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Sociology as a Field of Scientific Inquiry - Coggle Diagram
Sociology as a Field of Scientific Inquiry
Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Mills (1959)
Sociology
fragmented
theoretical approaches
research methods
substantive field of study
degree of activism
3 core foci
social inequality
social differences (rights, opportunities, privileges)
social institutions
norms, values, rules in human interaction
social change
culture and social institutions change
types of sociology
professional
specific information for a problem
critical
provide relevant information, find where knowledge is generated
policy
provide solutions
public
bring knowledge to general public
connection between self and larger society
personal troubles
within individual
e.g. job after grad
public issues
experiences of many people
e.g. many grads unemployment
homophily
relationships are homogeneous, surround with like-people
Sociological Theories
key theorists
founding fathers
Auguste Comte
coined term "sociology"
improve society
Karl Marx
conflict theory
social relations, economic organization
Herbert Spencer
theory of evolution
explain social phenomena
Emile Durkheim
social instabilities
social disorganization
Georg Simmel
microsociology
small groups, individuals
Max Weber
methodologies to study society
George Herbert Mead
social environments in shaping self, interaction
Robert Park
women sociologists
Harriet Martineau
translated Comte's work
added women's perspective
Jane Adams
connect community
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
gender inequality in family roles
Marianne Weber
women's right activist
black sociologists
Anna Julia Cooper
teaching career
gender and race experiences
W.E.B. Du Bois
black civil rights
Charles S. Johnson
social conditions of black community
E. Franklin Frazier
black families, social organization and success
marginalized due to being a "threat"
macro theory
structural functionalism
key theorists
Emile Durkheim
social facts
way of thinking, acting, feelings
Talcott Parsons
Robert K. Merton
small parts are part of a whole
social structures (institutions)
functions
manifest
intended consequences of social pattern
e.g. education, knowledge for jobs
latent
unintended consequences
e.g. education, provide social networks
dysfunction
social processes, ideas, do not benefit society
e.g. education system excludes people of poor backgrounds
conflict theory
key theorists
Karl Marx
Georg Simmel
Lewis A. Coser
Class Conflict
Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels
capitalists vs. working class
society always in conflict
dominant vs. subordinate
micro theory
symbolic interactionism
key theorists
Max Weber
Verstehen
understand someone/thing by being in their shoes
teen moms example
shared meaning between people
maple leaf example
George Herbert
Herbert Blumer
Erving Goffman
Dramaturgical Approach
Irving Goffman
front-stage
back-stage
structure and agency
society dictates choices vs. individual free agent
Social Research Methods
sources of knowledge
tradition
common sense
authority
experts guide
personal observation
overgeneralize
bias
certain judgement, position
scientific inquiry
systematic observation
ethics
voluntary
inflict no harm
informed consent
privacy, confidentiality
unethical
Standford Prison Experiment
theory
explain observations
sense of social phenomena
method
objectivity
macro-theoretical approaches
quantitative methods
measurable variables
positivism
method for objectivity
social physics
natural
same as physics
content analysis
human creation, products
experiments
control variables
surveys
questionnaire with questions and answers predefined
statistics
explain results
population
sample
generalize information of population
inference and sampling
concept
variable
attribute
part of something, variable
different measurable actions
general idea
types of variables
independent
(cause)
dependent
(effect)
correlation
two variables associated more frequently
positive
both independent and dependent positive
negative/inverse
opposite
causation
change in one variable changes another
spurious reasoning
correlation but false assume causation
micro-theoretical approaches
qualitative methods
cannot be counted or numbered
interviews
open-ended answers
observations
join day-to-day life, engage
ethnography
combining both observations and interviews
Sidewalk
Mitchell Duneier
worked with homeless vendors for 5 years
see perspective
interview people related to homeless
analyze text
understand life and interactions
research process
formulate question
review existing literature
select method
obtain ethics approval
generate data
analyze data
report results
critical reflection
Sociological Perspective
Peter L. Berger
general in particular
general patterns of behaviour
strange in familiar
question common sense
individual in social context
unique life, common experiences
benefits
critical of common sense
gain perspective
see diverse society with open mind
The Stranger
Alfred Schutz
perspective, different recipes
fish out of water