite directions (negative) (p. 50).)
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Module 1: Sociological Perspectives
I. The Basics: Sociological Perspective
To think like a sociologist requires a new way of thinking. We see ourselves as masters of our own fate, making our decisions alone regarding how to act and what to think, but sociology shows us that we are heavily influenced by the social pressures of the groups to which we belong.
Sociological insight, then, seeks to uncover the social factors that affect behavior. Sociologists work to obtain data to answer and clarify questions about social life and test assumptions that may sometimes seem to be common sense, but that may turn out to be something quite different.
The benefits of using the sociological perspective are many. The sociological perspective:
1. gives us a strategy that can help us to think critically about the familiar world around us and gain new understandings of that world;
2. helps reveal how our lives are both enhanced and constrained by the social world around us;
3.
gives us an objective view of the parts we play in the world and empowers us to see our personal actions in a larger context; and
4. helps us to see how some individuals and groups are disadvantaged through no fault of their own and to appreciate the challenges we face living in a world characterized by inequality, struggles for power, and social change.
II. Thinking Sociologically
The Construction of Social Knowledge
Social facts are those realities or institutionalized patterns (e.g., taxes, posted speed limits, registration for draft) that constrain both personal and group behavior.
Sociology’s Three Major Theoretical Perspectives
Macro-level analyses are research focused on large-scale patterns of society. Micro-level analyses focus on social interaction—what people think and do, what social influences are present, and how perceptions of those social influences shape behavior.
Manifest functions are intended, recognized consequences of a social pattern.
Social structure refers to the hierarchically organized set of social relationships.
Dysfunction refers to the consequences that lead to breakdown of the social order.
Table 1.1
Comparison of Sociology's Three
Major Theoretical
Perspectives
Research: Why and How we do it
Quantitative methods are research tools such as surveys (developed to answer specific research questions) and secondary data analysis (research using existing data sets gathered for general purposes). Quantitative methods attempt to amass information from large numbers of people. Of course, this method requires that people answer prepared (close-ended) questions. Being forced to answer such questions in limited ways, however, does not allow respondents to describe how they see their world.
Qualitative methods such as interviews (asking people open-ended questions), content analysis (research to uncover the hidden meanings in, for example, media coverage), or participant observation (physical observation of the social interaction patterns of groups) take a different approach: they assume that the best way to understand social life is to see the world through the individual's eyes. Researchers may ask subjects why they act in certain ways or what rules and assumptions govern their behavior. Questions in qualitative research instruments are more open-ended. Limitations of this method are (1) the greater potential for bias (because researchers themselves can be influenced by their subjects) and (2) the difficulty in generalizing findings to larger groups, given the small sample size in studies using this me.
Norms and sanctions. Norms are spoken and unspoken rules for behavior and sanctions include the positive or negative consequences for this behavior. Norms provide guidance for action and thus help coordinate the actions of large groups of people. Sanctions provide feedback to the individual who acts within a system: the person who acts in desirable ways gets approval, pats on the back, or awards, for example, and the person who acts in undesirable ways gets disapproval, threats of punishment, or, at worst, expulsion from the group.
Values. Values are conceptions of what is considered good, proper, or desirable in a society. Values influence people's behavior because they provide a standard on which we judge people's actions. The content of values varies from culture to culture and even within the larger culture, in the case of subcultures.
Material objects. Material objects are physical artifacts people use in a particular society. Cultures may differ on clothing, eating utensils, or art, for example. Important differences exist in cultures due to the presence or absence of computers and technology.
How Culture Shapes Social Behavior
Values, beliefs, and norms shape human behavior by providing expectations for behavior, ways to help us decide how to behave in certain circumstances, and ideas of what thoughts and behaviors are valued or not valued. In this way, culture shapes our perceptions of how we should behave, what we should desire, and how we should think.
The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction
(August 19-25)
Sociology is the study of human society, and there is the sociology of sports, of religion, of music, of medicine, even a sociology of sociologists.
“Thinking like a sociologist” means applying analytical tools to something you have always done without much conscious thought—like opening this book or taking this class. It requires you to reconsider your assumptions about society and question what you have taken for granted in order to better understand the world around you. In other words, thinking like a sociologist means making the familiar strange.
