Sociologist, Sociological Methods & Sociological Theory

History & Preconditions for Sociology Three ideas necessary for sociology to exist: Freedom of thought Awareness of crisis Belief something can be done to remedy crisis

History & Preconditions for Sociology Scientific Revolution (16th & 17th century) Mathematicians, philosophers began to oppose the Church, began an ecclesiastical view of the world Enlightenment (18th century) Changes in political and social thought Industrial Revolution (1750 – 1850) Economic and social changes created misery for poor – lead philanthropists and researchers to examine people and relationships.

The Founders of Sociology (the big 6) August Comte (1798-1857) Father of Sociology Positivism Humanity can be bettered through science and its application to society.

The Founders of Sociology (the big 6) Herbert Spencer (1820 – 1903) Stressed how each part of society is interrelated, similar to living organism. Advocated Social Darwinism, and the idea of the survival of the fittest.

The Founders of Sociology (the big 6) George Herbert Mead ( 1863 – 1931) Developed “philosophy” of role play – people learn to behave correctly in society through playing different roles during childhood Example: As a child, playing game of teacher & pupil, one learns the appropriate behavior for each role. This process also teaches empathy. His work lead to the rise of symbolic interactionists- they examine the way people go about daily life and engage socially.

The Founders of Sociology (the big 6) Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917) First one to get sociology recognized as specific discipline Social Integration Your connection to society relates to your actions. Suicide those more connected are less likely to kill themselves. Believed a “collective consciousness” (shared set of social values) controls society. Anomie - when control breaks down, or collective consciousness weakens Social Facts: Patterns of behavior that characterize a social group. Marriages in June

The Founders of Sociology (the big 6) Karl Marx ( 1818 – 83) Society exists when people come together to produce necessities of life. Basis of society is economic production. His writing led to the development of critical sociology which examines the ways it is believed that the ruling class dominates society.

The Founders of Sociology (the big 6) Max Weber ( 1864 – 1920) Did not believe economics was central force, but that it was religion instead. Example: Durkheimer and Marx would view a family as a structure – father, mother, children, each linked in certain physical or legal ways. Weber would view the family as a set of actins – the action of living together and sharing activities. Used the term verstehen to describe the need for seeing an action through the eyes of the individual involved (the individual’s perception of the situation) His work can easily be partnered with the work of Durkheim, you need both.

Methods of Social Research Natural observation – a researcher watches the behavior of groups in their natural setting. Experimental method – a research method conducted in a carefully controlled setting to determine relationships between variables. Participant observation – a researcher participates in the group life of the subjects of the study.

Methods of Social Research Case study – an extensive, in-depth study of a single case – a person, work group, etc. Content analysis – a study of any form of communication to determine characteristics such as social trends and patterns of a culture by counting the number of times specific words or ideas appear. Historical analysis – a study of the records of the past (leaflets, laws, letters, diaries, newspapers, etc) to prove or disprove a hypothesis.

Methods of Social Research The Subjects… Random Sample – a sample in which every person in the total group has an equal chance of being chosen (ex: researches may choose every 5th shopper) Quota or representative sample – a representative cross-section of the population being studied (ex: the number surveyed in a factory must have the same percentage of males & females as does the whole factory).

Methods of Social Research Interview method – a researcher asks questions directly of a number of subjects to determine opinions, attitudes, behavior, etc. Questionnaire method – a researcher distributes handouts listing questions to subjects to determine opinions, attitudes, behavior, etc

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