Chapter 1

Question 1

sociology

Answer 1

The study of human groups and societies, giving particular emphasis to analysis of the industrialized world. Sociology is one of a group of social sciences, which include anthropology, economics, political science, and human geography. The divisions between the various social sciences are not clear-cut, and share a certain range of common interests, concepts, and methods.

Question 2

personal troubles

Answer 2

difficulties that are located in individual biographies and their immediate milieu, a seeming private experience

Question 3

public issues

Answer 3

difficulties or problems that are linked to the institutional and historical possibilities of social structure.

Question 4

sociological imagination

Answer 4

the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. Someone using the sociological imagination “thinks himself away” from the familiar routines of daily life.

Question 5

structuration

Answer 5

the two-way process by which we shape our social world through our individual actions and by which we are reshaped by society.

Question 6

social facts

Answer 6

according to Emile Durkheim, the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Durkheim believed that social facts could be studied scientifically.

Question 7

organic solidarity

Answer 7

According to Durkheim, the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society function as an integrated whole.

Question 8

social constraint

Answer 8

The conditioning influence on our behavior by the groups and societies of which we are members. Social constraint was regarded by Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts.

Question 9

anomie

Answer 9

a concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim, referring to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.

Question 10

materialist conception of history

Answer 10

the view developed by Marx, according to which material, or economic factors have a prime role in determining historical change.

Question 11

capitalism

Answer 11

an economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit.

Question 12

symbolic interactionism

Answer 12

A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead, which emphasizes teh role of sybols and language as core elements of all human interaction.

Question 13

symbol

Answer 13

one item used to stand for or represnt another–as in the case of a flag, which symbolizes a nation

Question 14

functionalism

Answer 14

a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform–that is, he contributions they make to the continuity of society.

Question 15

manifest functions

Answer 15

the functions of a particular social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in they activity.

Question 16

latent functions

Answer 16

functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur.

Question 17

Marxism

Answer 17

a body of thought deriving its main elements from Karl Marx’s ideas.

Question 18

power

Answer 18

The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold. Power is a pervasive element in all human relationships. Many conflicts in society are struggles over power, because how much power an individual or group is able to obtain governs how far they are able to put their wishes into practice.

Question 19

ideology

Answer 19

Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups ideologies are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities between groups. The concepts of ideology connect closely with that of power, since ideological systems serve to legitimize the power that groups hold.

Question 20

feminist theory

Answer 20

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the experiences of women. There are many strands of feminist theory, but they all share the intention to explain gender inequalities in society and to work to overcome them.

Question 21

feminism

Answer 21

Advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life. Feminism dates from the late eighteenth century in Europe, and feminist movements exist in most countries today.

Question 22

postmodernism

Answer 22

The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. Postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no “grand narrative” guiding its development.

Question 23

microsociology

Answer 23

the study of human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction.

Question 24

macrosociology

Answer 24

the study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems.

Question 25

science

Answer 25

The disciplined marshaling of empirical data, combined with theoretical approaches and theories that illuminate or explain those data. Scientific activity combines the creation of new modes of thought with the careful testing of hypotheses and ideas. One major feature that helps distinguish science from other idea systems (such as religion) is teh assumption that all scientific ideas are open to criticism and revision.

Question 26

empirical investigation

Answer 26

factual inquiry carried out in any area of sociological study.

Question 27

factual questions

Answer 27

questions that raise issues concerning matters of fact (rather than theoretical or moral issues)

Question 28

comparative questions

Answer 28

Questions concerned with drawing comparisons between different human societies for the purposes of sociological theory or research.

Question 29

developmental questions

Answer 29

Questions that sociologist pose when looking at the origins and path of development of social institutions from the past to the present

Question 30

theoretical questions

Answer 30

Questions posed by sociologists when seeking to explain a particular range of observed events. The asking of theoretical question is crucial to allowing us to generalize about the nature of social life.

Question 31

hypothesis

Answer 31

An idea or a guess about a given state of affairs, put forward as a basis for empirical testing.

Question 32

data

Answer 32

factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation. Social science data often refer to individuals' responses to survey questions.

Question 33

ethnography

Answer 33

the firsthand study of people using participant observation or interviewing.

Question 34

participation observation

Answer 34

a method of research widely used in sociology and anthropology, in which the researcher takes part in the activities of the group or community being studied. Also called fieldwork.

Question 35

survey

Answer 35

a method of sociological research in which questionnaires are administered to the population being studied.

Question 36

pilot study

Answer 36

a trial run in survey research

Question 37

sampling

Answer 37

studying a proportion of individuals or cases from a larger population as representative of that population.

Question 38

sample

Answer 38

a small proportion of a larger population.

Question 39

representative sample

Answer 39

a sample from a larger population that is statistically typical of that population.

Question 40

random sampling

Answer 40

Sampling method in which a sample is chosen so that every member of the population has the same probability of being included.

Question 41

experiment

Answer 41

a research method in which variables can be analyzed in a controlled and systematic way, either in an artificial situation constructed by the researcher or in naturally occurring settings.

Question 42

comparative research

Answer 42

Research that compares one set of findings on one society with the same type of findings on other societies.

Question 43

measure of central tendency

Answer 43

the ways of calculating averages

Question 44

correlation coefficient

Answer 44

a measure of the degree of correlation between variables.

Question 45

mean

Answer 45

a statistical measure of central tendency, or average, based on dividing a total by the number of individual cases.

Question 46

mode

Answer 46

the number that appears the most often in a given set of data. This can sometimes be a helpful way of portraying central tendency.

Question 47

median

Answer 47

the number that falls halfway in a range of numbers--a way of calculating central tendency that is sometimes more useful than calculating mean.

Question 48

standard deviation

Answer 48

a way of calculating the spread of a group of figures.

Question 49

degree of dispersal

Answer 49

the range or distribution of a set of figures.

Question 50

oral history

Answer 50

interview with people about events they witnessed or experienced at some point earlier in their lives.

Question 51

triangulation

Answer 51

the use of multiple research methods as a way of producing more reliable empirical data than are available from any single method.

Question 52

informed consent

Answer 52

the process whereby the study investigator informs potential participants about the risks and benefits involved in the research study. Informed consent must e obtained before an individual participates in a study.

Question 53

debriefing

Answer 53

Following a research study, the investigator will inform study participants about the true purpose of the study, and will reveal andy deception that happened during the study.