The Sociological Imagination
Sociological imagination is the ability to see the connections between our …show more content…
personal experience and the larger forces of history.
“The first fruit of this imagination— and the first lesson of the social science that embodies it—is the idea that the individual can understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period, that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances.
“The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise. To recognize this task and this promise is the mark of the classic social analyst.”
What is a Social Institution?
Social institution a complex group of interdependent positions that, together, perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time; also defi ned in a narrow sense as any institution in a society that works to shape the behavior of the groups or people within it.
The Sociology of Sociology
Auguste Comte
Harriet Martineau
Classical Sociological Theory
Karl Marx
Max Weber
Verstehen German: understanding. The concept of Verstehen forms the object of inquiry for interpretive sociology—to study how social actors understand their actions and the social world through experience.
Émile Durkheim
Anomie a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be predictable; too little social regulation; normlessness.
Positivist sociology a strain within sociology that believes the social world can be described and predicted by certain describable relationships (akin to a social physics).
Georg Simmel
American Sociology
W. E. B. Dubois
Double consciousness a concept conceived by W. E. B. DuBois to describe the two behavioral scripts, one for moving through the world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, which are constantly maintained by African Americans.
The double consciousness is a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity”
Jane Addams
Modern Sociological Theories
Functionalism the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running.
Functionalists view social inequality as a “device by which societies ensure that the most important positions are conscientiously fi lled by the most qualifi ed persons”
Organicism theory is the notion that society is like a living organism, each part of which serves an important role in keeping society together. The state or government was seen to be the brain; industry was the muscular system; media and mass communications were the nervous system; and so on.
Conflict theory the idea that confl ict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society in general.
Feminist theorists emphasize equality between men and women and want to see women’s lives and experiences represented in sociological studies.
Early feminist theory focused on defining concepts such as sex and gender, and on challenging conventional wisdom by questioning the meanings usually assigned to these concepts.
In addition to defi ning sex and gender, much feminist research focuses on inequalities based on gender categories. Feminist theorists have studied women’s experiences at home and in the workplace. They have also researched gender inequality in social institutions such as schools, the family, and the government. In each case, feminist sociologists remain interested in how power relationships are defi ned, shaped, and reproduced on the basis of gender differences.
Symbolic interactionism a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people’s actions.
Symbolic interactionism eschewed big theories of society (macrosociology) and instead focused on how face-to-face interactions create the social world (microsociology)
Postmodernism a condition characterized by a questioning of the notion of progress and history, the replacement of narrative within pastiche, and multiple, perhaps even confl icting, identities resulting from disjointed affiliations.
Social construction an entity that exists because people behave as if it exists and whose existence is perpetuated as people and social institutions act in accordance with the widely agreed-upon formal rules or informal norms of behavior associated with that entity.
Midrange theory a theory that attempts to predict how certain social institutions tend to function
The key to mid range theory is that it generates falsifi able hypotheses—predictions that can be tested by analyzing the real world.
Sociology and Its Cousins
History
Sociology, by contrast, is generally not concerned with the uniqueness of phenomena but rather with commonalities that can be abstracted across cases. This is called a nomothetic approach (from the Greek root meaning “custom”—norm or pattern).
Anthropology
The field of anthropology is split between physical anthropologists, who resemble biologists more than sociologists, and cultural anthropologists, who study human relations similarly to the way sociologists do. Traditionally, the distinction was that sociologists studied “us” (Western society and culture), whereas anthropologists studied “them” (other societies or cultures).
What then distinguishes sociology from cultural anthropology? Nothing, some would argue. However, although certain aspects of sociology are almost indistinguishable from those of cultural anthropology, sociology as a whole has a wider array of methods to answer questions, such as experimentation and statistical data analysis. Sociology also tends more toward comparative case study, whereas anthropology is more like history in its focus on particular circumstances.
Sociology focuses on social structures and group interactions, while psychology focuses on the urges, instincts, and mind of the individual.
Microsociology and Macrosociology
Microsociology seeks to understand local interactional contexts; its methods of choice are ethnographic, generally including participant observation and in-depth interviews.
Macrosociology generally concerned with social dynamics at a higher level of analysis—that is, across the breadth of a society.
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Quiz Questions
Postmodernists argue that there is no single version of history that is correct. Different things have different meanings for individuals and groups within society (p. 31).
