Midterm 1 Chapter 1 Intro Sociology systematic study of society and social interaction Derived from socius companion and logos study of Coined by Emmanuel Sieyes Society group of people whose members interact reside in a definable area and share a culture group s shared practices values and beliefs Sociological imagination how individuals understand their own and others pasts in relation to history and social structure Aka sociological lens or perspective Figuration simultaneously analyzing the behavior of people and the society that shapes that behavior Father of sociology functionalist Positivism study of social patterns All authentic knowledge assumes that the only valid Communist Manifesto rejected Comte s positivism communism capitalism social conflict produces a change in society conflict theorist social darwinism class conflict human and group struggle Rejected Comte and Marx favored market forces to control capitalism functionalism 1st European dept of sociology people rise to their level based on merit wrote a book called Suicide and talked about how it varies about religious domains social solidarity and dynamic equilibrium functionalist social change and integration Difficult to use standard scientific methods to predict behavior conflict theorist social inequality power and domination bureaucracy verstehen to understand in a deep way C Wright Mills Nobert Elias Auguste Comte knowledge is scientific Karl Marx Herbert Spencer Emile Durkheim Max Weber Antipositivism social researchers strive for subjectivity as they worked to rep social processes cultural norms and values Quantitative sociology statistical methods surveys Qualitative sociology in depth interviews focus groups media journals Theory way to explain different aspects of social interactions and to create testable propositions about society Social solidarity the social ties that bind a group of people together Durkheim Grand theories macro attempts to explain large scale relationships and answer fundamental questions about why societies form and change abstract hard to test Micro level theories specific relationships testable dependent on context Paradigms philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories generalizations and the experiments performed to support them Structural functionalism how each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole Conflict theory how inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetuate differences in power competition for limited resources society is characterized by ongoing group struggles over scarce resources Symbolic interactionism 1 to 1 interactions examine relationship of people within their society by studying their communication Functionalism aka structural functional theory sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of people each part has a function tendency toward equilibrium interest survival and stability as well as integration and cohesion of parts into the larger system Oldest theory in sociology Herbert Spencer Dynamic equilibrium stable state society working together properly Durkheim Social facts laws morals values religious beliefs customs fashions rituals and all cultural rules that govern social life Function Alfred Brown part that recurrent activity plays in the social life as a whole and the contribution it makes to structural continuity Robert Merton Manifest functions consequences of a social process that are sought anticipated Dysfunctions social process that has undesirable consequences Latent functions unsought consequences of a social process Dramaturgical analysis view society through metaphor of theatrical performance Chapter Types of methodology Researc perks interest 2 h Ethnography implant yourself in secret into a world to study it Participate observation involve in social scene not in secret notice something that Open ended interview dig deep and ask questions Experiments bring people in hope of keeping factors out manipulate Surveys broad quantitative collects data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions Large scale statistical analyses and comparative and historical analysis Empirical evidence corroborated by direct experience observation Scientific Method ask question research existing sources hypothesis and design and conduct study conclude report findings Provide limitations and boundaries that focus a study and organize its results Developing and testing theories Reliability how likely results are to be repeated Validity how well the study measures what it s supposed to Operational definition define concept in terms of the physical concrete steps it takes to directly measure it observable condition of concept All researchers can collect data in a systematic or replicable manner Literature review review of any existing similar related studies Gain broad understanding of previous work done Hypothesis assumption about how two variable are related Independent variable causes change what we manipulate Dependent variable effect what is changed Interpretive framework doesn t follow hypothesis testing model seeks to understand social words from the point of view of participates very descriptive Hawthorne Effect Henry Landsberger people change behavior if being watched Population people who are the focus of the study Sample manageable number of subjects who rep the population Random sample every person in population has same chance of being chosen for the study Quantitative data numerical countable easy to work with and put on a table Qualitative data subjective based on what is seen in a natural setting hard to organize Interview one on one conversation between researcher and subject Field research gathering information from a natural environment without a lab or survey Interpretive framework Sociologists are out of their element Primary data collected directly from firsthand experience Correlation when a change in one variable coincides with a change in the other this doesn t show causation Case study in depth study of one event or person Doesn t provide enough evidence to form a generalized conclusion Secondary data analysis using other people s data but applying new insight Nonreactive doesn t include direct contact with subjects and won t alter influence people s behaviors Part of secondary data analysis Content analysis systematic approach to record and value information gleaned