Sociology Ch. 1 & 2

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Sociology

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is a science guided by the basic understanding that "the social matters: our lives are affected, not only by our individual characteristics but by our place in the social world."

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Sociological Imagination

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is the ability to look beyond the individual as the cause for success and failure and see how one's society influences the outcome.

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Solidarity

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refers to the level of connectedness and integration a person feels to others in the environment.

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Social Control

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refers to the level of connectedness and integration a person's actions.

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Egotistic Suicides

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are suicides that result from a lack of solidarity, occuring among those who have few social connections, feel isolated and alone, and are more likely to fall into despair.

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Alturistic Suicides

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are suicides that occur when the level of solidarity is exceptionally high and when the individual views the group's interest as superior to all other interests.

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Fatalistic Suicides

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are suicides that result from too much social control.

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Anomic Suicides

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are suicides that occur as a result of rapid change, usually economic

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Paradigm

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refers to a theoretical framework through which scientists study the world.

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Functionalism

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is a theoretical framework through which scientists study the world.

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Conflict Theory

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is a theoretical framework that views society as an unequal system that brings about conflict and change.

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Symbolic Interactionism

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is a theoretical framework that focuses on how people interact with others in their everyday lives.

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Social Laws

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are statements of fact that are unchanging under given conditions and can be used as ground rules for any kind of society.

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Social Statics

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are the existing structural elements of society.

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Social Dynamics

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are the changes in the existing structural elements of society.

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Social Darwinism

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is a notion that suggests strong societies survive and weak ones become extinct

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Mechanical Solidarity

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refers to the state of community bonding in traditional societies in which people share beliefs and values and perform common activities.

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Oraganic Solidarity

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occurs when people live in a society with a diverse division of labor.

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Functions

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are social factors that affect people in a society.

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Manifest Functions

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are functions that lead to an expected consequence or outcome.

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Latent Functions

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are functions that lead to unforseen or unexpected consequences.

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Bourgeoisie

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refers to members of the capitalist class.

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Proletariat

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refers to members of the poor working class.

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False Consciousness

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is a person's lack of understanding of his or her position in society.

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Class Consciousness

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is an understanding of one's position in the class system.

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Self

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refers to a person's identity and what makes that person different from others.

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Contagion

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is a rapid, irrational mode in which people do not think rationally or clearly.

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Dramaturgy

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is a theory of interaction in which all life is like acting.

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Community Learning

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occurs when individuals and groups work to identify and address issues of public concern.

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Objectivity

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is the ability to conduct research without allowing personal biases or prejudices to influence you.

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Independent Variables

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are variables that are deliberately manipulated in an experiment.

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Dependent Variables

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are the response to the manipulated variable.

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Control Variables

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are variables that are kept constant to accurately test the impact of an independent variable.

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Causal Relationship

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is a relationship in which one condition leads to a certain consequence.

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Causation

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is the relationship between cause and effect.

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Correlation

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is an indication that one factor might be the cause for another factor.

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Positive Correlation

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includes two variables that move in a parallel direction.

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Negative Correlation

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occurs when variables move in opposite directions.

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Spurious Correlation

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occurs when two variables appear to be related, but actually have a different cause.

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Social Research

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is investigation conducted by social scientists.

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Literature Review

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is a study of relevant academic articles and information.

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Theory

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is a comprehensive and systematic explanation of events that lead to testable predictions.

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Hypothesis

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involves a suggestion about how variables relate.

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Concepts

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are ideas that are impossible to measure.

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Operationalizing

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is turning abstract ideas into something measurable.

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Research Design

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refers to the process used to find information.

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Reliable

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able to be trusted.

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Validity

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assures that you're actually measuring the thing you set out to measure.

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Comparative Studies

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use data from different sources in order to evaluate them against each other.

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Cross-Sectional Studies

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look at one event at a single point in time.

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Longitudinal Studies

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include data from observations over time using a cohort.

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Cohort

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is a specific group of people used in a study.

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Survey

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is an investigation of the opinions or experience of a group of people by asking them questions.

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Populations

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are target groups from which researchers want to get information.

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Parsimony

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is extreme unwillingness to use resources.

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Sample

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is a subset of the population.

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Generalization

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is the extent that what is learned from a sample can be applied to the population from which the sample is taken.

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Random Sample

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is a group of subjects arbitrarily chosen from a defined population.

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Oversampling

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is the process of taking a bigger sample if the group you wish to study makes up a small percentage of the whole population.

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Sample of Convenience

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is a nonrandom sample available to the researcher.

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Selection Effects

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are the likelihood that a non representative sample may lead to inaccurate results.

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Hawthorne Effect

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occurs when people behave differently because they know they are part of an experiment.

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Field Research

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is research conducted in a natural setting.

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Participant Observation

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is a type of field research in which the researcher poses as a person who is normally in the environment.

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Case Studies

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are investigations of one person or event in detail.

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Ethnography

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is a research method that aims to understand the social perspective and cultural values of a particular group by participating with or getting to know their activities in detail.

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Secondary Data

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data that others have already collected and published.

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Secondary Data Analysis

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the process of using and analyzing data that others have collected.

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Central Tendency

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the numbers in the middle of an array of numbers.

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Mean

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an average

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Median

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refers to the midpoint in a distribution of numbers.

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Mode

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refers to the most common value in a distribution of numbers.

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Ethics

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is a system of values or principles that guide one's behavior.

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Quantitative Data

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data based on numbers.

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Qualitative Data

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include words, pictures, photos, or any other type of information that comes to the researcher in a non numeric form

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Content Analysis

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is a type of research in which the sociologist looks for common words or themes in newspapers, books, or structured interviews.

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Triangulatiion

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the process of using multiple approaches to study a phenomenon.

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Needs Assessment

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an analysis that studies the needs of a specific group and presents the results in a written statement.