Feminist research focuses on inequalities based on gender categories. Feminist theorists have explored women's experiences at home and in the workplace as well as gender inequalities in social institutions (p. 30).
Auguste Comte called for the development of "social physics." He believed we could understand societies through equations (p. 16).
Using your sociological imagination allows you to recognize how the social world works and why. It also allows you to see connections between your personal life and larger forces of history (p. 4).
Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and other sociologists in the Chicago School explored how the social environment shapes the individual (p. 25).
W.E.B. DuBois theorized that the newfound freedom of the slaves resulted in the breakdown of norms. He argued that this anomie was a factor in the high crime rates among African Americans in the South (p. 26)
Recall that W.E.B. Du Bois's concept of double consciousness involves taking the external opinions of an often racially prejudiced onlooker into consideration (p. 26).
Psychologists often address many of the same questions as sociologists. Generally, though, psychologists focus on the individual while sociologists examine group-level dynamics and social structures (p. 36).
Karl Marx's theory that social change has been sparked by class conflict is called historical materialism (p. 20).
Lines between academic disciplines are often blurred. However, sociology generally focuses on making comparisons across cases (p. 32)
Sociology is distinct from other academic disciplines in its attempt to detect patterns in how different societies respond to similar phenomena.
Peoples' social identity involves how they define themselves in relation to groups they associate with or disassociate themselves from. Social identity can also be thought of as a grand narrative comprised of many individual stories (p. 13).
Interpretive sociologists focus on meaning and understand experiences. Their research is premised on the importance of the social situation (p. 38).
The focus on what social phenomena means to individuals is interpretive sociology.
A social institution is a complex group of interdependent positions that perform a role. It is not monolithic; we construct, reinforce, and change our social institutions every day through the meanings we ascribe to them and through our actions (p. 13).
As sociologists think critically about the world around them, they question things they have always done without thinking (p. 4).
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Chapter 2
Methods
As social scientists, we have a set of standard approaches that we follow in investigating our questions. We call these rules research methods. They’re the tools we use to describe, explore, and explain various social phenomena in an ethical fashion.
Research methods are approaches that social scientists use for investigating the answers to questions.
Quantitative methods are methods that seek to obtain information about the social world that is already in or can be converted to numeric form.
This methodology then uses statistical analysis to describe the social world that those data represent. Some of this analysis attempts to mimic the scientifi c method of using treatment and control (or placebo) groups to determine how changes in one factor affect another social outcome, while factoring out every other simultaneous event.
Qualitative methods are methods that attempt to collect information about the social world that cannot be readily converted to numeric form.
The information gathered with this approach is often used to document the meanings that actions engender in social participants or to describe the mecha- nisms by which social processes occur. Qualitative data are collected in a host of ways, from spending time with people and recording what they say and do (participant observation) to interviewing them in an open-ended manner to reviewing archives.
Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches provide ways to establish a causal relationship between social elements. Researchers using quan- titative approaches, by eliminating all other possibilities through their study’s design, hope to state with some certainty that one condition causes another. Qualitative methodology describes social processes in such detail as to rule out competing possibilities.
Research 101
The general goal of sociology is to allow us to see how our individual lives are intimately related to (and, in turn, affect) the social forces that exist beyond us.
Deductive approach is a research approach that starts with a theory, forms a hypothesis, makes empirical observations, and then analyzes the data to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory.
Inductive approach is a research approach that starts with empirical observations and then works to form a theory.
Causality versus Correlation
Correlation or association is the simultaneous variation in two variables.
Causality is the notion that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another.
To establish causality, three factors are needed: correlation, time order, and ruling out alternative explanations.
The Problem of Reverse Causality
Reverse causality is a situation in which the researcher believes that A results in a change in B, but B, in fact, is causing A.
Variables
Dependent variable is the outcome that the researcher is trying to explain.
Independent variable is a measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the dependent variable.
Because it’s possible to have more than one independent variable, we will call the most important one the key independent variable.
The difference between the independent and the dependent is that change in your dependent variable depends on change in your independent variable. Knowing which variable is which is important for complying with mandates for establishing causality.
Hypothesis is a proposed relationship between two variables.
The direction of the relationship refers to whether your variables move in the same direction (positive) or in opposite directions (negative).
