Studying Society

Question 1

Society

Answer 1

A group of people who have common interests and a distinctive culture

Question 2

culture

Answer 2

the whole way of life of a group of people passed from one generation to the next

Question 3

law

Answer 3

A set of written rules regulating what may or may not be done by members of society

Question 4

norm

Answer 4

an informal rule that guides our behaviour in a particular situation

Question 5

role

Answer 5

patterns of behaviour expected of people in different situations

Question 6

values

Answer 6

the beliefs held by a person or a social group that help to build a set of norms

Question 7

social science

Answer 7

the systematic study of society and human relationships within society

Question 8

social policy

Answer 8

important decisions made by the government that aim to improve the conditions of people living in their society

Question 9

quantitative data

Answer 9

information that is presented as numbers which can be analysed using statistical methods

Question 10

qualitative data

Answer 10

information in the former of text or images, that is rich in detail and description

Question 11

social stratification

Answer 11

the way different groups in society are placed in different levels

Question 12

social class

Answer 12

people having the same social status measured by such things as occupation and income

Question 13

ethnicity

Answer 13

the classification of people into groups that share the same culture, history and identity

Question 14

gender

Answer 14

the social and cultural differences between the sexes - between femininity and masculinity

Question 15

strata

Answer 15

bands or layers showing particular characteristics which are different from those above or below

Question 16

status

Answer 16

the honour or prestige attached to a person’s position in society

Question 17

CONSTRAINT

Answer 17

Not being able to do what you want; being restricted or limited

Question 18

SOCIALISATION

Answer 18

The lifelong process of learning the skills, customs, attitudes, norms and values of your culture

Question 19

SOCIAL CONTROL

Answer 19

The process by which people are persuaded to obey the rules and conform

Question 20

CONFORMITY

Answer 20

Doing what is expected and behaving in a way that is in agreement with norms

Question 21

FAMILY

Answer 21

A group of 2 or more persons associated by birth, cohabitation, marriage or adoption

Question 22

CANALISATION

Answer 22

Being channelled in a particular direction

Question 23

FORMAL CURRICULUM

Answer 23

What students learn in their timetabled lessons e.g., Maths and English

Question 24

HIDDEN CURRICULUM

Answer 24

The ways in which the organisation of teaching, school regulations and routines shape pupil attitude and behaviour, that is, what students learn at school, not taught in lessons

Question 25

SANCTION

Answer 25

Agreed reward for positive actions or penalty for negative actions

Question 26

LEGISLATURE

Answer 26

The section of the government responsible for making laws

Question 27

JUDICIARY

Answer 27

The section of the government that has the power to apply the law, that is, the court system; including judges

Question 28

POVERTY

Answer 28

Means being poor (can be defined in many different ways)

Question 29

WELFARE STATE

Answer 29

The government taking responsibility for the health and financial wellbeing of the population

Question 30

RELATIVE POVERTY

Answer 30

A situation in which someone cannot afford to possess the kind of things or participate in the kind of activities considered by members of society to be a normal part of life

Question 31

PRESSURE GROUP

Answer 31

A group, usually concerned with a single issue, that applies pressure to try to bring about change

Question 32

MORAL PANIC

Answer 32

When media coverage of an issue leads to exaggerated public concern

Question 33

MEDIA AMPLIFICATION

Answer 33

Blowing things out of proportion by over-reporting in the media

Question 34

SOCIAL SURVEY

Answer 34

A collection of information about members of a population. Can be carried out on the street, at home, in an organisation (school, workplace etc), by mail, by telephone, online.

Question 35

PRIMARY DATA

Answer 35

Data collected for the first time by the researcher for a particular piece of research

Question 36

QUESTIONNAIRE

Answer 36

A set of questions used to gather information

Question 37

SECONDARY DATA

Answer 37

Data that exists prior to and independent from the researcher’s own research

Question 38

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Answer 38

OFFICIAL STATISTICS A set of statistics generated from data gathered by the government or other official organisations. Often used as secondary data in social research

Question 39

RESPONDENT

Answer 39

Someone who is providing the data for your research

Question 40

SAMPLE

Answer 40

The group of people who have been selected for your study

Question 41

SAMPLING FRAME

Answer 41

A complete list from which your sample is selected

Question 42

REPRESENTATIVE

Answer 42

Your sample is not biased but the people are typical of those in the larger group

Question 43

GENERALISATIONS

Answer 43

Feeling confident that your findings will reflect the views of everyone else who could have been asked

Question 44

ETHNOGRAPHY

Answer 44

Looking at the whole way of life of a group, usually by using a variety of the methods of data collection

Question 45

TRIANGULATION

Answer 45

Checking the accuracy of data collected through one method (e.g., a questionnaire) by comparing it with data collected using another method (e.g., observation)