Soc1100 The Study of Society Lecture Notes PDF

SOC 1100 The Study of Society Lecture 2/3  SOC 1100 The Study of Society (SESSION 2/3) ► The sociological perspective and social imagination ► Classical and contemporary theories in s...

SOC 1100 The Study of Society Lecture 2/3  SOC 1100 The Study of Society (SESSION 2/3) ► The sociological perspective and social imagination ► Classical and contemporary theories in sociology; basic overview Sociology as a science Basic methods and approaches to measurement, in social research Assigned Readings 1. Giddens, Anthony, and et al. (2018), Introduction to Sociology (11th Edition), pgs. 3-20. 2. Haralambos, M., Holborn, M., & Heald, R. (2013). Sociology Themes and Perspectives (8th ed.). Pgs. 2-19. Pgs. 864-993 Andrew Hicks Department of Sociology Faculty of Social Sciences University of Guyana The Sociological Imagination  C. Wright Mills coined the term “sociological imagination” to refer to “...the vivid awareness of the relationship between private experience and the wider society.” C. Wright Mills Sociology and Science  Science is “...a body of systematically arranged knowledge that shows the operation of general laws.”  The scientific process employ the empirical methods of observing, testing/experimenting and comparing.  As a science, sociology employs the scientific method The Sociological Imagination  C. Wright Mills coined the term “sociological imagination” to refer to “...the vivid awareness of the relationship between private experience and the wider society.” C. Wright Mills The Foundations of Social Research Variables, Measuring Complex concepts, Validity & Reliability, Cause & Effect Variables  Unidimensional Variables ◼ Height & weight ◼ Birth order ◼ Age ◼ Marital status  Multidimensional Variables ◼ Stress ◼ Wealth ◼ Political orientation ◼ Religiosity Variables  Dependent Variables ◼ The variable impacted by the independent variable(s) ◼ Example: Longevity  Independent Variables ◼ Logically prior to dependent variables ◼ Example: Sex, Education, Occupation, Diet, Smoking ◼ Example: How long one lives is impacted by, or ‘dependent’ on, these many variables. However, living to be 90 does not change your gender or your occupation earlier in life because they stand ‘independent’ of longevity. Defining Variables  Conceptual Definitions ◼ Abstractions, articulated in words, that facilitate understanding. ◼ The kind of definitions you find in a dictionary.  Operational Definitions ◼ Consist of a set of instructions on how to measure a variable that has been conceptually defined. ◼ Example: Measure ‘extroversion’ in a person by having them take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and record their extroversion score. Variables: Level of Measurement  1. Nominal: An exhaustive, mutually exclusive, list of names. ◼ Example: Ethnic groups, or religious identifications  2. Ordinal: Same as above, plus they can be rank ordered. ◼ Example: Socioeconomic classes, or levels of agreement Variables: Level of Measurement  3. Interval: Same as above, plus each unit has a meaningful quantitative distance from each other. ◼ Example: Degrees Fahrenheit, or points on an IQ score  4. Ratio: Same as above, plus there is a true zero point, measuring the absence of the phenomenon being measured. ◼ Example: Age, or income in dollars ◼ Note: 80 degrees F, is not twice as hot as 40 degrees. ◼ But 80 years old, is twice as old as 40. Lowest Level Rule  Always try to collect data on the lowest level unit of analysis possible.  You can always aggregate data collected on individuals, but you can never disaggregate data collected on groups.  Ecological Fallacy: Drawing conclusions about the wrong unit of analysis. ◼ Example: Drawing conclusions about ‘neighbors’ from data on ‘neighborhoods.’ Instruments  Precision: The power of measurement, or the ‘number of decimal points.’ ◼ Example: Is the scale measuring to the nearest pound or to the nearest ounce?  Accuracy: The correct calibration of the instrument; it is not ‘off.’ ◼ Example: The scale always measures 2 lbs too heavy. Instruments: Reliability  Reliability: Whether or not you get the same answer by using an instrument to measure something more than once. ◼ Example: Does the scale give you the same weight each time you step on it (assuming you have not eaten or worked out between)? Instruments: Validity  Face Validity: On the ‘face of it’ do the operational indicators of the concept make sense? ◼ Example: An instrument measuring educational aptitude asks questions about study habits and eye color. Which one does not have face validity?  Content Validity: When an instrument has appropriate content for measuring a complex concept/construct. ◼ Example: An instrument measuring ‘cultural identity’ that only asks questions about food and clothing style preferences, but neglects content on language and historical traditions. The content is not broad enough to sufficiently represent ‘cultural identity.’ Instruments: Validity  Construct Validity: A close fit between the construct it supposedly measures and actual observations made with the instrument. ◼ Example: A personality assessment lacks construct validity if it identifies you as ‘introverted’ when you and your many friends would say the opposite.  Criterion Validity: A close fit between the measures it produces and measures produced by some other instrument that is known to be valid. ◼ Example: A personality assessment that identified you as ‘extroverted’ when the “Meyers Briggs Assessment Tool” did too, has criterion validity. Ockham’s Razor  The Principle of Parsimony: “Don’t make things more complicated than they need to be.” - William Ockham (1285-1349) In science, simpler explanations, theories, or measures are preferred over more complicated ones. Correlation  When two variables are related they are said to co-vary. This is also called correlation or simply association.  Many independent variables may each only contribute a little to the outcome of the dependent variable, but the correlation may still be quite direct and causal. ◼ Example: Having personally known someone who died of AIDS is only one of many independent variables that is known to have a causal impact on the choice of whether to use a condom during sexual activity. Spurious Variables  Two variables are spurious when their correlation (no matter how strong) is caused by a third variable. ◼ Example: There is a correlation between the number of firefighters at a fire, and the amount of property damage caused. Should we assume that the firefighters are causing greater damage? Theory  Theory: A mechanism that explains the association between two or more correlated variables.  Theories are simply ideas about how things work. Frames to help make sense of the world.  We all hold ‘informal theories’ or ‘axioms’ about many things. Formal theory, however, can be tested and revised. Sociological Questions “Sociological Imagination” To remove yourself from the “world-taken-for-granted.” So that we are able to discover something new in the routines of everyday life. Sociological Questions “Sociological Imagination” Asking questions How? What? Why? Sociological Questions Knowledge ≠ Commonsense belief - Beliefs or propositions with no scientific ground Stereotypes Sociological Questions What are “sociological” questions? What kinds of question do sociologists have to ask? Sociological Questions 1. Factual (Descriptive) questions “What happened?” “How did (do) things happen?” Sociological Questions 2. Comparative questions Questions asked when one social context within a society is related to another, or examples drawn from different societies are contrasted. - Space “Did this happen everywhere?” - Time “How different are a phenomenon in a period and one in another?” Sociological Questions 3. Developmental questions Questions asked in order to understand the main direction that processes of change have taken. “What has happened over time?” Sociological Questions 4. Theoretical questions Generalization - Why do things happen? - What factor brings this about? - What underlies this phenomenon? Sociological Questions Questions / Research Problems How are you going to answer your question? Systematic/scientific procedure …  The Sociological Method & Science 1. Asking question / Defining research problem To specify the question you are trying to answer The Sociological Method & Science 2. Reviewing the evidence To familiarize yourself to the research problem - Literature review - Initial observations etc. The Sociological Method & Science 3. A clear formulation of the research problem - Setting up hypotheses Hypotheses “Educated guesses about what is going on” Temporary conclusions Understanding Cause and Effect “All events have causes.” One of the main tasks of sociological research is to identify causes and effects. “What brings it about?” = “Causal relationship (Causation) An event or situation causes or produces another Understanding Cause and Effect Variables = “Any dimensions along which individuals and groups vary.” - Factors telling an individual or group from another - Criteria based on which an individual or group is categorized - Age - Income - Educational attainment - Social class - Race/ethnicity etc. Understanding Cause and Effect Correlation The “existence of a regular relationship between variables” Correlation ≠ Causation The Sociological Method & Science 4. Research design - to decide “how” the data are collected - Select methods - Research subjects - Duration of the research etc. The Sociological Method & Science 5. Carry out the research - Collect data by applying the suitable methods The Sociological Method & Science 6. Analyze your data / Interpret your results The Sociological Method & Science 7. Reporting the findings Major Research Methods