Hypothesis Testing
Operationalization is the process of assigning a precise method for measuring a term being examined for use in a particular study.
Validity, Reliability, and Generalizability
Validity is the extent to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure.
Reliability is the likelihood of obtaining consistent results using the same measure.
Generalizability is the extent to which we can claim our findings inform us about a group larger than the one we studied.
Role of the Researcher
Placebo is a simulated treatment given to a control group in an experimental study to factor out the effect of merely being in an experiment from the effect of the actual treatment under consideration.
Double-blind study is an experimental study where neither the subjects nor the researchers know who is in the treatment group and who is in the control (placebo) group.
“White coat” effects—that is, the effects that researchers have on the very processes and relationships they are studying by virtue of being there.
Reflexivity is analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and effect on, our research.
Power: In the Eyes of the Researcher, We’re Not All Equal
Feminist methodology is a set of systems or methods that treat women's experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources, that promote social science for women (think public sociology, but for a specific half of the public), and that take into account the researcher as much as the overt subject matter.
What do feminist research methods look like? First, it’s important to understand that there is no one feminist research method, just as there is no single school of feminism. Feminist researchers use the same techniques for gathering data as other sociologists, but they employ those techniques in ways that differ significantly from traditional methods.
The feminist part doesn’t lie in the method per se, or necessarily in having women as subjects. Rather, Harding proposes three ways to make research distinctly feminist. First, treat women’s experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources. Second, engage in social science that may bring about policy changes to help improve women’s lives. Third, take into account the researcher as much as the overt subject matter.
The point of adopting feminist methods isn’t to exclude men or male perspectives: It’s not instead of; it’s in addition to. It means taking all subjects seriously rather than privileging one type of data, experience, or worldview over another.
Creating and Testing Theory
Good research is usually guided by theory, but there are different types of theories.
Because positivists are concerned with the factors that infl uence social life, they tend to rely more heavily on quantitative measures. If, however, you’re more concerned with the meanings actors attach to their behavior, as interpretive sociologists are, then you’ll likely be drawn to more qualitative measures.
Ultimately, the distinction between quantitative and qualitative methods is a false dichotomy: The most important thing is to determine what you want to learn and then contemplate the best possible way to collect the empirical data that would answer your question—that is, deploy whatever tool or set of tools is called for by the present research problem.
Population is an entire group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples may be drawn.
Sample is the subset of the population from which you are actually collecting data.
Case study is an intensive investigation of one particular unit of analysis in order to describe it or uncover its mechanisms.
Data Collection
Social science research is largely about collecting empirical evi- dence to generate or test empirical claims.
Participate Observation
Participant observation is a qualitative research method that seeks to uncover the meanings people give their behavior by observing social actions in practice.
What this usually entails is “hanging out” and documenting people’s practices in a given society. Some participant observation focuses more heavily on the participating, and some concentrates on the observing, depending on the interests of the researcher and the appropriateness of actually “participating” in the given setting.
Interviews
Interviews are another form of gathering qualitative data.
Other researchers may rely on semi structured or structured interviews—that is, interviews in which the researchers have more than just a set of topics to cover in no preset order; rather, the researchers develop a specifi c set of questions to address with all respondents in a relatively fi xed sequence. If an interview becomes very structured, it falls into the next category: survey research.
Survey Research
Survey is an ordered series of questions intended to elicit information from respondents.
Surveys may be done anonymously and distributed widely, so you reach a much larger sample than if you relied solely on interviews.
Surveys can also be done in person or over the phone. This method of survey design differs from interviews in that a set questionnaire exists. Surveys are generally converted into quantitative data for statistical analysis—everything from simple estimates (How many gay policemen are there in America?) to comparisons of averages across groups (What proportion of gay policemen support abortion rights, and what proportion of retired female plumbers do?) to complex techniques such as multiple regression, where one measured factor (such as education level) is held constant, or statistically removed from the picture, to pin down the effect of another factor (such as total family income) on, say, reported levels of happiness.
Historical Methods
Historical methods is the research that collects data from written reports, newspaper articles, journals, transcripts, television programs, diaries, artwork, and other artifacts that date to a prior time period under study.
Comparative Research
Sometimes sociologists compare two or more historical societies; we call this “comparative historical” research.
