Lesson 1 The Sociological Perspective

 Learning objectives for Chapter 1

 Identify the sociological perspective. What are the key ideas concerning  Conflict Theory, Functionalist Theory, and Symbolic Interactionalist Theory? 

 Understand what qualifies knowledge and theory as being science.

 Describe the six research methods identified in the textbook

 How do research and theory work together?

 The emergence of sociology in the 1800s in Europe and USA

 Vocabulary to learn from Chapter 1

 conflict theory

eight steps in a research model

ethical issues involved in sociological research

functional analysis

hypothesis
micro-level and macro-level analysis

operational definition

reliability

research method

symbolic interactionalism

validity

Discussion

Humans have many ways of “knowing” something. A beginning list of this would include:

        Personal experience     Dream interpretation

        Watched others          Experiments

        Read to learn              Studying the past

        Spirituality                 “Gut” feeling

        Taught by others         Learn by chance

        “6th” sense                   Modeled by others

        Observation                Watch for clues

        Debate                      Think it through

        ESP                           Socialization

And a great many more.

But not all of us can learn everything from each concept on this list. After watching Karl Marx debate social issues, Max Weber began to see that the method of learning called debate was really not at all different from the discipline of philosophy. He reasoned that, for sociology to be a discipline of it’s own, it would have to rely on something more than debate. It would need a set of rules that could be used by everyone and that would produce the same (or nearly the same) answer for everyone who studied a given social phenomenon.

What do all normal humans have? The five senses. So he limited inquiry to those five that we all share. He removed assumptions from the equation and said that each newly discovered fact should be able to take the test of replication (if one person comes up with that fact, others must be able to do so as well). We call this set of learning rules “empiricism.” And it is the basis for sociological inquiry today.

Social Science is constantly researching and retesting our current body of knowledge to try to find better conclusions. This is taking small, careful steps towards "truth." Suffice it to say that "doing science" has changed and most likely will continue to change.

Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning

When doing science, the choice of using descriptive (inductive) or deductive (quantitative) reasoning on a given project is basic to the planning of the research.

Inductive reasoning, which often is called "qualitative or descriptive research," is used when science embarks on a phenomenon that is new or one that has had little or no previous work done on it. Simply put, there is not enough in the literature to begin doing deductive research; there is not enough knowledge to begin to ask the pertinent questions the researcher wants to ask.

A major methodology in descriptive (inductive) research is field work or observation research (which may be participant observation or non-participant observation and overt observation or cover observation). The idea is to get into the field and find out what is going on, without taking in preconceived notions of what will be found.

This method has been used often in anthropology and, by trial and error, many strengths and weaknesses have been uncovered. Because most textbooks on social research cover this methodology only lightly, this guide will emphasize it through both readings and a project. It can be a valuable tool in your future.

Once a specific theoretical perspective is chosen, the hypotheses for this particular study can be decided. Not only should the hypotheses be in harmony with the theory, but it should also be stated as a "null hypotheses" in compliance with Popper's propositions.

The researcher may feel that there is a difference in the income potential between males and females (his hypothesis), but he must try to disprove himself, so he states the hypotheses as: "There is no difference between the income potential of college trained males and college trained females working at the same job."

This statement is the "null hypothesis" (opposite of what he believes) and helps him try to prove himself wrong (Poppers' Proposition).

Please note that the hypothesis needs to be quite specific. The one just given needs to be further specified to make a good study with reliable findings; the next step helps this to happen. The actual research questions need to harmonize with the hypothesis and verification to others for additional study.

1- Intersubjective: Even though no two scientists are exactly alike with regards to subjective orientations, they still would arrive at the same conclusion upon doing the same experiment.

2- Open to modification: science must be ready to accept revision and change, since science is a process of trial and error--no single research design will provide the "ultimate answer."

Types of Social Research:

To find out how people behave: Watch them! Observation can be overt or covert

To find out what people have done: Read up on it! Existing data (includes media and done prior research studies)

To obtain reliable information under controlled conditions: Test Them! Experiment in a laboratory

To find our what people think: Ask them! Surveys and Interviews

To assess the effects of social intervention: Conduct a Quasi-Experiment! Usually a Field Experiment. This is time consuming but very rich in detail--you may discover things that can not come out in any other research design. This type of field work is usually overt (the research subjects know that you are there and have asked permission to do research on them).

With covert research, you may be seen in person by the subjects, but your intent of doing research is unknown to them. Another method is to be around the subjects, but not be noticed by them. This might be in research done as an "ancillary person" (such as a waiter who presumably does not listen in on the dinner conversation).

Movies assigned

 Chapter 1 Sociological Perspective

Videos that you can rent which are based upon some of the principles of this lesson:

 The Gods must be Crazy (a surplus that cannot be shared very well brings unhappiness)

Gulliver's Travels

Gallagher (questions normative assumptions)

Sociological Research Sites
A comprehensive site on resources related to sociological research including crime statistics, population, women's studies, and other topics.

Statistical Resources on the Web: Sociology
University of Michigan statistical resources

Sociological Research Sites
A comprehensive site on resources related to sociological research including crime statistics, population, women's studies, and other topics.

Statistical Resources on the Web: Sociology
University of Michigan statistical resources