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Chapter 1
The Sociological Perspective
and
Research Methods
1
Putting Social Life Into Perspective
Sociology is the systematic study of
human society and social interaction.
Sociologists study societies and social
interactions to develop theories about :
How behavior is shaped by group life
How group life is affected by individuals
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Society
A large social grouping that shares the
same geographical territory and is subject
to the same political authority and
dominant cultural expectations.
We are all affected by global
interdependence
a relationship in which the lives of all people are
intertwined
any nation’s problems are part of a larger global
problem.
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Why Study Sociology
Gain a better understanding of ourselves
and our social world.
See how behavior is shaped by the groups
to which we belong
Promotes understanding and tolerance
helps us look beyond personal experiences and
gain insight into the larger world order
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Fields That Use Social Science
Research
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The Sociological Imagination
The ability to see the relationship
between individual experiences
and the larger society.
Distinguishes between personal
troubles and social issues.
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Suicide
As a Personal Trouble:
Many people consider suicide to be the
result of personal problems.
As a Public Issue:
Sociologist Emile Durkheim related suicide to
the issue of cohesiveness in society instead of
viewing it as an isolated act that could be
understood by studying individual personalities
or inherited tendencies.
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Suicide Rates by Race and Sex
 Rates indicate the number of deaths by suicide
for every 100,000 people in each category for
2001.
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Importance of a Global Sociological
Imagination
The future of our nation is intertwined with
the future of other nations on economic,
political, environmental, and humanitarian
levels.
Understanding diversity and developing
tolerance for people who are different from
us is important for our personal, social,
and economic well-being.
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High-income Countries
These are nations with highly
industrialized economies; technologically
advanced industrial, administrative, and
service occupations; and high levels of
national and personal income.
Examples: United States, Canada
They generally have a have a high
standard of living and a lower death rate
due to advances in nutrition and medical
technology.
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Middle-income countries
Sometimes referred to as developing
countries, these are nations with
industrializing economies, particularly in
urban areas, and moderate levels of
national and personal income.
Examples: Nations of Eastern Europe and
many Latin American countries, where nations
such as Brazil and Mexico are industrializing
rapidly.
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Low-income Countries
Low-income countries are primarily
agrarian nations with little industrialization
and low levels of national and personal
income.
Examples: Many of the nations of Africa and
Asia, particularly India and the People’s
Republic of China.
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Comparing Countries
Country
IMR
(Per 1000
live births)
Female
Male Life
GDP
Life
Expectancy
Expectancy
Literacy
Rate
Malaysia
90.5
43.7
43.1
313.8
Billion
89%
Mexico
14.7
77
70
874.8
Billion
93%
Japan
5.6
83.2
77.1
4.218
Trillion
99%
United
States
6.3
81.1
75.3
13.13
Trillion
99%
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Race, Ethnicity and Class
 Race is a term used to specify groups of people
distinguished by physical characteristics.
Most sociologists consider race a social construction
used to justify inequalities.
 Ethnicity refers to cultural identity and is based
on factors such as language or country of origin.
 Class is based on wealth, power, prestige, or
other valued resources.
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Sex and Gender
Sex refers to the biological and anatomical
differences between females and males.
Gender refers to the meanings, beliefs,
and practices associated with sex
differences, referred to as femininity and
masculinity.
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The Development of Sociological
Thinking
Idea of observing how people lived, what
they thought, and doing so in a systematic
manner came about because of two
processes
Industrialization
Urbanization
Problems became more visible, new social
thinkers wanted to understand why and
how society was changing
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Auguste Comte
Considered the “founder of sociology.”
Comte’s philosophy became known as
positivism— a belief that the world can
best be understood through scientific
inquiry.
Comte believed objective,
bias-free knowledge was
attainable only through the use
of science rather than religion.
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Two Dimensions Of Comte’s
Positivism
1. Methodological
 The application of scientific knowledge to
physical and social phenomena.
2. Social and political
 The use of such knowledge to predict the
likely results of different policies so the best
one could be chosen.
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Harriet Martineau
Believed society would
improve when:
women and men were
treated equally
enlightened reform
occurred
cooperation existed among
all social classes
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Herbert Spencer
 Contributed an
evolutionary perspective
on social order and social
change.