Comparative research is a methodology by which two or more entities (such as countries), which are similar in many dimensions but differ on one in question, are compared to learn about the dimension that differs between them.
The general approach to comparative research is to find cases that match on many potentially relevant dimensions but vary on just one, allowing researchers to observe the effect of that particular dimension. Although all social science research makes inferences based implicit or explicit comparison, comparative research usually refers to cross national studies.
Experimentation
Experimental methods are methods that seek to alter the social landscape in a very specific way for a given sample of individuals and then track what results that change yields; often involve comparisons to a control group that did not experience such an intervention.
Content Analysis
Content analysis is a systematic analysis of the content rather than the structure of a communication, such as a written work, speech, or film.
Manifest content refers to what we can observe.
Latent content refers to what is implied but not stated outright.
Ethics of Social Research
A few golden rules exist in research. The first is “Do no harm.” We tell research subjects that by participating in the study, they will encounter no more harm than they are likely to experience in everyday life. The second rule is informed consent. Subjects have the right to know they are participating in a study and what the study will consist of. The third rule is voluntary participation, which usually goes hand in hand with informed consent. People have the right to decided if they want to participate in your study. They can also stop participating at any point with no penalty.
Public sociology is the practice of sociological research, teaching, and service that seeks to engage a wide audience for a normative, productive end.
Conclusion
Sociology is a field that deploys a variety of methodologies from survey research to participant observation to historical approaches. Sociology is a science in which you can’t complete controlled experiments--the treatment and control group stable of most bench science
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Quiz Questions
Sandra Harding proposes three ways to conduct feminist research. First, treat women's experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources. Second, engage in social science that may bring about policy changes to help improve women's lives. Third, take the role of the researcher into account. Overall, there is no single feminist research method (p. 55).
A researcher observes that most women entering a café choose to sit near other occupied tables, whereas most men choose a table that is farther away from other customers. The researcher then theorizes that women like to feel part of a larger group of people, whereas men are more comfortable being alone. This is an example of which kind of research approach? inductive reasoning (An inductive approach starts with empirical observations and then moves toward formulation of a theory (p. 45))
In social research, the term "protected populations" refers to segments of the population that a researcher may need special approval to study. (Protected populations are segments of the population that a researcher may need special approval to study, often because they are particularly vulnerable. This includes children and also incarcerated populations, people with disabilities, and others (p. 68).)
Which of the following is an example of a panel survey? a study of 1,000 high school seniors who are then contacted every 2 years for a 10-year period to participate in a follow-up survey (A panel survey is a survey that tracks the same respondents, households, or other social units over time. It is also known as a longitudinal study (p. 63).)
In his experiment, Duncan Watts created a website where respondents could rate songs. His sample size was 14,341 respondents. If Watts selected a new sample of 14,341 different respondents and their average ratings of each song were significantly different than the first sample, what problem would Watts's research suffer from? low reliability (Reliability refers to how likely you are to obtain the same result using the same measure if you conduct the study again (p. 52).)
What three factors are needed to establish causation? correlation, time order, and ruling out alternative explanations (Causality is the notion that a change in one factor results in the change of another factor. To establish causality, three factors are needed: correlation, time order, and ruling out alternative explanations (p. 48).)
Which of the following data collection methods are commonly used in social research? historical methods, participant observation, interviews (There are many ways that sociologists collect data. These include, but are not limited to, surveys, interviews, participant observation, historical methods, experiments, content analysis, and comparative research. Also note that while sociologists do conduct experiments, they are rarely (if ever) conducted in labs (p. 58))
Amber is conducting research on the negative portrayal of Hispanics in the media. She searches through newspapers to document instances of discriminatory language toward Hispanics. What type of research is Amber conducting? content analysis (Content analysis examines the content rather than the structure of communication (p. 67).)
Moderating variables affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variables (p. 51).
What is the meaning of the term reflexivity with regard to social research? being aware of the effects that researchers have on the processes and relationships they are studying (Reflexive researchers analyze and critically consider their role in, and their effect on, their own research (p. 52).)
A thermometer that consistently gives readings that are five degrees cooler than the actual temperature is reliable but not valid. (Reliability is consistency in measurement. A thermometer can be reliable but not valid. In other words, it can provide consistent temperatures, though they may be consistently incorrect (p. 51).)
