CHAPTER 1 Review

Sociology evolved to answer two questions: - How is social order created and maintained? How and why do societies change? Social order – behavioral patterns and regularities established by societies that make social action possible

The three sociological perspectives are based around consensus (functionalism), conflict (Marxism) & social action (Weber). Value Consensus: agreement about the things a society, and by extension individuals within that society, thinks are important. Functionalism: sociological theory that argues that consensus is the overriding principle on which societies are based. Focus is on institutional relationships and the functions they perform for the individual and society Marxist view Stressed that social order is created and maintained through conflict. He argued social development goes through 4 time periods: Primitive communism, ancient society, pre-industrial society and capitalist or industrial society. Capitalism – an economic system based on the pursuit of private profit. Its defining relationship between employer and employee.

The three sociological perspectives are based around consensus (functionalism), conflict (Marxism) & social action (Weber). Social action – Weber Interactionist theory Social development follows a process of modernization: Industrialization Urbanization Rationalization – behavior and social organization based on bureaucratic scientific principles. Social action is the result of individuals and groups acting purposefully Example: charismatic leaders can bring about change through behavior or modernization fuels ideas and principles that are used in society today Other examples that can transform society could be political struggles, ideas and belief systems, demographic changes and developments in science and forms of government Conflict is of importance in understanding how societies are organized and operate Social class can be a source of conflict- like in capitalist societies but economic relations are not the only source of conflict in society.

Science is a way of producing a particular type of knowledge Science is a way of producing a particular type of knowledge. It must be reliable and valid. Reliability: The effectiveness of the research approach in generating consistent data A researcher can check the reliability of their research by repeating (replicating) the research to see if they get the same or very similar results Validity: The extent to which a research method measures what it claims to measure.

There are two types of sociological methodology: positivism & interpretivism Positivism: a methodology based on the principle that it is possible and desirable to study the social world in broadly the same way natural scientists study the natural world. Interpretivism: a methodology based on the principle that social behavior can only be understood subjectively, by understanding how people interpret situations and, by so doing, give them meaning. Example: Participant observation.

Sociological problem vs. Social problems A sociological problem is a question that demands an explanation why is there a problem of food shortage, shelter issues for homeless, problems with socialization – Why do these problems occur? A social problem involves behavior that creates a public outcry or call for action to resolve the problem Usually leads to creation of social policy – a set of ideas and actions pursued by governments to meet a particular social objective. Therefore, social problems are NOT necessarily sociological problems.

In terms of diversity, human behavior always varies in terms of: class, age, gender and ethnicity What are some activities that are likely to be participated in by the working class and three that are likely to participated in by the middle class? Why is women’s work in the labor market often similar to women’s work in the home? How are rights different from youth to adulthood to elders?

www.papacambridge.com PAST AICE EXAMS October/November 2017 A questionnaire is a set of written questions designed for self-completion that is usually given or posted to respondents. Questionnaires produce qualitative data. As it is not practical to send a questionnaire to everyone that the researcher is interested in studying, it is necessary to select a sample of individuals from the wider research population. Various sampling techniques may be used to select this sample. The aim of sampling is usually to select a group of people with characteristics similar to the wider research population. This is known as a representative sample. Questionnaires are commonly used in sociological research because they allow a large number of respondents to be asked a range of questions in a short space of time. Numerical information can therefore be collected on a large scale and, if a representative sample has been used, the information should accurately reflect the views of the wider research population. This approach is supported by positivist sociologists. However, interpretivists argue that questionnaires have little value in sociological research because they fail to reveal the complex nature of human behavior.

What is meant by the term positivist sociologists? Worth: 2 marks 1 mark – partial definition – example: people who like scientific methods 2 marks – clear and precise definition – example: Positivists believe the social world can be studied objectively using scientific [quantitative] methods. Alternatively, candidates may focus on how positivist sociologists see the social world as predictable with laws that can be discovered through a scientific approach. Either response is acceptable.

Describe two sampling techniques Worth: 4 marks One mark for each example plus one mark for each development (2 x 2) Points to include: Random Systematic Stratified Quota Multi-stage Snowball Any other legitimate technique

Explain the difficulties for a researcher of achieving a representative sample Worth: 8 marks Reasons why it may be difficult to achieve a representative sample include: Obtaining a sampling frame Obtaining a sufficiently large sample In gathering sufficient information about the sampling frame to divide the population into representative groups High dropout rate Self-selecting samples Reluctance of some groups to take part in research ex: minority groups Any specific points about methods ex: questionnaires lost in the post

Explain the difficulties for a researcher of achieving a representative sample Worth: 8 marks 1-2 points – if you give a simple account of sampling or a difficulty involved in sampling but with little direct reference to the issue of representativeness could be worth up to two marks 3-4 points – If the account or difficulty has some focus on representativeness it could achieve up to 4 points

Explain the difficulties for a researcher of achieving a representative sample Worth: 8 marks 5-6 points – A sound account is will cover some problems that a sociologist might face in making a sample representative or a couple of ways in some detail. The may be somewhat list-like 7-8 points – The difficulties identified will be explained clearly and fully. Answers will demonstrate a good understanding of the concept of representativeness.