 Social Darwinism
The belief that the human
beings best adapted to
their environment survive
and prosper, whereas
those poorly adapted die
out.
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Emile Durkheim
Believed the limits of human potential are
socially based.
One of his most important contributions
was the concept of social facts.
Social facts are patterned ways of acting,
thinking, and feeling that exist
outside any one individual but
exert social control over each
person.
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Karl Marx
 Viewed history as a
clash between conflicting
ideas and forces.
 Believed class conflict
produced social change
and a better society.
 Combined ideas from
philosophy, history, and
social science into a new
theory.
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Max Weber
Believed sociological
research should
exclude personal
values and economic
interests.
Provided insights on
rationalization,
bureaucracy and
religion.
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Georg Simmel
Theorized about society as a web of
patterned interactions among people.
Analyzed how social interactions vary
depending on the size of the social group.
Developed formal sociology, an approach
that focuses attention on the universal
recurring social forms that underlie the
varying content of social interaction.
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Jane Addams
Founded Hull House,
one of the most famous
settlement houses, in
Chicago.
One of the authors of a
methodology text used
by sociologists for the
next forty years.
Awarded Nobel Prize
for assistance to the
underprivileged.
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W. E. B. Du Bois
 One of the first to note
the identity conflict of
being both a black and
an American.
 Pointed out that people in
the U.S. espouse values
of democracy, freedom,
and equality while they
accept racism and group
discrimination.
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Theoretical Perspectives
Theoretical perspectives are based on
ideas about how social life is organized.
The major perspectives in U.S. sociology
are:
Functionalist
Conflict
symbolic interactionist
postmodernist perspectives
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
Theory
View of Society
Functionalist
Composed of interrelated parts that
work together to maintain stability.
Conflict
Society is characterized by social
inequality; social life is a struggle for
scarce resources.
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
Theory
View of Society
Symbolic
Interactionist
Behavior is learned in interaction with
other people.
Postmodernist
Postindustrialization, consumerism, and
global communications bring into
question assumptions about social life
and the nature of reality.
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Polling Question
 Which sociological perspective do you
think explains the concept of inequality in
our society the most accurately?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Structural-functional
Conflict
Symbolic interactionist
Feminist
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The Sociological Research Process
Research is the process of systematically
collecting information for the purpose of
testing an existing theory or generating a
new one.
The relationship between theory and
research has been referred to as a
continuous cycle.
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Theory and Research Cycle
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Quantitative and Qualitative
Research
Quantitative research focuses on data that
can be measured numerically.
Example: comparing rates of suicide
Qualitative research focuses on
interpretive description rather than
statistics to analyze underlying meanings
and patterns of social relationships.
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Conventional Research Model
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Select and define the research problem.
Review previous research.
Formulate the hypothesis.
Develop the research design.
Collect and analyze the data.
Draw conclusions and report the findings.
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Qualitative Research Method
1. Researcher begins with a general
approach rather than a highly detailed
plan.
2. Researcher has to decide when the
literature review and theory application
should take place.
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Qualitative Research Method
3. The study presents a detailed view of the
topic.
4. Access to people or other resources that
can provide necessary data is crucial.
5. Appropriate research method(s) are
important for acquiring useful qualitative
data.
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Research Methods:
Survey Research
Describes a population without
interviewing each individual.
Standardized questions force respondents
into categories.
Relies on self-reported information, and
some people may not be truthful.
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Research Methods:
Analysis of Existing Data
Materials studied may include:
books, diaries, poems, and graffiti
movies, television shows,
advertisements, greeting cards
music, art, and even garbage
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Research Methods:
Field Research
Study of social life in its natural setting.
Observing and interviewing people where
they live, work, and play.
Generates observations that are best
described verbally rather than numerically.
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Approaches to Field Research
Participant observation
Collecting observations while part of the
activities of the group being studied.
Ethnography
Detailed study of the life and activities of a
group of people over a period of years.
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Research Methods: Experiments
Study the impact of certain variables on
subjects’ attitudes or behavior.
Designed to create “real-life” situations.
Used to demonstrate a cause-and-effect
relationship between variables.
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Polling Question
 If you possessed the money, skill, and
other necessary resources, in which one
area would you like to conduct research?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Racial profiling
The cause(s) of sexual orientation
Sexual assault and abuse
The effects of divorce on children
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