Hypothesis: Children in families that eat dinner together at least four times per week experience fewer behavior problems in school. In this hypothesis, what is the dependent variable? how often children misbehave in school (A dependent variable is the outcome that a researcher is trying to explain (p. 50).)
In social research, a hypothesis is defined as a proposed relationship between two variables. (Hypotheses propose relationships between two variables. They usually include the direction of the relationship; in other words, they usually include whether the variables move in the same direction (positive) or in opposite directions (negative) (p. 50).)
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Module 1: Sociological Perspectives
I. The Basics: Sociological Perspective
To think like a sociologist requires a new way of thinking. We see ourselves as masters of our own fate, making our decisions alone regarding how to act and what to think, but sociology shows us that we are heavily influenced by the social pressures of the groups to which we belong.
Sociological insight, then, seeks to uncover the social factors that affect behavior. Sociologists work to obtain data to answer and clarify questions about social life and test assumptions that may sometimes seem to be common sense, but that may turn out to be something quite different.
The benefits of using the sociological perspective are many. The sociological perspective:
1. gives us a strategy that can help us to think critically about the familiar world around us and gain new understandings of that world;
2. helps reveal how our lives are both enhanced and constrained by the social world around us;
3.
gives us an objective view of the parts we play in the world and empowers us to see our personal actions in a larger context; and
4. helps us to see how some individuals and groups are disadvantaged through no fault of their own and to appreciate the challenges we face living in a world characterized by inequality, struggles for power, and social change.
II. Thinking Sociologically
The Construction of Social Knowledge
Social facts are those realities or institutionalized patterns (e.g., taxes, posted speed limits, registration for draft) that constrain both personal and group behavior.
Sociology’s Three Major Theoretical Perspectives
Macro-level analyses are research focused on large-scale patterns of society. Micro-level analyses focus on social interaction—what people think and do, what social influences are present, and how perceptions of those social influences shape behavior.
Manifest functions are intended, recognized consequences of a social pattern.
Social structure refers to the hierarchically organized set of social relationships.
Dysfunction refers to the consequences that lead to breakdown of the social order.
Table 1.1
Comparison of Sociology's Three
Major Theoretical
Perspectives
Research: Why and How we do it
Quantitative methods are research tools such as surveys (developed to answer specific research questions) and secondary data analysis (research using existing data sets gathered for general purposes). Quantitative methods attempt to amass information from large numbers of people. Of course, this method requires that people answer prepared (close-ended) questions. Being forced to answer such questions in limited ways, however, does not allow respondents to describe how they see their world.
Qualitative methods such as interviews (asking people open-ended questions), content analysis (research to uncover the hidden meanings in, for example, media coverage), or participant observation (physical observation of the social interaction patterns of groups) take a different approach: they assume that the best way to understand social life is to see the world through the individual's eyes. Researchers may ask subjects why they act in certain ways or what rules and assumptions govern their behavior. Questions in qualitative research instruments are more open-ended. Limitations of this method are (1) the greater potential for bias (because researchers themselves can be influenced by their subjects) and (2) the difficulty in generalizing findings to larger groups, given the small sample size in studies using this me.
Norms and sanctions. Norms are spoken and unspoken rules for behavior and sanctions include the positive or negative consequences for this behavior. Norms provide guidance for action and thus help coordinate the actions of large groups of people. Sanctions provide feedback to the individual who acts within a system: the person who acts in desirable ways gets approval, pats on the back, or awards, for example, and the person who acts in undesirable ways gets disapproval, threats of punishment, or, at worst, expulsion from the group.
Values. Values are conceptions of what is considered good, proper, or desirable in a society. Values influence people's behavior because they provide a standard on which we judge people's actions. The content of values varies from culture to culture and even within the larger culture, in the case of subcultures.
Material objects. Material objects are physical artifacts people use in a particular society. Cultures may differ on clothing, eating utensils, or art, for example. Important differences exist in cultures due to the presence or absence of computers and technology.
How Culture Shapes Social Behavior
Values, beliefs, and norms shape human behavior by providing expectations for behavior, ways to help us decide how to behave in certain circumstances, and ideas of what thoughts and behaviors are valued or not valued. In this way, culture shapes our perceptions of how we should behave, what we should desire, and how we should think.