CH2 Research Foundations

Question 1

a sequential argument consisting of a series of logically related statements put forward to illuminate some element of social life; an explanation that develops a logical story for social phenomena

Answer 1

theory

Question 2

the idea that the world can be subjected to observation, the use of the senses to gather data about social phenomena

Answer 2

empiricism

Question 3

the broadest way of thinking about social life, focusing on the structure, composition and processes of society

Answer 3

macro level

Question 4

the most intimate way of thinking about social life that focuses on face-to-face interactions and small group processes

Answer 4

micro level

Question 5

when theories can be quantitatively or qualitatively examined

Answer 5

testable

Question 6

when theories can be proved wrong

Answer 6

falsifiable

Question 7

when theories can explain a broad class of events

Answer 7

generalizable

Question 8

when theories refer to what is likely, not what is definite

Answer 8

probabilistic

Question 9

to observe patterns and build up to an explanation (specific to general, abstract to concrete, bottom to top)

Answer 9

inductive

Question 10

to create an argument and organize and guide empirical activities (general to specific, concrete to abstract, top to bottom)

Answer 10

deductive

Question 11

a broad set of taken-for-granted and often unacknowledged assumptions about how social reality is to be defined; used to develop theories

Answer 11

paradigm

Question 12

paradigm that holds that all knowledge can be confirmed or refuted through empirical observation; an approach in sociology that believes in studying things scientifically, relying on empirical evidence and observable facts rather than opinions or feelings.

Answer 12

positivism

Question 13

a macro level framework that views society as a collection of interrelated parts, each with a unique role, that come together to form a whole; sees society as made up of different parts that work together to keep things stable and functional.

Answer 13

structural functionalism

Question 14

a macro level perspective that contends that the struggle between the powerful and the less powerful is the key element in understanding society (Marx); society is a collection of competing interests

Answer 14

conflict perspective

Question 15

a paradigm that views human behavior as attempts to dominate others and to avoid being dominated

Answer 15

conflict theory
(strengths and limitations?)

Question 16

focused on small-scale conflict and believed that conflict is necessary for unity and social change

Answer 16

Georg Simmel

Question 17

believe social behavior is best explained as the process of conflict and that the capitalistic system would eventually destroy itself

Answer 17

Karl Marx

Question 18

paradigm that views and understands society through the experiences of women, examines the generally deprived status of women in society, and is concerned with the treatment of women and experience of opression

Answer 18

Feminist paradigms of conflict theory (Feminist standpoint theory - Nancy Hartsock)

Question 19

paradigm grounded in race awareness and an intention to achieve racial justice

Answer 19

Critical Race Theory

Question 20

Theorist rooted in Civil Rights movement who believed African Americans lived their lives through “dual consciousness”

Answer 20

W.E.B DuBois

Question 21

Theorist associated with interest convergence (majority group members will only support interests of minority groups when it also benefits majority group)

Answer 21

Derrick Bell

Question 22

Theorist who introduced and developed intersectional theory (study of overlapping or intersecting social identities)

Answer 22

Kimberle Crenshaw

Question 23

theory that applies economic principles to the study of social life; belief that life trajectories are under our control and social institutions will behave in predictable ways; It assumes individuals make logical decisions to maximize their own interests.

Answer 23

Rational choice theory
(strengths and limitations?)

Question 24

theory that posits humans communicate through symbolic exchange in the form of spoken and unspoken communication; focuses on how societal issues play out among individuals

Answer 24

symbolic interactionism

Question 25

a paradigm that views human behavior as the creation of meaning through social interactions, with those meaning conditioning subsequent interaction; focuses on how people create meaning through interactions and symbols like words and gestures.

Answer 25

symbolic interactionism
(strengths and limitations?)

Question 26

paradigm characterized by significant skepticism of claims about general truths, facts, or principles

Answer 26

postmodernism

Question 27

variables whose attributes are merely different; they are exhaustive and mutually exclusive; no natural ordering;

Answer 27

nominal

Question 28

variables with attributes we can logically rank in order; can determine the order of categories but there is no quantifiable distance between the categories

Answer 28

ordinal

Question 29

variables whose attributes are rank-ordered and have equal distances between adjacent attributes; zero represents an additional point of measurement (no true zero)

Answer 29

interval

Question 30

variable whose attributes meet the requirements of an interval measure, but have a true zero point

Answer 30

ratio