Sociology Vocab

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A type of research design that focuses on a single case. The case or subject of the study can be an individual, an event, or an organization such as a church, hospital, or abortion clinic.

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Case Study

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The ideas common to a society or to some group within a society that people use to make sense out of their experiences

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Common sense

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The group in an experiment that is not exposed to an experience. (or an independent variable)

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Control group

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Written sources or records used as a source of information

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Document

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A research deign that divides a group into an experimental group and a control group. Measurements are taken before and after to determine the effects of the experience.

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Experiment

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The group in an experiment that is exposed to an experience (or independent variable.

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Experimental group

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A method of gatherings information through direct observation of some setting.

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Field study

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To apply to other people the findings that were learned from one setting, group, or sample.

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Generalize

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A method of gathering information whereby the researcher asks questions. In a structured interview, specific questions are asked, whereas in an unstructured interview, people are simply encouraged to talk about their experiences, with the researcher making certain that they cover specific areas.

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Interview

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Ways of doing research.

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Methods

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A condition of society that can be measured or experienced.

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Objective Concern

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A means of gathering information whereby the researcher directly observes what is occurring In a setting.

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Objective Concern

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A method of gathering information through direct observation of some setting.

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Observation

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An individual’s own experience of a social problem.

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Participant oberservation

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In research the group that one wishes to study.

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Personal trouble

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In research the group that one wishes to study.

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Population

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The ability to get one’s way despite obstacles.

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Power

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The use of written questions to gather information. Closed-ended questions provide specific choices, while open-ended questions allow people to answer in their own words.

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Questionnaire

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A sample that gives everyone in the group being studied an equal chance of being included in the research.

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Random sample

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The methods that sociologists use to study social life. For social problems, these are case studies, experiments, field studies, and surveys.

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Research design-

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- A relatively small number of people who are intended to represent the larger group from which it is selected.

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Sample

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- Some aspect of society that large numbers of people are concerned about and would like to change.

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Social Problems

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- A framework of thought that looks at the broad, social context that shapes people’s experiences. This perspective helps people transcend personal values and emotions in order to see the larger picture that affects their situation.

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Sociological imagination

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- The overarching social science in which the emphasis is on how groups affect human behavior.

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Sociology

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The concern of distress that people feel about some aspect of society.

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Subjective concern-

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- Research that focuses on a sample of respondents from a target population. The sample is intended to represent the larger group from which it is selected.

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Survey

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- Discrimination against people on the basis of their age; concept is not limited to older people.

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Ageism

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- An economic system that is based on private ownership of property and investing capital to make a profit.

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Capitalism

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- Owners of the means of production (land, factories, tools) who buy the labor of workers.

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Capitalists

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- A sociological theory that views society as a system in competition and conflict. Each group in society attempts to further its own interests, even at the expense of others. Those who gain power power exploit people and resources for their own benefit. Social problems stem from exploitation and resistance to exploitation.

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Conflict theory

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The number of workers compared with the number of Social Security recipients.

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Dependency ratio-

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- The view that society prevents disruption by having the elderly disengage from (or give up) their positions of responsibility so that the younger generation can step into their shoes.

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Disengagement theory

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- When some part of social system interferes with the function of another part or disrupts the stability (or equilibrium) of the system, it is a dysfunction.

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Dysfunction

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- The contribution of a part of its system or people’s actions that contribute to the equilibrium of a social system.

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Function

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- (also called functional analysis, functional theory, and the functional perspective). A sociological theory that views society as a system of interconnected parts, each part contributing in some way to the equilibrium or stability of the system. The contribution of each part is called its function. Functionalists view social problems as the failure of some part of the system to function correctly.

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Functionalism

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Basically, the community or groups in general that people take into account as they consider a course of action.

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Generalized other-

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- Stereotyping, or putting a tag on someone, and treating him or her accordingly.

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Labeling

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The unintended consequences of people’s actions that disrupt the equilibrium or stability of a system or the adjustment of its parts.

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Latent dysfunctions-

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- The unintended consequences of people’s actions that contribute to the equilibrium or stability of a social system or the functioning of its parts.

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Latent functions

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- Our self-images are dependent on what we think others thing of us. We see ourselves, in other words, as a reflection in the eyes of others.

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Looking-glass self

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The consequences of people’s actions that are intended to contribute to the adaptation, adjustment, or equilibrium of a system or its parts.

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Manifest function-

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- The interrelations between the parts or subunits of society or some other social system

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Structure

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- Items of social life to which we give meaning and that we then use to communicate with one another. Symbols include signs, gestures, words, and even out posture and appearance.

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Symbol

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- A sociological theory that views society as consisting of the patterns common to a group of people. Social problems are not considered objective conditions but, rather, the issues that people have decided to call social problems.

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Symbolic interactionism

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Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes to try to see things as that person sees them.

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Taking the role of the other-