Chapter 1

1. Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective and Research Methods

2. 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

4. 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

5. 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 nation’s problems are part of a larger global problem.

6. 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.

7. Fields That Use Social Science Research

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

9. 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.

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

11. August Comte • Considered the “founder of sociology.” • Comte’s 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.

12. Two Dimensions Of Comte’s 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

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

16. 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.

17. 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

18. Major Theoretical Perspectives

19. Major Theoretical Perspectives

20. Theory and Research Cycle

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables: Causal

25. Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables: Inverse Causal

26. Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables: Multiple-cause

27. 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.

28. 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.

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

30. 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

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. 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

34. 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.

35. ASA Code of Ethics • Protect confidential information provided by participants. • Acknowledge research collaboration and disclose all financial support.