The Sociological Perspective and Research Methods

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Chapter 1

• The Sociological Perspective and Research
  Methods

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Chapter Outline

• Putting Social Life into Perspective
• Comparing Sociology with Other Social Sciences
• The Development of Sociological Thinking
• Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives

3
Chapter Outline

• Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives
• The Sociological Research Process
• Research Methods
• Ethical Issues in Sociological Research

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Putting Social Life Into Perspective

• Sociology is the systematic study of human
  society and social interaction.
• Sociologists study societies and social
  interactions to develop theories about
• How behavior is shaped by group life
• How group life is affected by individuals

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Society

• A large social grouping that shares the same
  geographical territory and is subject to the same
  political authority and dominant cultural
  expectations.
• We are all affected by global interdependence, a
  relationship in which the lives of all people are
  intertwined and any nations problems are part of
  a larger global problem.

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Why Study Sociology

• Helps us gain a better understanding of ourselves
  and our social world.
• Helps us see how behavior is shaped by the groups
  to which we belong and our society.
• Promotes understanding and tolerance by helping
  us look beyond personal experiences and gain
  insight into the larger world order.

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Fields That Use Social Science Research
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The Sociological Imagination

• The ability to see the relationship between
  individual experiences and the larger society.
• Distinguishes between personal troubles and
  social issues.

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Suicide

• As a Personal Trouble
• Many people consider suicide to be theresult of
  personal problems.
• As a Public Issue
• Sociologist Emile Durkheim related suicide to the
  issue of cohesiveness in society instead of
  viewing it as an isolated act that could be
  understood by studying individual personalities
  or inherited tendencies.

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Suicide Rates by Race and Sex

• Rates indicate the number of deaths by suicide
  for every 100,000 people in each category for
  2001.

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August Comte

• Considered the founder of sociology.
• Comtes philosophy became known as positivism a
  belief that the world can best be understood
  through scientific inquiry.
• Comte believed objective, bias-free knowledge was
  attainable only through the use of science rather
  than religion.

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Two Dimensions Of Comtes Positivism

• Methodological
• The application of scientific knowledge to
  physical and social phenomena.
• Social and political
• The use of such knowledge to predict the likely
  results of different policies so the best one
  could be chosen.

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Emile Durkheim

• Believed the limits of human potential are
  socially based.
• One of his most important contributions was the
  concept of social facts.
• Social facts are patterned ways of acting,
  thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one
  individual but exert social control over each
  person.

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Karl Marx

• Viewed history as a clash between conflicting
  ideas and forces.
• Believed class conflict produced social change
  and a better society.
• Combined ideas from philosophy, history, and
  social science into a new theory.

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Max Weber

• Believed sociological research should exclude
  personal values and economic interests.
• Provided insights on rationalization, bureaucracy
  and religion.

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Georg Simmel

• Theorized about society as a web of patterned
  interactions among people.
• Analyzed how social interactions vary depending
  on the size of the social group.
• Developed formal sociology, an approach that
  focuses attention on the universal recurring
  social forms that underlie the varying content of
  social interaction.

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Theoretical Perspectives

• Theoretical perspectives are based on ideas about
  how social life is organized.
• The major perspectives in U.S. sociology are
• Functionalist
• Conflict
• symbolic interactionist
• postmodernist perspectives

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Major Theoretical Perspectives
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
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Theory and Research Cycle
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Definition of Theory

• Theory As et of logically interrelated statement
  That attempts to describe explain, and predict
  social events.
• Hypothesis a statement of the relationship
• between two or more variables.
• Variable any concept with measurable traits that
  can change from on person, time, situation, or
  society to another.

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Types of variable

• Independent Variable is the variable assumed to
  be the cause of the relationship between
  variables.
• Dependent Variable the variable assumed to be
  caused by the independent variable.
• Validity the extent to which a study or research
  instrument accurately measures what it is
  supposed to measure
• Reliability research instrument yields
  consistence
• results.

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Conventional Research Model

• Select and define the research problem.
• Review previous research.
• Formulate the hypothesis.
• Develop the research design.
• Collect and analyze the data.
• Draw conclusions and report the findings.

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Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables
Causal
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Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables
Inverse Causal
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Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables
Multiple-cause
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Qualitative Research Method

• Researcher begins with a general approach rather
  than a highly detailed plan.
• Researcher has to decide when the literature
  review and theory application should take place.

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Qualitative Research Method

• The study presents a detailed view of the topic.
• Access to people or other resources that can
  provide necessary data is crucial.
• Appropriate research method(s) are important for
  acquiring useful qualitative data.

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Research Methods Survey Research

• Standardized questions force respondents into
  categories.
• Relies on self-reported information, and some
  people may not be truthful.

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Research Methods Analysis of Existing Data

• Materials studied may include
• books, diaries, poems, and graffiti
• movies, television shows, advertisements,
  greeting cards
• music, art, and even garbage

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Research Methods Field Research

• Study of social life in its natural setting.
• Observing and interviewing people where they
  live, work, and play.
• Generates observations that are best described
  verbally rather than numerically.

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Approaches to Field Research

• Participant observation
• Collecting observations while part of the
  activities of the group being studied.
• Ethnography
• Detailed study of the life and activities of a
  group of people over a period of years.

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Research Methods Experiments

• Study the impact of certain variables on
  subjects attitudes or behavior.
• Designed to create real-life situations.
• Used to demonstrate a cause-and-effect
  relationship between variables.
• Experimental group
• Control group

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ASA Code of Ethics

• Disclose research findings in full and include
  all possible interpretations of the data.
• Safeguard the participants right to privacy and
  dignity while protecting them from harm.

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ASA Code of Ethics

• Protect confidential information provided by
  participants.
• Acknowledge research collaboration and disclose
  all financial support.