Sociology
The study of human groups and societies, giving particular emphasis to analysis of the industrialized world. It is one of a group of social sciences, which include anthropology, economics, political science, and human geography. The divisions between the various social sciences are not clear-cut, and all share a certain range of common interests, concepts, and methods.
Personal Troubles
Difficulties that are located in individual biographies and their immediate milieu, a seemingly private experience
Public Issues
Difficulties or problems that are linked to the institutional and historical possibilities of social structure
Sociological Imagination
The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. Someone using the sociological imagination "thinks himself away" from the familiar routines of daily life
Structuration
The two-way process by which we shape our social world through our individual actions and by which we are reshaped by society
Social Facts
According to Emile Durkheim, the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Durkheim believed they could be studied scientifically
Organic Solidarity
According to Emilie Durkheim. the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole
Social Constraint
The condition influence on our behavior by the groups and societies of which we are members. It was regarded by Emile Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts
Anomie
A concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim, referring to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior
Materialist Conception of History
The view developed by Marx, according to which material, or economic, factors have a prime role in determining historical change
Capitalism
An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit
Symbolic Interactionism
A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead, which emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction
Symbol
One item used to stand for or represent another- as in the case of a flag, which symbolizes a nation
Functionalism
A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the function they perform- that is, the contributions they make to the continuity of a society
Manifest Functions
The functions of a particular social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity
Latent Functions
Functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur
Marxism
A body of thought deriving its main elements from Karl Marx's ideas
Power
The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold. It is a pervasive element in all human relationships. Many conflicts in society are struggles over power because how much power an individual or group is able to obtain governs how far they are able to put their wishes into practice
Ideology
Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interest of dominant groups. They are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities between groups. This concept connects closely with that of power, since these systems serve to legitimize the power that groups hold
Feminist Theory
A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the experiences of women. There are many strands to this theory, but they all share the intention to explain gender inequalities in society and to work to overcome them
Feminism
Advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life. It dates from the late eighteenth century in Europe, and feminist movements exist in most countries today
Postmodernism
The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. This society is highly pluralistic, and diverse with no "grand narrative" guiding its development
Microsociology
The study of human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction
Macrosociology
The study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems
Science
The disciplined marshaling of empirical data, combined with theoretical approaches and theories that illuminate or explain those data. Scientific activity combines the creation of new modes of thought with the careful testing of hypotheses and ideas. One major feature that helps distinguish science from other idea systems (such as religion) is the assumption that all scientific ideas are open to criticism and revision
Empirical Investigation
Factual inquiry carried out in any area of sociological study
Factual Questions
Questions that raises issues concerning matters of fact (rather than theoretical or moral issues)
Comparative Questions
Questions concerned with drawing comparisons between different human societies for the purposes of sociological theory or research
Developmental Questions
Questions that sociologists pose when looking at the origins and path of development of social institutions from the past to the present
Theoretical Questions
Questions posed by sociologists when seeking to explain a particular range of observed events. The asking of theoretical questions is crucial to allowing us to generalize about the nature of social life
Hypothesis
An idea or a guess about a given state of affairs, put forward as a basis for empirical testing
Data
Factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation. Social science data often refer to individuals responses to a survey questions
Ethnography
The firsthand study of people using participant observation or interviewing
Participant Observation
A method of research widely used in sociology and anthropology, in which the researcher takes part in the activities of the group or community being studied. Also called fieldwork
Survey
A method of sociological research in which questionnaires are administered to the population being studied
Pilot Study
A trial run in survey research
Sampling
Study a proportion of individuals or cases from a larger population as representative of that population as a whole
Sample
A small proportion of a larger population
Representative Sample
A sample from a larger population that is statistically typical of that population
Random Sampling
Sampling method in which a sample is chosen so that every member of the population has the same probability of being included
Experiment
A research method in which variables can be analyzed in a controled and systematic way, either in an artificial situation constructed by the researcher or in naturally occurring settings
Comparative Research
Research that compares one set of finding on one society with the same type of finding on other societies
Measure of Central Tendency
The ways of calculating averages
Correlation Coefficient
A measure of the degree of correlation between variable
Mean
A statistical measure of central tendency, or average based on dividing a total by the number of individual cases
Mode
The number that appears most often in a given set of data. This can sometimes be a helpful way of portraying central tendency
Median
The number that falls halfway in a range of numbers- a away of calculating central tendency that is sometimes more useful than calculating a mean
Standard Deviation
A way of calculating the spread of a group of figures
Degree of Dispersal
The range of distribution of a set of figures
Oral History
Interviews with people about events they witnessed or experienced at some point earlier in their lives
Triangulation
The use of multiple research methods as a way of producing more reliable empirical data than are available from any single method
Informed Consent
The process whereby the study investigator informs potential participants about the risks and benefits involved in the research study. It must be obtained before an individual participates in a study
Debriefing
Following a research study, the investigator will inform study participants about the true purpose of the study, and will reveal any deception that happened during the study